Installing WordPress

WordPress is the most popular content management system in the world. Softaculous makes it easy to install a fresh WordPress site in just a few minutes.

Before You Begin

• Make sure your domain is pointed to your hosting account and DNS has propagated.
• Decide whether you want WordPress installed on your main domain, a subdomain, or inside a subdirectory (e.g., yourdomain.com/blog).
• Have your desired site name, admin username, and admin email ready.

Installation Steps

1. Log into cPanel and open Softaculous Apps Installer from the Software section.
2. On the Softaculous dashboard, find WordPress in the left sidebar under Blogs, or type "WordPress" in the search bar. Click on it.
3. Click the Install tab (or the Install Now button).
4. Configure the Software Setup section:
   • Choose Protocol: Select https:// if you have an SSL certificate (recommended). Otherwise, use http://.
   • Choose Domain: Select the domain or subdomain where you want to install WordPress.
   • In Directory: Leave this blank to install on the root of the domain (e.g., yourdomain.com). Enter a folder name like blog to install at yourdomain.com/blog.
5. Configure the Site Settings:
   • Site Name: Your website title (you can change this later in WordPress).
   • Site Description: A short tagline for your site.
   • Enable Multisite: Leave unchecked unless you specifically need WordPress Multisite.
6. Set up the Admin Account:
   • Admin Username: Choose something other than "admin" for security.
   • Admin Password: Use a strong, unique password.
   • Admin Email: Enter your email address for password resets and notifications.
7. Choose your Language from the dropdown.
8. Under Select Plugins, you can optionally install recommended plugins like Limit Login Attempts or Classic Editor. You can always add plugins later from within WordPress.
9. Under Advanced Options, you can change the database name and table prefix. The defaults are fine for most users.
10. Optionally, select a Theme from the available options, or skip this and choose a theme later from within WordPress.
11. Click Install at the bottom of the page.

Softaculous will take a moment to set up WordPress. When finished, you will see a success page with links to your site and the admin dashboard.

After Installation

Here are some recommended first steps after installing WordPress:

• Log into the dashboard at yourdomain.com/wp-admin using the admin credentials you set during installation.
• Set your permalinks. Go to Settings → Permalinks and select Post name for clean, SEO-friendly URLs.
• Delete sample content. Remove the default "Hello world!" post and "Sample Page" that come with every WordPress installation.
• Install a theme. Go to Appearance → Themes to browse and activate a theme that fits your site.
• Install essential plugins. Consider a security plugin, a caching plugin, and a backup plugin at minimum.
• Update everything. Go to Dashboard → Updates and install any available updates for WordPress core, themes, and plugins.