How to Setup Your Very Own Wordpress Blog in 5 Steps

I’ve been setting up Wordpress-based sites for other people for years now and had never actually set one up for myself. It really is very easy to setup once you have your domain name and hosting established. Here are 5 steps to follow to get your own Wordpress blog up and running.

Step 1: Setting up a domain name and web hosting

Since we’re looking to create a Wordpress blog with it’s own distinct URL (not a .wordpress URL), we need to setup hosting and buy a domain name. You can do this through services like Godaddy, Surpasshosting, Mediatemple, etc. You will need to select the name you want then check and see it it’s available. The prevoiusly mentioned vendors have a feature which will let you check availability. Next you will need to choose a hosting plan, most vendors usually have several different ones with different price ranges. Once you have purchased hosting you will receive an email with important information about your account including email setup, FTP access and the path to your admin section.

Step 2: Downloading the Wordpress Files

You will need to download the package of Wordpress files from their site at wordpress.org. The free download include all the files you need to get started. You will get a .zip file which you can open from your desktop by double clicking on the icon.

Step 3: Setting Up a Database on Your Server

Somewhere on your server you will need to create a place where all the information gets stored. It a repository for all the posts you write, all the comments that are made and any pages you add on to your blog. You will need to locate your hosting server’s admin section (sometines called Plesk or Cpanel) and look for the Databases section. Once inside the database section you will need to create a new database and a database user with all the priviliges. Note the database, user and passwords as you will need them in the next step.

Step 4: Editing the wp-config file

In the folder you downloaded from Wordpress, there should be a file called wp-config-sample.php. You will need to rename this file to wp-config.php and open it up in any text editor (dreamweaver, bbedit, textedit, notepad,etc). Once you have the file open, change all the information regarding the database (from step 3). Save your file once you’re done.

Step 5: Getting FTP access to your server and uploading the files.

You can upload files to your server from the admin section or you can use any number of free FTP clients that are out there (I use Cyberduck for my mac). The FTP login info is provided for you in the email you receive once you have setup your hosting (Step 1). Look for the main folder (usually called public_html) in your FTP client and drop all the Wordpress files you downloaded into it. After the files upload, go to your browser and type the URL of the site and follow the simple instructions. That’s it!