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Because this book covers the self-hosted version of WordPress, you need to have a hosting account on a web server. This is different from having a domain name. A domain name points to a hosting account on a server where the files and a database for a WordPress website are stored. If you don't have a hosting account, following are some things to keep in mind when looking for one.

Hosting WordPress

At www.WordPress.org, you can find a list of currently recommend hosting companies, but there are many others that are just as good. There are a few software requirements for hosting WordPress, but most hosting packages these days – even the most basic – should meet them. Still, it's best to double-check, so here's what to look for as of Version 4.0:

● PHP Version 5.2.4 or greater

● MySQL database Version 5.0 or greater

● The recommended server software is Apache or Nginx, but as long as the minimums for PHP and MySQL are met, everything should be fine.

NOTE If you're not sure how to word your question to your hosting company, the WordPress site provides you with the text for an e-mail you can send at http://wordpress.org/about/requirements/. The letter adds a third item to the list: the mod_rewrite Apache module. This module is needed for the custom permalinks feature in WordPress; although there is a way to use custom permalinks without it, it just makes life a bit easier. Most Linux servers have the module installed.

Of course there's more to choosing a host than meeting these requirements. In particular, you want to look for:

● Reliability– How often are they down? How good are their security measures? What is their backup policy?

● Support– Do you have 24-hour access? How quickly do they respond? Do they have a useful knowledge base?

● Speed– How quickly will your site load?

Don't rely on advertising or most of the so-called hosting review sites you'll find. Look for individual bloggers who have performed actual tests or provided reviews with pros and cons based on real-world experience. You can also search through the forums of hosting companies or webmaster forums to see what people complain about. And put the question to social media for direct feedback.

As Figure 3.1 shows, many hosting companies these days promote that they do WordPress hosting. Often this simply means that they offer automated installing of WordPress. That's a valuable feature, but be aware that it isn't anything special or unique.

Figure 3.1

In other cases, WordPress hosting means it offers services such as:

● Managed hosting– The host provides regular backups and performs all WordPress updating (even plugins). This can extend to offering a separate version of WordPress where you can test your site or allow only certain plugins to be used.

● WordPress support– This could include support specialists who know WordPress or detailed WordPress documentation using videos or screen shot tutorials.

● Optimized servers– This can range from ensuring that server software is configured to help WordPress and its database perform well all the way to using Virtual Private Servers (VPS) and fewer sites on a machine than the shared hosting packages most people use.

● Caching– This is like taking a snapshot of each of your pages and serving those snapshots instead of having to go back and forth to the database, and that helps speed up site loading for visitors. There are plugins for this, but they can be tricky to set up. Here the host takes care of all that for you.

Naturally, with these special hosting features typically comes a higher monthly cost. Although regular shared hosting accounts (without multiyear plans or introductory pricing) are in the $6 to $9 range, specialized WordPress hosting starts at approximately $16 per month and goes up from there.

This book shows you how to do such tasks as backups and updates, and ways to keep your WordPress site loading quickly. However, you may prefer to pay someone else to do them. Managed hosting is a cost-effective way of off-loading these important ongoing tasks.

After you decide on a hosting company and have your account, it's time to install and activate WordPress. As previously mentioned, most hosts these days have programs that enable you to do a one-click installation of WordPress, but now look at an old-fashioned manual install.

Manually Installing WordPress

If you want complete control over how WordPress is installed on your hosting account and you're comfortable working with file transfer programs (FTP) and hosting control panels (such as cPanel or Parallels/Plesk), this method is for you. Or if you're hiring someone, this can help you understand why he should not be charging for more than 15 minutes worth of work.

The steps are outlined here, but on the DVD you can watch the process in detail using cPanel, the most popular hosting control panel available. There's also a working file on the DVD with instructions for the downloading and uploading of WordPress files.

Because there are two main elements to WordPress – the files and the database – the outline follows that structure.

Uploading the WordPress Files

Self-hosting WordPress means you need to put the files onto your server using the following steps:

1. Download and save the latest version from WordPress.org.

2. Unzip WordPress.

3. Using an FTP program (such as Filezilla), upload the unzipped WordPress files (the ones inside the folder wordpress and not the folder itself) to the location you want on your server.

Creating the Database

WordPress requires a database in order to function, so you need to set one up through your hosting control panel:

1. Locate the MySQL database section of your hosting Control Panel.

2. Click the button for creating a new database.

3. Enter a name for the database. If you have several databases, be sure to name it so that you know it's WordPress for this site.

