WordPress Auto Install in 5 Minutes!

By Traci Knoppe

If you have been online and heard about blogging at all, no doubt you've heard of WordPress. What confuses most folks about WordPress, is that there are two versions available: the WordPress.com version – which is hosted on the WordPress servers, and the self-hosted WordPress.org version which you download and install on your own paid hosting service.

Self-Hosted WordPress.ORG

The WordPress version I'm referring to in this article is the self-hosted .ORG version; and as scary and intimidating as it sounds, you can truly get this self-hosted version of WordPress installed in about 5 minutes (or less!) with just a few mouse-clicks.

cPanel Hosting and Fantastico Deluxe

First, you need a cpanel enabled web host that offers Fantastico De Luxe. I highly recommend HostGator, their service is top-notch. What's Fantastico De Luxe?, you may be wondering. Fantastico is found within your cPanel. cPanel is simply a type of control panel you use to access your web hosting features and functions. Fantastico De Luxe is an icon within your cpanel that you click and it then offers a large variety of programs and scripts that can be easily installed for you. Fantastico does the hard part of setting up databases, unzipping the program and actually setting it up: all you do is fill in a few form fields, telling Fantastico where you want your blog (or other program) installed, and it does the rest – thus the famous 5 minute WordPress auto install. See, told ya it was easy!

WordPress Auto Install

To recap what I covered in the section above, it will literally only take you 5 minutes (possibly less) to actually use Fantastico's WordPress auto install method.

1. Log into your hosting cpanel, click the Fantastico De Luxe icon (look for it under the Software/Services section).
2. Click WordPress in the left navigaton column
3. Click ‘New Installation'
4. Choose from the dropdown menu which domain you want to install your WordPress blog. You may not have domain choices, if you do not have any add-on domains added to your hosting account; but if you do have add-on domains, this is where you select which one you want the blog added to.
5. Install Directory: if you want WordPress at the root, which simply means when you go straight to your domain name in the web browser (yourdomain.com); leave this blank. However, if you want your blog installed in a directory (also called a folder), then enter in the name you want for that directory (i.e., blog), so you would then locate your blog here: yourdomain.com/blog. You can choose whatever name you want for that directory, it will create it for you, just enter in the name, without any slashes or anything else.
6. Admin username and password. Enter in what you want for that, and write it down!
7. Admin Knickname: can be your real name, a pen name or just Administrator.
8. Admin Email: enter in the email that would be used with the contact form on your blog
9. Site Name: whatever you want to call your blog: Traci's Travel Tips, My Blog, etc…
10. Site Description: this would be your tag line, or a short description of what your blog is about
11. Click the Install WordPress button
12. The next page simply tells you that it's going to install the database for you and what that database name will be, and confirms where you have indicated you want the blog installed. Click Finish Installation to continue.
13. The final page is your confirmation page with the link to your WordPress Admin area (wp-admin); I suggest you right-mouse click on the /wp-admin link to open it in a new tab or window so you can bookmark that page, then log in. THEN, enter in your email address to have the details of this installation sent to you via email. I suggest you print out that email.

That's it! You have just installed WordPress on your site. Told ya it would be easy.

If you need a bit more help getting your blog installed, or you have your blog installed and aren't sure what to do next, check out Beginner to Blogger in 4 Weeks (http://BeginningBlogger.com) for step-by-step detailed instructions not only on installing your blog, but also to help you adjust your blog settings, install the right plugins, choose a theme and even instructions on how to customize your theme, and much more.

P.S. Remember, you need cpanel hosting for this WordPress auto install method. I recommend HostGator http://GenesisHGHosting.com

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