If you ever wondered how to install WordPress on cPanel, the ubiquitous web hosting control panel, we have put together a couple of step-by-step guides that should make this pretty easy. While installing WordPress can seem quite daunting if you have never done this before, it is, in fact, relatively straightforward. That’s especially so when you follow our handy WordPress installation guide. So let’s get started…

How to install WordPress on cPanel (WordPress Manager)

The following instructions for the automated/one-click installation of WordPress on cPanel apply to our Standard Hosting package and upwards, which include the WordPress Manager feature. This enables fully-automated installation of WordPress on cPanel. The instructions assume a fresh install in a new hosting account.

  1. Log in to your cPanel.
  2. Under Applications, click WordPress Manager
  3. Click Create Site and either follow:
    1. For Automatic Configuration (default), simply click Install.
      1. WordPress will be installed into the selected domain’s root (typically into the public_html directory unless this has been altered). Warning: this will overwrite any existing files with the same names.
      2. All database settings, usernames and passwords are created automatically.
    2. For Advanced Configuration (manual settings): click Advanced Configuration.
      1. Specify all details manually: installation directory, username, password and blog details following guidance on screen. Warning: this will overwrite any existing files with the same names in the specified directory.
      2. Click Install.
  4. Upon installation, login information will be displayed on screen.

Note this process installs the latest version of WordPress available through the cPanel repository. It is strongly recommended to log into WordPress directly after installation and upgrade to the very latest version.

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How to install WordPress on cPanel (manual method)

The following instructions for the manual installation of WordPress on cPanel are applicable to our Home Hosting product and/or other services which do not include a One-Click installer. The instructions assume a fresh install in a new hosting account with no other databases or website files present.

  1. Download the latest version of WordPress at https://wordpress.org/download/ and save the zip file in a handy location on your computer.
  2. Log in to your cPanel.
  3. Prepare a database as follows – have a text document open and ready to note the connection details:
    1. In cPanel, under Databases, click on MySQL Database Wizard
    2. In step 1, create the database following the hints on screen, and note the database name.
    3. In step 2, create the database user, ensuring you take a note of the database user and password.
    4. In step 3, select All Privileges and click next step to complete the set up.
  4. Return to Home and under Files click File Manager
  5. Double click on public_html to navigate into this folder.
  6. Click Upload on the toolbar above the file list.
  7. Click Select File and find the WordPress zip file which you downloaded in the very first step of this list, and click Open. File is uploaded with progress indicated on screen.
  8. Go back to the public_html folder.
  9. Find the WordPress zip file and choose Extract on the toolbar
    1. This will extract the files to the specified location which will be public_html/wordpress by default – WordPress will be installed in its own directory
    2. If you wish to install WordPress directly in the public_html directory, navigate into the public_html/wordpress folder, click Select All and then Move. In the Move dialog box, enter /public_html as the file path to which the files should be moved, and click Move File(s)
  10. Now open a browser and navigate to:
    1. https://mydomain.com/wp-admin/install.php (if you installed WordPress directly into public_html, or
    2. https://example.com/wordpress/wp-admin/install.php (if you installed WordPress into a sub folder, in this case the default wordpress)
  11. Fill out the configuration form with the information as indicated on screen, using localhost or 127.0.0.1 for database host. This may vary by server. Click Submit.
  12. Complete out the information about your website, taking a note of username and password, then click Install WordPress.  On completion, login information will be displayed.

Typical troubleshooting

  • Ensure you granted all permissions to the database user during step 3.4 above.
    • To check this, in cPanel, go to Databases > MySQL Databases > Current Databases – the database user should be specified under Privileged Users
    • To add the user, under Add User to Database, ensuring correct database and user are selected click Add and then grant all privileges.
  • Ensure all details (database name, usernames and passwords) are entered correctly – make sure you do not pick up an extra space at the end when copy-pasting

Official documentation:
https://wordpress.org/support/article/how-to-install-wordpress/

Still not sure? Get WordPress set up for you, with specialist hosting included

If you’re still unsure about the whole process of getting WordPress installed, we have the ideal package for you with our WordPress hosting package. WordPress comes pre-installed on a hosting package that has been tuned to serve WordPress with the latest version of PHP, masses of disk space and email accounts all included.  It’s just £15 + VAT per month or get a free domain name when you sign up for an annual contract.

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How to Install WordPress on cPanel