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WordPress basics · 28 min

Installing and setting up WordPress

Installing WordPress is easier than most people expect. Most hosts install it for you in a few clicks.

Three ways to install

  • One-click installer from the host: most hosting control panels (such as cPanel with Softaculous, or the host's own dashboard) have a WordPress installer. This is the easiest way.
  • Manual install: download WordPress from wordpress.org, upload the files, create a database and run the famous five-minute install. Useful to understand, but rarely needed.
  • Local install for practice: free tools such as LocalWP or WordPress Playground run WordPress on your own computer or in the browser, with no hosting needed. Perfect for learning and testing.

The installation steps

Installing WordPress with a one-click installer
  1. Open the hosting panelFind the WordPress or Softaculous installer
  2. Choose the domainUse https:// and leave the folder empty to install on the main domain
  3. Set admin detailsA unique username (not "admin"), a strong password and a real email
  4. Install and log inOpen yoursite.com/wp-admin with the new details

Save the login in a password manager. Never send passwords in plain chat messages.

First settings (do these on day one)

Go to Settings in the dashboard:

  • General: set the site title and tagline, the correct timezone (for example, Karachi) and the date format. Check that both WordPress and site addresses start with https://.
  • Reading: choose whether the home page shows your latest posts or a static page (most business sites use a static home page). While building, you can tick "Discourage search engines" and untick it at launch.
  • Discussion: turn off comments if the site does not need them; this blocks a lot of spam.
  • Permalinks: choose Post name, so addresses look like yoursite.com/contact instead of yoursite.com/?p=123. Clean links are easier to read and better for SEO. Set this early, because changing it later breaks old links.

Clean up the starter content

A new install includes a "Hello world!" post, a sample page and some extra themes and plugins. Delete the sample content, keep one default theme as a backup, and delete themes and plugins you are not using. Fewer unused parts means fewer security risks.

Your profile and users

  • In Users → Profile, set a display name so posts do not show your username.
  • Give every person their own login with the lowest role that does their job: Administrator (everything), Editor (all content), Author (their own posts), Contributor (drafts only), Subscriber (profile only).
  • Never share one admin login between several people.

Checklist

After these steps you have a clean, secure starting point: HTTPS working, correct timezone, clean permalinks, no sample content, and proper user roles. Now you are ready to add content.

Practice task (25 min)

  1. Open WordPress Playground (playground.wordpress.net) or install LocalWP.
  2. Set the site title, tagline, timezone and "Post name" permalinks.
  3. Delete the sample post and page, and create a second user with the Editor role.

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Installing and setting up WordPress — WordPress Websites | SkillGato