Install WordPress

Installing WordPress – Step by Step: A Guide for Beginners

WordPress is the world’s most widely used content management system and forms the foundation for millions of websites, blogs, and online stores. Before you can start building your site, you first need to install WordPress – and there are two fundamentally different ways to do this. In this post, we’ll show you how to install WordPress: either conveniently via one-click installation through your hosting provider’s control panel, or manually via FTP if you want to keep full control over every single step. This WordPress installation guide is aimed specifically at beginners who don’t yet have experience setting up their own CMS.

Requirements for Installing WordPress

Before you get started, you should have the following ready – each requirement serves a specific purpose:

• A registered domain. This is the address under which your website will later be reachable.
• A hosting package with PHP (at least version 7.4, 8.0 or higher recommended). PHP is the programming language WordPress is written in – without a server that can run PHP, WordPress simply won’t work.
• A MySQL or MariaDB database. WordPress stores all your content there: posts, pages, comments, settings. Think of it like a structured folder that WordPress pulls the right information from every time a page is loaded.
• Credentials for your hosting control panel (e.g., Plesk) or FTP credentials, depending on which installation method you choose.
• The WordPress installation package, which you can download for free here, if you decide to go with the manual installation.
• Recommended: an already installed SSL/TLS certificate (e.g., from Let’s Encrypt). It encrypts the connection between server and visitor and is now practically standard for both security and Google ranking – a WordPress installation without HTTPS quickly gets flagged as “not secure” in the browser.

Installing WordPress – Two Approaches at a Glance

There are two common ways to install WordPress, which mainly differ in effort and level of control:

1. One-click WordPress installation via the hosting control panel (e.g., Plesk) – fast, convenient, and ideal for beginners, since the server and panel handle the technical details in the background.
2. Manual WordPress installation via FTP – somewhat more involved, but with full control over every step, which is particularly useful for individual server configurations or special requirements.

Which option suits you best depends on how much you want to learn about what happens behind the scenes, and whether your hosting provider offers a one-click solution.

One-Click WordPress Installation via Plesk

The one-click installation is the fastest way to get a running WordPress site, since the control panel automatically handles the download, unpacking, and database setup.

Step 1: Log in to the Plesk Control Panel

Log in with the credentials you received from your hosting provider.

Step 2: Select a Domain

Select the domain under which WordPress should be installed. If you manage multiple domains, make sure to pick the right one – moving it later is possible, but it’s unnecessary extra work.

Step 3: Start the WordPress Installation

Look in the menu for “Install WordPress” or “Applications.”

Step 4: Go Through the Installation Wizard

Click “Install” and follow the wizard: choose the installation directory and set an administrator username along with a secure password. Avoid obvious usernames like “admin” right from the start (more on this below).

Step 5: Complete the Installation

After a few minutes, the installation is complete, and you can log in to the WordPress backend. Plesk automatically handles downloading the installation package and the entire database setup in the background – steps you’d have to carry out yourself with the manual installation.

Installing WordPress Manually via FTP

If you want to install WordPress manually, you get more control over every single step, but you also have to handle every task yourself.

Step 1: Download WordPress

Download the installation package here and unpack it locally on your computer. This gives you a folder called “wordpress” containing all the necessary files.

Step 2: Upload the Files via FTP

Connect to your server with an FTP program (e.g., FileZilla) and upload the contents of the unpacked wordpress folder to the desired target directory (e.g., httpdocs or public_html). FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and is simply a transfer method for copying files from your computer to the web server.

Step 3: Create a Database and Database User

In your hosting control panel, create a new MySQL database along with a database user with full permissions for that database. Make a note of the database name, username, and password – you’ll need all three in the next step.

Step 4: Set Up wp-config.php

Rename the file wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and enter your database credentials. This file is essentially the link between WordPress and your database – without the correct credentials, WordPress can’t access the stored content.

Step 5: Go Through the Installation Wizard in Your Browser

Open your domain in your browser. WordPress automatically detects that no installation exists yet and guides you through the remaining steps: choosing a language, setting a site title, and creating an admin account.

First Steps After Installing WordPress

Once WordPress has been successfully installed, there are a few basic settings you should take care of before you start actually building out your website..

Setting Permalinks

By default, WordPress often uses URLs with question marks and numbers (e.g., ?p=123). These are neither user-friendly nor search-engine-friendly, since they don’t tell visitors or Google what the page is about. In the backend, go to Settings → Permalinks and choose the “Post name” structure. This creates readable URLs like your-domain.com/my-first-post, which are both easier to read and can include your target keyword.

Removing Default Content

WordPress automatically installs a sample post (“Hello World!”), a sample page, and a sample comment. You should delete these or replace them with your own content, so your site looks clean and organized from the start, without any leftover clutter showing up in your menu or post overview.

Checking the Administrator Username

If you accidentally chose the obvious username “admin” during installation, you should switch to an individual username instead. The reason: automated attack attempts (so-called brute-force attacks) specifically try common names like “admin” – an individual username already removes half the guesswork for attackers.

Secure Password and Two-Factor Authentication

Use a long, complex password for the administrator account. It’s also a good idea to set up two-factor authentication through a suitable plugin: even if an attacker guesses or steals your password, they’d then also need a time-limited code from your smartphone to log in.

Enabling Automatic Updates

WordPress usually updates minor security releases automatically. Check under Dashboard → Updates to see if your system is current, and keep your themes and plugins regularly updated as well – outdated plugins are among the most common entry points for attacks on WordPress sites.

Setting Up a Backup Solution

Before you start building out your site, you should set up regular backups – either through your hosting control panel or a suitable backup plugin. That way, if something goes wrong (a failed update, a hacked site, accidentally deleted content), you can always return to a working state.

Common Issues When Installing WordPress

Even with careful setup, things don’t always work on the first try. The following issues come up especially often for beginners:

White screen with no error message (“White Screen of Death”) This problem is usually caused by an exceeded memory limit or a conflict between a theme and a plugin. As a test, activate the default WordPress theme and deactivate all plugins via FTP (rename the wp-content/plugins folder) to narrow down the cause.

Error establishing a database connection This message appears when the credentials in wp-config.php don’t match the actual database credentials. Take a moment to carefully check the database name, username, password, and database host.

Problems uploading files via FTP If the upload fails or files are missing, check the file permissions (755 for folders and 644 for files are typical) as well as your internet connection. A fresh, complete upload resolves most of these cases.

Frequently Asked Questions About Installing WordPress for Beginners

Conclusion

With these steps, you’ve built a solid foundation for your WordPress website – whether you chose the quick one-click installation or the manual route via FTP. It’s important to take care of the basic security and convenience settings right after installation, so your site is well set up from the very start.

In the next post in this series, we’ll show you how to turn your WordPress installation into a Multisite network, so you can manage multiple websites centrally from a single installation.