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Manually Installing WordPress

I have tried to make this section as easy to follow as possible, however all web hosts

are different. I have used some screen shots to help you along. If in any doubt I

would seriously consider taking a second web hosting account with someone like

Hostgator because it will make your life a whole lot easier! For more details check

out: http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress

What tools do I need to install WordPress manually?

When installing WordPress manually it is recommended that you certain

tools/information. All these tools are readily available for free on the Internet or on

your PC.

1. Access to your web server via FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or equivalent. 2. Text Editor that uses plain text such as Notepad (not Microsoft Word) 3. FTP client (e.g. Filezilla - http://filezilla-project.org/ or Cyberduck

http://cyberduck.ch/) 4. Web browser (e.g. Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari)

The first thing that you need to do is to check that your web host meets the

minimum requirements. The most up to date requirements can be found on the

WordPress support site http://wordpress.org/about/requirements/. There is also a

handy email script which you can copy and paste into an email and send to your

hosting company asking whether they meet the minimum requirements!

Step 1 - Downloading and Extracting the WordPress files

Step 1.1 Go to http://wordpress.org/download/. Click the blue ‘Download WordPress’

button to download the latest version of WordPress onto your computer. It will be a

Zip file.

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Step 1.2 Save the file where you can easily find it.

Step 1.3 Unzip the files – depending on the version of Windows that you are using

may be able to just click on the file and it will unzip for you. If not may need an

unzipping tool to do this. Make sure that the unzipped folder is saved somewhere

easy to find!

Step 2 - Creating the Database, Username and Password

Step 2.1 You need to create a MySQL database and username for the installation.

Login to your host’s control panel or cPanel and look for a link called MySQL,

databases or something like that. I have demonstrated using cPanel as an

example. As all web hosts are different you may need to ask their advice.

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Step 2.2 Create the database, giving it a name that you will recognise, for example

if it is for your blog you could use the suffix ‘blog’. I have used ‘testdb’ in this case.

Make sure you write down the whole database name, mine would be:

jsbailey_testdb as you will need it later.

Step 2.3 Create a username and password. I have used jsbailey_testuse as my

username and password ‘Password13’ (you will need to choose a stronger one, or

use the Password Generator to generate one for you). Make sure you write down

your username and password as you will need it later. Then click ‘Create

User’.

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Step 2.4 In some cases you may need to add the user to the database (if you

haven’t used the Wizard). Within the cPanel, which I used, you choose the database

and the username from the dropdown list. The click ‘Add’.

Step 2.5 When you add the username to the database you will be asked to set the

user privileges, make sure you select ‘All Privileges’. Then click ‘Save Changes’.

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Note: Sometimes during this process you will need to put in a database host. Often

it is ‘localhost’ but check out this list to confirm what your webhost requires.

http://codex.wordpress.org/Editing_wp-config.php#Possible_DB_HOST_values

Step 3 - Editing and Renaming the WP-Config.php Files

Step 3.1 Open up the WordPress files that we downloaded in Step 3 and look for a

file called wp-config-sample.php.

Step 3.2 You now need to open the file in your text editor. I am using Notepad

which is usually found the ‘Accessories’ directory (on a Windows PC).

Open Notepad and click ‘File’

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Step 3.3 Select ‘All Files’.

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Step 3.4 Scroll down the screen until you locate ‘wp-config-sample’, select it, then

click ‘Open’.

Step 3.5 Edit the file to include the database name, username, password and

hostname as created in the previous steps.

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Using my example above in Step 2. My database name would be ‘jsbailey_testdb’,

my username: ‘jsbailey_testuse’ and my password: ‘Password123’.

Step 3.6 Next move down the files in Notepad until you find 8 lines with ‘put your

unique phrase here’.

Click on the URL they provide (https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/). You

will be generated some special secret codes (see below)

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Copy and paste each code in the equivalent line in wp-config file (below). Make sure

that you have not duplicated the singe quotes (‘) at the beginning or end of the

phrase as it will stip it working (as I discovered!)

Step 3.7 Once you have done these steps you can rename the file. Click ‘File’,

‘Save as’ and then rename the file WP-Config.php.

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For more information on editing this file – please check out

http://codex.wordpress.org/Editing_wp-config.php

Step 4 – Uploading WordPress to your Web Host (Using a FTP

Client)

I tend to use Filezilla as my FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client whenever I need to

transfer files to and from my web host server. Not only is it free, but it is also the

recommended software for use with WordPress. It can be found at http://filezilla-

project.org/. If you are using a Mac then could use http://cyberduck.ch/ as an

alternative.

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Step 4.1 Download and install the FTP software.

Next you will need to configure the FTP software to talk to your server.

To do this you will need:

Your website ftp information, this is usually something like ftp:yourdomain.com, your

web hosts login username and password (usually sent to you on an email when you

set up your web hosting account).

Step 4.2 Open up the FTP software.

Step 4.3 Click on the ‘File’ menu and then ‘Site Manager’

Step 4.4 Click ‘New Site’ and enter your FTP information. Remember passwords

maybe case sensitive!

Click ‘OK’ to save the information or choose ‘Connect’ to connect with the server.

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Step 4.5 Connect to the server if you have not already done so. Before it connects

you will see your computer files on the left hand side pane under ‘Local Site’, with an

empty right hand pane. Once connected files will begin arriving in the ‘Remote Site’

pane on the right hand side. Your computer files.

Step 4.6 You now need to decide where you are going to put your WordPress files,

for example is going to be on the main domain e.g. http://mydomain.com or in a

subdirectory such as http://mydomain.com/blog. In my example blow I am copying

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them to a directory/ folder called ‘testblog’ Note: In Hostgator all the website files

are placed in the public_html directory.

Copy all the files from within the downloaded and unzipped WordPress folder (not

the folder itself) to your remote site. Just drag and drop them across from the

‘Local Site’ pane to the ‘Remote Site’ pane.

Step 5 – Run the Install Script

You can now visit your new WordPress site and finish the installation process.

Step 5.1 Type in the URL of your new WordPress site followed by /wp-

admin/install.php

e.g. http://ww.mydomain.com/wp-admin/install.php

All being well you should be greeted by this screen. Complete all the sections – Site

Title, Username, Password and Email Address (Note: Your username is used for

logging in and CANNOT changed later). Then click ‘Install Wordpress’.

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Step 5.2 Once you have completed the previous screen (in step 5.1), you will see

the confirmation screen. Congratulations WordPress is installed! Click ‘Log in’ to be

taken to the Login Screen.

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If you plan to login now go to ‘How to Login to WordPress’ Step 7.2, if not start from

Step 7.1.