WordPress: The world’s simplest website builder
WordPress is the most popular content managing system (CMS) on the Web today. It is estimated that nearly 50% of all websites on the Web are based on the WordPress platform including NASA, eBay, BBC America, and loads of other popular websites.
Should you install WordPress on a personal server?
You can either set up a blog on WordPress.com or you can install WordPress on your server, which is what most website builders do. If you install WordPress on your server, you are hosting your site’s data on your server and not WordPress’s server. This is primarily done for ease of management as it allows you to manage your web page without having to go through WordPress.com. Before you install WordPress, you need to have a web browser, a text editor, an FTP client, and access to the server of your choice.
Installing WordPress manually
This can get a little technical so you should ideally read up as much as you can before beginning the installation process. Before starting this process, it would be better if you have a purchased domain name and hosting account (server). You will require file transfer protocol software which will connect your computer to your server. This will provide you with access to root level files where you will install WordPress.
You will need to download the latest version of WordPress and save it. After downloading, unzip the file. Now you’ll have to log into your FTP and decide the folder where you want WordPress to be installed. Once all the files have been uploaded, you will need to set up a database for your site. A database is required for storing your site’s data. You will have to create a database and add users to your database.
The last step of the installation process requires you to install a script. This process basically configures your website. This process allows you to select your language and connect your database to your main web page. This will complete the main installation process.
Using Softaculous to install WordPress
This software makes it far easier to install WordPress. Softaculous uploads, the files, configures the database, and sets up the installation for you. You don’t need to download or configure anything by yourself. Installing a website through WordPress is easy no matter how you go about it. There’s a reason why WordPress is the world’s most popular CMS!
