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How to install WordPress manually

Maxim Tsitsejev
Updated

Applies to: All plans

Before you start: You will need access to your cPanel (open your service in the client area and choose Log in to cPanel), the domain or subdomain you want to install on already added to your account, and a few minutes. Prefer the quick route? See How to install WordPress with WP Toolkit instead — a manual install is only needed when you want full control over each step.

A manual install has four parts: download WordPress, create a MySQL database and user, upload the files, then run the setup wizard. Follow them in order.

1. Download WordPress

  1. Go to wordpress.org and download the latest WordPress release (a .zip file).
  2. Keep the file handy on your computer — you will upload it in step 3. You do not need to unzip it yet; it is faster to upload the single .zip and extract it on the server.

2. Create a MySQL database and user

WordPress needs its own database. In cPanel:

  1. Open cPanel -> Databases -> MySQL Database Wizard (or MySQL Databases).
  2. Create a new database — note the full name (cPanel prefixes it with your account username, e.g. user_wp).
  3. Create a database user with a strong password — note the full username and the password.
  4. Add the user to the database and grant it All Privileges.

Write down the database name, username and password exactly — you will type them into the setup wizard. For more detail see How to create and manage a MySQL database.

Note: Your plan limits how many databases you can create (Self-Managed Lite 2, Plus 10, Pro unlimited; Managed Starter 10, Growth 25, Business unlimited). If you have hit the limit, the path is to upgrade your plan.

3. Upload the WordPress files

  1. Open cPanel -> Files -> File Manager.
  2. Navigate to the folder for your site. For your main domain this is usually public_html; for an addon domain or subdomain it is the document root you chose when you created it.
  3. Use Upload to add the WordPress .zip file, then go back to File Manager, select the file and choose Extract.
  4. After extracting, the files may sit inside a wordpress sub-folder. Move the contents up into your target folder so that index.php and wp-config-sample.php sit directly in the document root (not one level down).

Prefer FTP? You can upload the unzipped files the same way — see How to connect over FTP or SFTP. File Manager is usually faster because it extracts the archive server-side.

Result: Visiting your domain in a browser now shows the WordPress setup screen.

4. Run the setup wizard

  1. Open your domain (e.g. https://yourdomain.tld) in a browser.
  2. Choose your language, then enter the database name, username and password from step 2. Leave Database Host as localhost and the table prefix as the default unless you have a reason to change them.
  3. WordPress writes its wp-config.php file. If it cannot write the file automatically, copy the text it shows you into a new file named wp-config.php in your document root using File Manager.
  4. Set your site title, an admin username, a strong password, and your admin email, then finish the install and log in.

Result: Your WordPress site is live and you can sign in at https://yourdomain.tld/wp-admin. See How to log in to WordPress and find your dashboard.

After you install

  • Caching: We run LiteSpeed, so install the LiteSpeed Cache plugin for the best speed — see How to speed up WordPress with LiteSpeed Cache.
  • Email from WordPress: Contact forms and notifications should send through an SMTP plugin pointed at your Professional Email (Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace) mailbox. We do not host mailboxes on the hosting server.

Troubleshooting this task

  • "Error establishing a database connection" during setup: the database name, user or password does not match. Re-check them against step 2 — see Fixing "Error establishing a database connection".
  • You see a file list or "Index of /" instead of the wizard: the WordPress files are one level too deep (still inside a wordpress folder). Move the contents up into the document root.
  • Upload limit too small for the .zip: extract on the server via File Manager rather than uploading thousands of individual files; for larger media uploads later, see How to increase the WordPress memory or upload limit.
  • A blank white page after install: usually a plugin or theme fault — see Fixing the WordPress white screen of death.

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