WordPress Installation Guide
Install WordPress on hosting you control: point the domain at the account, then either run the host's one-click installer in the document root, or create a MySQL database, upload the WordPress.org files and open /wp-admin/install.php. It worked when /wp-admin shows the dashboard and a private window loads the site on the public address.
For anyone installing WordPress on a live domain: what to prepare, which install path to take, and how to verify the result.
knowledge
- Read time
- 5 min
- Sections
- 7
- Updated
- 14 Nov 2026
- Written by
- WebJi® team
Last editorial update: 15 November 2026.
What do you need before you install WordPress?
You need four things: the WordPress.org software, a domain already pointing at a hosting account you control, the hosting panel, and an email address you can open. This is the self-hosted install. WordPress.com is a separate hosted product with its own limits, and a copy running on your laptop is practice — visitors cannot open it, so it is not this guide's finish line.
- Domain: aimed at the host before you test any public URL — register or transfer it under domain registration.
- Hosting: a WebJi® plan with an installer, or any account with a panel and file access. WordPress plans start at ₹400 a month ( Wordpress-Unlimited, read from billing on 15 November 2026, before 18% GST ).
- The zip: downloaded from WordPress.org, not a WordPress.com signup.
- A browser and an inbox: plus an FTP/SFTP client only if you take the manual path.
How do you install WordPress with a one-click installer?
Open the installer in your hosting panel, choose WordPress, leave the target directory blank, fill in the site title and an admin login, and click Install — the files and the database are created for you. On WebJi® WordPress plans the install wizard is built into the product; on cPanel-based accounts, including WebJi®'s cPanel hosting, the same job is done by the Softaculous Apps Installer.
Four fields decide whether the install is usable later, so set them deliberately rather than accepting defaults:
- Directory: blank, so WordPress lands in the document root and the site answers on the domain itself, not a subfolder.
- Admin username: anything except
admin— a generic username is the first thing brute-force scripts try. - Password: long and stored somewhere you can find it again.
- Email: an address you actually read, because password resets go there.
Pick https for the protocol when the SSL certificate is already on the account. If the installer shows an error, email that exact message to support@webji.services instead of starting a second copy in another folder — two installs on one domain are the classic reason the public URL and /wp-admin disagree with each other.
How do you install WordPress by hand?
The manual install is five steps — download, database, wp-config.php, upload, install script — and the official documentation describes it as taking less than five minutes once the pieces are ready. Use it when the account has no one-click installer, or when you want to see exactly what the installer would have done.
- Download the current release from WordPress.org and unzip it on your computer.
- In the panel, open MySQL Databases (or phpMyAdmin): create a database, create a user, and grant that user all privileges on that one database.
- Rename
wp-config-sample.phptowp-config.phpand fill in the database name, username, password and host — or skip this file entirely, because the browser installer will create it for you from what you type. - Upload the contents of the wordpress folder into
public_htmlby File Manager or SFTP on port 22. Uploading the folder itself puts the site at /wordpress/, the wrong address. Plain FTP on port 21 sends your password in the clear. - Open
https://yourdomain/wp-admin/install.php, choose the language, and complete the setup screen: Site Title, Username, Password (twice), your email, and the search-engine visibility checkbox — leave it unchecked for a live site; checking it tells search engines to stay away while normal visitors still get in.
Which database values does the WordPress installer ask for?
Five values: database name, database username, database password, database host, and the table prefix — and the first three are whatever you created in MySQL Databases, including any prefix the panel adds to the names. The database host is localhost on WebJi® shared and WordPress plans; if your welcome email ever names a different host, use that and do not guess.
Leave the table prefix as wp_ unless you are sharing one database between installs, in which case the documentation advises a distinctive prefix per install so one set of tables cannot overwrite another. When a value does not match, the next screen is the dreaded error establishing a database connection — the matching fix is in the guide to the WordPress database connection error, and if wp-config.php already exists, the same four values sit in that file where you can correct them directly.
How do you know the WordPress install worked?
Two checks: a private browser window on the public domain shows the default theme — not a hosting placeholder and not a file listing — and /wp-admin accepts the admin login you created. Until both pass, the install is not finished, no matter what the installer screen said.
Inside the dashboard, do the three chores every fresh install deserves: delete the sample post and the unused themes, then open Settings → Permalinks, choose Post name, and save, so URLs read cleanly. If the public URL still opens on a subfolder, the files are not in the document root — move them before adding pages. Updates come later, safely, in how to update WordPress.
What do you do when the WordPress install fails?
Read the sentence on the error screen before clicking Install again — every common failure names its own cause. A database connection error means one of the four values does not match the database you created. "Already installed" means exactly that: do not create a second database; use the lost-password link on wp-login.php instead. A placeholder still showing means the files went into a subfolder, so move them to public_html or remove the duplicate copy before rerunning anything.
If the hosting panel itself will not open, email support@webji.services with what you clicked and what appeared. The mailbox is staffed 24/7 in Hindi and English and the average first reply is under 60 minutes; the office phone is not a support line.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the famous 5-minute WordPress install really take?
The official documentation says installing WordPress takes less than five minutes once the database exists and the files are uploaded. A one-click installer usually finishes a working site in a few minutes more, since it also copies files. The dashboard opening at /wp-admin is the finish line, not a stopwatch.
Can I install WordPress without an installer tool?
Yes. Create a MySQL database and user in the panel, upload the WordPress.org files to public_html, then open /wp-admin/install.php in a browser. The setup screen collects Site Title, Username, Password and email, and the installer can write wp-config.php for you from the database values you enter.
What should the admin username be?
Anything except admin. Generic usernames are the first thing automated login attempts try, paired with common passwords. Pick a name only your team would use, add a long password, and keep the admin email one you actually read, because password resets are emailed there.
Should the search-engine visibility checkbox be ticked?
Leave it unchecked for a live site. Ticking it asks search engines not to index the site while normal visitors can still browse — useful only for a staging copy or a build you are not ready to publish. If you ticked it by accident, the setting can be reversed later under Settings → Reading.
Do I upload the wordpress folder or its contents?
The contents. Uploading the folder itself puts the site at yourdomain.com/wordpress/, so the domain root keeps showing the host placeholder. Move the files into public_html so the site answers at the address people actually type.
Last editorial update: 15 November 2026. Prices follow the dated sources on this page; checkout confirms current charges.
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