4. Click the button for creating a new user. (Not all control panels have this step.)

5. Enter a username.

6. Enter a password for the user, and make sure it is strong.

7. Be sure to have the database name, username, and password handy for use later in the process.

8. If you are asked to assign permissions or privileges for this user, make sure you select ALL.

9. In some cases you may be asked to assign the new user to a database; make sure it's the right database.

10. Check where your database is located and make a note of the server name for use later. If no server name is specified, it's likely the default localhost.

Connecting the Files to the Database

This is what WordPress actually means by “our famous 5-minute install.” There are two ways to do this install: manually creating the configuration file or having WordPress lead you through a semi-automated process.

You can see the manual configuration process in one of the videos accompanying this lesson; however, here is the semi-automated process, which you begin by entering your site's domain name in your browser (or if you put the WordPress files in a subdirectory, enter the full path).

1. The first screen asks you to choose an installation language; then click Continue.

2. Next, you are asked to gather some information about your database (what you were told to make note of in the previous section). When you're ready, click Let's Go!

3. Here you enter all that database information. The final field asks if you want to change the default WordPress database prefix. The prefix will be placed in front of all the tables in the database to help distinguish them from any other tables. You can put whatever you want here, but I recommend keeping the default wp- at the beginning so that you can quickly see that it's a WordPress table. When you finish, click Submit.

4. Now confirm that you can talk to your database and can do the actual install, then click Run the Install.

5. You need to provide a title for your WordPress installation, along with an administrator username and password. Do NOT use “admin” or “administrator” because hackers automatically try these. And make sure your password is a strong one; weak passwords are the number-one way hackers get into WordPress. When you're ready, click Install WordPress.

6. Screen #6 tells you you've successfully installed WordPress and offers to take you to the login screen.

NOTE If you plan to use the multisite feature of WordPress – the capability to run multiple sites from a single installation – you can find the additional installation instructions here: http://codex.wordpress.org/Create_A_Network.

Auto-Installing WordPress

Most hosting companies offer some form of automatic WordPress installation. In a few cases, this means that they'll actually do the installation for you, but mostly it means that they have a program that you use to do the auto-install.

The two most common auto-installer programs are Softaculous and Quick Install, but there are others, and some hosts have their own proprietary installers. They all work in mostly the same way: You enter a bit of information and press a button.

NOTE For many years Fantastico was the auto-installer used by most hosting companies, but it has since been discontinued.

The first step is to tell the auto-installer where you want it to put the WordPress files. Referring to Figure 3.2, Quick Install offers a choice of existing domains or subdomains that are on your hosting account with the opportunity to enter a subdirectory. (If that subdirectory doesn't exist, the installer creates it.)

Figure 3.2

After the location is chosen, you need to enter information such as your e-mail address and username – information varies by programs. Referring to Figure 3.3, you can see that Quick Install also needs the title of your site (ignore that it says Blog Title), your first name, and last name.

Figure 3.3

Although Quick Install creates a password for you (you can change it later in WordPress), other installers ask you for a password. Some also allow you to choose the database prefix for WordPress.

NOTE Auto-installers should install the latest version of WordPress, but if yours doesn't, don't worry. WordPress will tell you if it needs updating, and that process is easy – especially after installation when you have no content or plugins. The steps for updating are outlined in Lesson 32, “Keeping Up to Date.”

When the Installation Is Finished

Whether you do an auto-install or a manual install, your WordPress site is now up and running. You can check by going to your domain name (or subdirectory, depending on where you did the install) and looking at your new site (see Figure 3.4).

Figure 3.4

It may not have much – a sample post and a sample page – but this is a fully operational website waiting for you to add content and customize the look and the functionality. But before getting to that, become familiar with the way WordPress works in the back end. That's the subject of the next two lessons.

PLUGINS

There are no plugins to help install a new WordPress site because WordPress isn't running yet. However, there may be times when you need to move an existing WordPress site within your hosting account (perhaps to a new directory) or to a new server. In that case, here are some plugins that can help:

● Duplicator– takes care of the entire process of copying your site and restoring it in a new location.

● WP Clone by WP Academy– utility for copying and moving your WordPress site to a subdomain, a new server, or a new domain.

Try It

There's nothing additional to try in this lesson – hopefully, you completed the installation using these instructions. If you don't plan on doing the installation right now, you could always set up an FTP program if you don't have one or download WordPress for use later.

REFERENCE Please select the video for Lesson 3 online at www.wrox.com/go/wp24vids. You will also be able to download resources for this lesson from the website.