How to Install WordPress: 4 Easy Ways (2026 Guide)

This guide shows how to install WordPress in each of the four common ways: letting your host do it, using a one-click installer in your control panel, installing it manually from WordPress.org, or installing it on your own computer for testing. WordPress’s own documentation says installing it “takes less than five minutes” in most cases, and most of the time you won’t need to touch a file. Every step and requirement below comes from WordPress.org’s official installation guide, checked on 12 October 2026, when the current version was WordPress 7.1.3.

This page covers installation only. For the full beginner’s path (hosting, themes, plugins, SEO), see our WordPress guide for beginners; to set up a blog end to end, see how to start a WordPress blog.

Before you install WordPress

You need three things:

• A domain name, such as yourblog.com. Many hosts include one free for the first year.
• Web hosting that meets WordPress’s requirements. WordPress.org recommends PHP 8.3 or greater, MySQL 8.0 or greater (or MariaDB 10.11 or greater) and HTTPS support. Almost every current host meets these; our guide to what WordPress hosting is explains the options, and the best WordPress hosting ranking compares hosts.
• Your hosting control panel login, usually sent by email when you sign up.

WordPress’s guide also suggests checking that email sending works on your host, because WordPress sends password resets and notifications by email.

Method 1: let your host install WordPress

The easiest way to install WordPress is not to install it yourself. Most WordPress hosting plans set WordPress up when you sign up, or offer a “Create website” or “Install WordPress” button on the dashboard. You choose your domain, set an admin username and password, and the host does the rest. Managed WordPress hosts such as Kinsta and budget hosts such as Hostinger both work this way. When it’s done, log in at yourdomain.com/wp-admin.

Method 2: install WordPress with a one-click installer

If your host uses cPanel or a similar control panel, look for an app installer such as Softaculous or Installatron. Softaculous lists WordPress 7.1.3 as its current version and lets you choose older versions too. The steps are much the same in every installer:

1. Open the installer in your control panel and choose WordPress.
2. Click Install, then choose your domain and protocol (pick https://).
3. Leave the directory field empty to install at yourdomain.com, or type a folder name (such as blog) to install at yourdomain.com/blog.
4. Enter your site name, admin username, a strong password and your email.
5. Click Install. After a minute or two you’ll see your site and admin links.

Don’t use “admin” as your username, and save the password in a password manager.

Method 3: install WordPress manually

A manual install gives you full control and is useful when your host has no installer. WordPress.org’s official instructions have five steps:

Step 1: Download and extract WordPress

Download the latest WordPress package from WordPress.org’s download page and unzip it on your computer. If you have shell access to your server, you can download it there directly with wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz and extract it with tar -xzvf latest.tar.gz.

Step 2: Create a database

WordPress stores your content in a MySQL or MariaDB database. Your host may have created one already; if not, create a database and a database user with all privileges in your control panel (cPanel and Plesk both have a database tool) or in phpMyAdmin. Note the database name, username, password and host (often localhost). WordPress’s guide notes that shared hosts usually require database names that start with your account username and an underscore.

If your plan allows only one database and it’s already in use, WordPress’s guide says you can still install into it: just give WordPress a distinctive table prefix in wp-config.php (instead of the default wp_) so it doesn’t overwrite the existing tables.

Step 3: Set up wp-config.php (optional)

Rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php, open it in a text editor and fill in DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD and DB_HOST from step 2. The same file holds your secret keys, which WordPress’s guide links to instructions for generating. This step is optional: if WordPress can’t find the file, the installer offers to create it for you and asks for the database details.

Step 4: Upload the files

Upload the contents of the unzipped wordpress folder (not the folder itself) to your site’s root directory to install at yourdomain.com, or into a subfolder such as blog to install at yourdomain.com/blog. Use an FTP or SFTP program or your host’s file manager. WordPress’s guide warns: if your FTP program can convert file names to lower case, turn that option off.

Step 5: Run the install script

Visit yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install.php (or yourdomain.com/blog/wp-admin/install.php). Choose your language, then enter your site title, admin username, password (twice) and email. There’s also a box to discourage search engines; leave it unticked if you want your site to appear in Google. Click Install WordPress, and you’ll see the login screen. You can change all of these details later in the dashboard.

Faster for developers: install WordPress with WP-CLI

If you have SSH access and WP-CLI (the official WordPress command line tool, which many hosts include), the official WP-CLI handbook shows the whole install in four commands:

1. wp core download downloads the latest WordPress.
2. wp config create --dbname=NAME --dbuser=USER --prompt=dbpass writes wp-config.php.
3. wp db create creates the database from those details (skip it if your host already made one).
4. wp core install --url=yourdomain.com --title="Site title" --admin_user=NAME --admin_email=you@example.com runs the install; add --prompt=admin_password so your password isn’t saved in your shell history.

Installing on a subdomain instead

To run WordPress at a subdomain such as blog.yourdomain.com, create the subdomain in your control panel first; it gets its own folder. Then install WordPress into that folder with any of the methods above, choosing the subdomain where the installer asks for a domain.

Method 4: install WordPress on your computer

To learn WordPress or test changes without a live site, install it on your own computer. Local, a free tool from WP Engine, sets up WordPress automatically in one click, with SSL included, plus WP-CLI and switchable PHP versions for testing. Even simpler, WordPress Playground runs a full WordPress site in your browser with nothing to install. Neither is a public website; when you’re ready, move your site to real hosting.

What to do right after installing WordPress

1. Set permalinks to “Post name” in Settings → Permalinks before you publish anything, so your addresses never need to change.
2. Check Settings → Reading and make sure “Discourage search engines” is unticked.
3. Set your site title, tagline and time zone in Settings → General.
4. Delete the sample post, page and comment, and any themes and plugins you won’t use.
5. Choose a theme: see our pick of the best WordPress themes.
6. Add the essential plugins, including backups and SEO, from our list of the best WordPress plugins.
7. Turn on HTTPS if your host didn’t: most hosts include a free SSL certificate.
8. Keep everything updated: Dashboard → Updates lists new versions of WordPress, your themes and your plugins. Updates fix security problems, so don’t leave them waiting.

Common installation problems

These are the most common problems WordPress.org lists, with its fixes:

• “Error establishing a database connection”: recheck the database name, user and password in wp-config.php, make sure the user has permission to use the database, and check that the database server is running. If you’re sure the details are right, reset the database user’s password in your host’s control panel.
• You see a list of files instead of a web page: the web server isn’t loading index.php by default. On Apache, the fix is the DirectoryIndex index.php directive in a .htaccess file; if you’re on shared hosting, ask your host.
• “Headers already sent” errors: usually a mistake made while editing wp-config.php. Check that nothing, not even a space, comes before the opening <?php, and that your text editor didn’t add a byte order mark.
• The page shows raw code: PHP isn’t running. Check that your hosting meets WordPress’s requirements, or contact your host.
• You can’t log in after installing: use the “Lost your password?” link, which is why working email matters.

How to install WordPress: which method should you choose?

If you’re looking at WordPress.com instead, there’s nothing to install: it’s a hosted service that runs WordPress for you, while everything on this page is about self-hosted WordPress from WordPress.org on your own hosting.

For most people, method 1 or 2 is the right answer: your host or a one-click installer does everything in a few minutes. Choose the manual method if you want to understand how WordPress works or your host has no installer, and a local install if you only want to learn or test. Moving an existing blog rather than starting fresh? Our guide to moving from Blogger to WordPress covers that.