WordPress Site

WordPress has never been easier to install than the latest version. In this article, I will describe how to install WordPress 2.5. INSTALL WORDPRESS IN FIVE EASY STEPS

(1) Download WordPress

The first installation step is to Download WordPress from http://wordpress.org/download/. I created a directory on my PC called “wordpress” in which to collect the files and images I will use for my WordPress installation and customization. Once the download competed, I saved the .zip file.

(2) Unzip WordPress

After saving the file, I opened it with the zip/unzip program I use, and selected all of the files. Since I will be testing and modifying Wordpress locally to begin with, I “extracted” the files to the root directory of the Apache server I use for my PC test bed.

If I were going to install WordPress “for real” on a live web site, I would have used an FTP client to upload the .zip file to the desired directory at my hosting service and unziped the file there. Firefox has a terrific and *free* FTP client, FireFTP, that can be used for the upload.

• (3) Create the Database

At this point, the WordPress database needs to be created. WordPress requires a database to store the site content and other information. I use MySQL for my database server both on my PC test bed and on my live sites. I use phpMyAdmin as an interface to MySQL.

Creating the database is really simple using phpMyAdmin. I simply start phpMyAdmin, enter the database name, and hit the “Create” button. WordPress will create the tables it needs in the database.

(4) Create wp-config.php

WordPress needs to know how to access the database once it has been created. That’s what the wp-config.php file is for. WordPress includes a file called “wp-config-sample.php.” This file needs to be modified with the database access information and renamed to “wp-config.php.”

Open the config file with any text editor. The critical entries are DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, and DB_HOST.

As an enhanced security measure, I obtained a unique SECRET_KEY and pasted this into the file. I then saved the edited file as wp-config.php. The text below shows the code I changed:

// ** MySQL settings ** //

define(’DB_NAME’, ‘wordpress’); // The name of the database

define(’DB_USER’, ‘rtivel’); // Your MySQL username

define(’DB_PASSWORD’, ‘MyPassword’); // …and password

define(’DB_HOST’, ‘localhost’); // 99% chance you won’t need to change this value

// Change SECRET_KEY to a unique phrase. You won’t have to remember it later,

// so make it long and complicated. You can visit http://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.0/

// to get a secret key generated for you, or just make something up.

define(’SECRET_KEY’, ‘diq`~@|CH6)l@u>x;hA>1ew1maZ/)ToE!y%}}ZYAI!=V^L()eooB!0V+k8LJa!Eh’); // Change this to a unique phrase.

(5) Run the WordPress Installer

After completing the edit of the wp-config.php file, I started the installation script by entering this URL to my Apache server into my browser:

localhost/wordpress/wp-admin/install.php

For a live site, the URL might be something like this:

yourdomain.com/wordpress/wp-admin/install.php

The first installation screen asks for the blog name and contact email address.

The next screen announces a successful installation and provides a username and password for the administrator. Be sure to save this password!

The installation is now complete. I can now log into Wordpress and begin managing the blog, customizing the theme, or adding content.

Or, I can click the link at the top of the log-in screen and go to the blog’s home page.

If you don’t manually create a wp-config.php file, WordPress will prompt for the information it needs and try to complete the installation.

That’s it! WordPress should now be installed.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 19th, 2008 at 11:54 am and is filed under wordpress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.