Installing WordPress on BlueHost.com

This is part 3 in a series of post about setting up WordPress on Bluehost.com

Stay tuned, my next post will cover installing Thematic and creating a child theme.

Installing WordPress the Easy way on Bluehost.com

This post will cover installing WordPress on a Bluehost.com server. Both manually and with a one click install. There are many reasons why I like to install WordPress manually over the one-click install. Most of all, I like knowing that it is in fact a pure install of WordPress, and I don’t need all the extra plug-ins that the one-click install provides.

The first section of this post covers the manual install. If you just want to use the one-click install skip to the bottom of the page.

1. Goto Bluehost.com
2. Click on “Control Panel Login”.
3. Enter your Domain and Password then Click Login.
4. Under “Databases” click MySQL Databases.
   

Create the Database

1. Next, under “Create New Database” enter in the name you would like to call your database.
   
2. Click “Create Database”.
3. Once the page reloads take note of your database name, as you will need it later.
4. Click “Go Back”

Create a MySQL User

1. Once back on the MySQL Databases page, scroll down To “MySQL Users”.
   
2. Create a Database Username and Password.
3. Click “Create User”
4. Once the page reloads take note of your user and password, as you will need it later.
5. Next you will need to Define the privileges the user you just created will have. This will enable you to interact with the database and set up WordPress.
6. Click “Go Back”

Define User Privileges

1. Once back on the MySQL Databases page, scroll back down To “MySQL Users”.
2. Under “Add User to Database”, select the user you just created from the “User” drop-down menu then select the Database you created earlier from the “Database” drop-down menu.
3. Click “Add”
4. After the page reloads check the “All PRIVILEGES” check box and click “Make Changes”.
5. That’s it, you may now log out of Bluehost.

Installing WordPress

1. If you haven’t yet, goto http://wordpress.org/ and click the Download WordPress button.
2. Once the wordpress.zip file downloads, double-click it to expand the wordress folder.
3. Open the wordpress folder and change wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php
4. Next open wp-config.php in your favorite text editor and find the following field and fill them in accordingly.
   define(‘DB_NAME’, ‘database_name_here’); REPLACE database_name_here WITH THE DATABASE NAME YOU CREATED WITH BLUEHOST
   define(‘DB_USER’, ‘username_here’); REPLACE username_here WITH THE USER YOU CREATED WITH BLUEHOST
   define(‘DB_PASSWORD’, ‘password_here’); REPLACE password_here WITH THE PASSWORD YOU CREATED WITH BLUEHOST
   

Add Additional Security

1. To add additional Security to your WordPress install you will want to change your Authentication Unique Keys and Salts.
2. To change these keys visit https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/
3. Once the page loads you will see 8 unique keys/salts. Find the appropriate fields in your wp-config.php and replace them with the keys/salts generated on this page.
4. Save the wp-config.php

Upload WordPress to your Server

1. If you haven’t set up FTP on your Bluehost account yet read this. http://www.ejhansel.com/setup-ftp-on-bluehost-com/
2. Open up your favorite FTP client and connect to your site/server.
3. If you want WordPress in a directory on your site(Ex: www.mycoolsite.com/wordpress) change the wordpress folder to whatever you want the directory called and upload it to your server.
4. If you don’t want WordPress installed in the root directory(Ex: www.mycoolsite.com) then select all the files in the wordpress folder and upload them to your server.
5. After your WordPress files are uploaded you need to install it. If you have uploaded the files to your root folder goto http://www.yoursitename.com/wp-admin/install.php
6. If you uploaded it to a directory on your site goto http://www.yoursitename.com/yourDirectoryName/wp-admin/install.php
7. If all goes well, you will come to the WordPress welcome screen. Fill in your Site Title, the Username you want to use(DON’T USE ADMIN FOR SECURITY REASONS), your Password, your Email and click “Install WordPress”.
8. Once the screen reloads you should come to the WordPress Success! page. Click “Log In” then fill in your Username and Password and click “Log In” again.
9. Congratulations, you just set up WordPress.

Next I’ll show you how to install wordpress the even easier way.

One Click Install of WordPress on Bluehost.com

1. Goto Bluehost.com
2. Click on “Control Panel Login”.
3. Enter your Domain and Password then Click Login.
4. Under “Software/Services” Click on “Wordpress”.
   
5. After the page reloads click on “Install” under “Install WordPress”.
6. Once the page reloads select the most recent stable version of WordPress from the “Which version of WordPress would you like to install?” drop-down.
7. If you have more than one URL pointed at your Bluehost account select the site you want to install WordPress on from the “Where would you like WordPress installed?” drop-down.
8. If you want to install WordPress in a directory that isn’t your root directory(Ex: www.mycoolsite.com/wordpress), type the name of the direct you want WordPress installed in after the / of the drop-down menu you just used to select your site.

If you want WordPress installed in the root of your site (Ex: www.mycoolsite.com) leave this field empty.

9. “NEXT, under STEP 2: Advanced Options” click “Click here to display” and fill in Your Site’s name, a Username(DON’T USE ADMIN FOR SECURITY REASONS), and a password. Make sure the “Automatically create a new database.” is checked.
10. Check the terms and conditions check box is checked and click “Complete”.
11. If all goes well the page will reload and show you the progress of your new WordPress install. Once completed, take note of your Username and Password and click on the Login URL.
12. Use your Username and Login to login to the backend of WordPress.

Congratulations you just installed WordPress.