How to Set Up WordPress Manually (Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners)

Hello everyone,

Today I will show you how to install WordPress manually (by yourself). This is good if your hosting company does not have auto installer, or if you just want to learn how to do it by hand.

Don't worry — I will make this post very simple and easy to follow.

🌐 What You Need Before You Start

Before you install WordPress, make sure you have these:

1. A domain name (like mywebsite.com)

2. A hosting account (where your website will live)

3. A file manager or FTP access (to upload files)

4. A MySQL database (for WordPress to save data)

5. WordPress zip file (you can get this from wordpress.org)

🧱 Step 1: Download WordPress

1. Go to this website: https://wordpress.org/download/

2. Click the button that says Download WordPress.

3. It will download a zip file to your computer.

📁 Step 2: Upload WordPress to Your Hosting

You can use:

• File Manager (in cPanel or your hosting dashboard), OR

• FTP software like FileZilla.

📌 Using File Manager:

1. Login to your hosting control panel (like cPanel).

2. Go to File Manager.

3. Open the folder called public_html (this is your main website folder).

4. Click Upload, and upload the WordPress zip file you downloaded.

5. After upload, extract (unzip) the file.

6. Now you will see a folder named wordpress. Open it, select all files, and move them to public_html.

7. After moving, you can delete the wordpress folder and the zip file to keep things clean.

🛢️ Step 3: Create a MySQL Database

1. In your hosting panel (like cPanel), look for MySQL® Databases.

2. Create a new database. Give it a name (example: mydb).

3. Create a new database user and a strong password.

4. Add the user to the database and give it All Privileges.

Please write down these:

• Database Name

• Database User

• Password

• Database Host (usually it is localhost)

You will need them soon.

🧠 Step 4: Set Up WordPress

Now go to your website URL. Example:

https://yourdomain.com

You will see the WordPress installation page.

Select Your Language

• Choose your language (like English) and click Continue.

Database Setup Page

You will see a page asking for:

• Database Name → (use the one you created)

• Database Username → (use the one you created)

• Database Password → (use the one you created)

• Database Host → usually localhost

• Table Prefix → just leave it as wp_

Click Submit.

If everything is correct, you will see a message: "All right, sparky!"

Click Run the installation.

📝 Step 5: Fill in Website Details

Now you need to set your website info:

• Site Title → (example: My First Blog)

• Username → (you will use this to login)

• Password → (create a strong one)

• Email → (for recovery and alerts)

Leave the checkbox for Search Engine Visibility if you don’t want Google to find your site yet.

Click Install WordPress.

✅ Step 6: You're Done!

You will now see:

Success! WordPress has been installed.

Click the Log In button and use the username and password you just created.

🛠️ Some Extra Tips

• To go to your website, visit:
  https://yourdomain.com

• To log in to admin panel, go to:
  https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin

• From your dashboard, you can change themes, install plugins, write blog posts, and more!

Installing WordPress manually may look hard at first, but if you follow the steps one by one, it's not too difficult. Now you can build your blog, business website, or any type of site you want!

If you have any questions, reply below and I will try to help.

Thanks for reading!