Maybe you're a WordPress.com user who'd like to monetize your popularity. Or maybe you're defecting from Blogger, Typepad, or some other platform. This guide will take you through the steps to migrate to the world of vast possibilities that is WordPress.
Step #1
First, you must understand the difference between hosting your own Wordpress blog and having a Wordpress.com account. While having an account at Wordpress.com is very useful, it will not allow you to fully customize your site or make money by placing advertisements on your blog. To use Wordpress and have full control, you must download software from Wordpress.org (not yet! see step 3). Think of it this way: Wordpress.com is a service, while Wordpress.org is product.
Step #2
Next you need to secure a domain name. Try to make the name easy to remember and relevant to the content your plan to publish. The following are a few of the very many places to buy a domain name:
* Register.com
* Buydomains.com
* Domain.com
* Bluehost.com
If you are new to self-hosted publishing, you may find it easier to buy a domain with a company that also provides hosting, as in the last example.
Step #3
Sign up for a hosting account that has the following minimum requirements:
* PHP 4.3 or greater
* MySQL 4.0 or greater
* The mod_rewrite Apache module
For most people you don't need to know what any of things are or how the really work. Just contact the hosting provider first (or check their website for account details) to be sure these are covered.
Dreamhost.com, Bluehost.com, and Godaddy.com are among the Wordpress recommended hosts. See wordpress.org/hosting for a full list.
Step #4
If you are hosting with a company where you did not buy your domain, you will need to change some settings to point your URL (www.yourdomain.com) to your Web server.
Go to the site where you bought your domain and login. Find the domain manager, then find DNS control panel. Look for entries that resemble the following
ns1.examplehostname.com
ns2.examplehostname.com
You will need to change this as prescribe by your hosting company.
Step #5
Now you need to create a database (this is where the MySQL requirement comes in), which will house all of your information.
Within your hosting account go to your hosting control panel. Select Databases, then Create New (the navigation will vary depending on the company you use). You will be asked to name the database, choose a user name and a password.
Make sure you record and save this information in a safe and secure place. You will also want to record the host name or location.
Step #6
NOW you're ready to start using WordPress. Depending on your host, you may be able to do a quick "one-click" installation of WordPress from within your hosting account. The good news is that the manual install is almost as easy:
Download the Wordpress software:
http://wordpress.org/latest.zip for Windows or Mac computers
http://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz for Linux
You will need to extract or unzip the file. Make sure to save all the folders and files in an easily accessible place on your computer.
Step #7
The extracted file will produce a folder called "Wordpress". Open the folder and look for a file called wp-config-sample.php. Open the file using Notepad or some other text editor.
Wordpress is very kind and gives you instructions within this document. You must simple look for the following lines and replace the promting text with your own information:
define('DB_NAME', 'putyourdbnamehere');
define('DB_USER', 'usernamehere');
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'yourpasswordhere');
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
For example, on the first line you would erase putyourdbnamehere and type your database name. e.g. myblogdb
Save the file, renaming it as wp-config.php
Step #8
Now move all the folders and files to your Website's server or directory. Make sure you move each of the entries from the Wordpress folder (not the entire folder itself).
If your site IS your blog you should put the file in the root directory. If the Wordpress blog is an addition to your site, you should create a subdirectory. For example, if you name the subdirectory "blog" then your Wordpress blog will be found at yourdomain.com/blog
You will need to use an FTP client. Your host might provide one, or you can download one for free. Some popular FTP clients can be found at winscp.net, filezilla-project.org, and cyberduck.ch (for Mac). You will need a user and password from your hosting account to access your server via the FTP client.
Your almost done!
Step #9
You have installed Wordpress on your servers. Now open a browser and type www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install.php OR if you install in a subdirectory go to www.yourdomain.com/blog/wp-admin/install.php
Your Software will guide you through the final installations steps, which includes choosing an adminstration name and password (add this to your cheat sheet!).
Your done! Enjoy your blog :)
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