How to Install WordPress Yourself, Step by Step

Installing WordPress by hand takes about fifteen minutes and teaches you where everything lives. Create a database, upload the files, run the installer — then switch to HTTPS and tidy up. Every step, in order.

4 min read

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Key points

  • You need three things: a domain pointing to your hosting, a database with its own user, and the WordPress files from wordpress.org.
  • Upload the WordPress archive with the file manager and extract it into the website's own folder.
  • The installer asks for the database name, user, password and host, then for your site title and admin account.
  • Choose an admin username that is not "admin", a long unique password, and turn on HTTPS straight after installing.
  • Set permalinks, the time zone and the site address to https://, and remove themes and plugins you do not use.

To install WordPress yourself: point your domain to your hosting, create a database and a database user, upload the WordPress files from wordpress.org into the website's folder, open your domain in a browser and follow the installer — then turn on HTTPS and change a few settings. It takes about fifteen minutes, and afterwards you know exactly where your site's files and data live.

What you need before you start

Step 1: Choose the PHP version

WordPress is written in PHP, and it runs best — and most safely — on a current, supported version. WordPress lists the versions it recommends on its requirements page. Choose the newest PHP version your panel offers for the website that your theme and plugins support.

Step 2: Create the database and its user

From your panel, create a new database, then a database user with a long random password, and give that user all privileges on that database only. Write down three things: the database name, the user name and the password. Keep the password somewhere safe — a good panel does not store it after you set it, so it cannot show it to you again.

Step 3: Upload and extract the files

  1. Open the file manager and go to the website's folder — its document root, where the domain's pages are served from.
  2. Upload the WordPress .zip file.
  3. Extract it. The files arrive inside a folder called wordpress.
  4. Move everything inside wordpress up into the website's folder (so index.php and wp-admin sit directly in it), then delete the empty wordpress folder and the .zip file.

If you want WordPress at an address such as yourshop.com/blog instead, leave it in a folder of that name.

Step 4: Run the installer

  1. Open your domain in a browser. WordPress shows its installer and asks for a language — Bangla is one of them.
  2. Enter the database name, user name and password from step 2, and the database host your panel shows (usually localhost).
  3. Change the table prefix from wp_ to something of your own, such as shop7_. It is a small step that stops some automated attacks.
  4. If WordPress says it cannot write wp-config.php, it shows you the file's contents: create wp-config.php in the website's folder with the file manager, paste them in and save.
  5. Enter the site title, an admin username that is not "admin", a long unique password, and an email address you read. Then install.

Step 5: Secure it straight away

  1. Turn on HTTPS for the website and force it, then set both addresses under Settings → General to https:// — see how free SSL works and how to switch cleanly.
  2. Check file permissions: folders 755, files 644, and wp-config.php no more open than 640. The file manager can change them.
  3. Turn on two-factor sign-in for your hosting panel, and use a plugin from wordpress.org to add it to the WordPress admin too.

Step 6: The settings to change on day one

  • Permalinks (Settings → Permalinks): choose "Post name", so addresses read /my-first-post/ instead of /?p=123. Do it now; changing later breaks links.
  • Time zone (Settings → General): choose your city — Dhaka, for example — so scheduled posts go out when you expect.
  • Remove what you do not use: the sample post and page, the themes you will not use (keep one default theme as a fallback) and any plugins you did not choose.
  • Updates: keep WordPress, themes and plugins updated. Most hacked WordPress sites ran an outdated plugin.

Before every big update: a backup

Take a backup — files and database together — before you update WordPress or a major plugin, and keep a copy of your own off the server. See the 3-2-1 rule for website backups.

WordPress at Hostular

WordPress is not installed with one click on Hostular yet; the steps above take about fifteen minutes on any plan. Each website on your account has its own folder, its own PHP version and its own PHP pool, the file manager uploads, extracts and edits files, databases and their users are created from the panel, and every plan includes free SSL and a browser terminal. The plans are on the pricing page.

Questions and answers

How long does it take to install WordPress manually?

About fifteen minutes once the domain points to your hosting: a few minutes to create the database, a few to upload and extract the files, and a few to run the installer.

Does Hostular install WordPress with one click?

Not yet. You install it yourself with the file manager, after creating its database from the panel — the steps in this guide work on every Hostular plan.

What should I enter as the database host?

The database host your panel shows for your databases. On most hosting it is localhost, because the database server runs on the same machine as your website.

What does "Error establishing a database connection" mean?

WordPress cannot sign in to the database. Check the database name, user name, password and host in wp-config.php, and that the user has privileges on that database.

Can I install WordPress in Bangla?

Yes. The installer asks for a language first, and Bangla is one of them. You can also change the site language later under Settings → General.

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