How to install a blog?

[funkypilchard]

Hello I thought it best to post here due to my severe lack of programming skills.

Hopefully this will be really useful to other beginners too.

I wish to install Wordpress blog. I have some basic questions if anyone has the time to help.

1. should my blog look like this once it is installed www. mywebsite.com/blog

2. where it says "fill in your database connection details." in the blog readme, I have the following code:

<?php
// ** MySQL settings ** //
define('DB_NAME', 'wordpress'); // The name of the database
define('DB_USER', 'username'); // Your MySQL username
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password'); // ...and password
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost'); // 99% chance you won't need to change this value

// You can have multiple installations in one database if you give each a unique prefix
$table_prefix = 'wp_'; // Only numbers, letters, and underscores please!

// Change this to localize WordPress. A corresponding MO file for the
// chosen language must be installed to wp-includes/languages.
// For example, install de.mo to wp-includes/languages and set WPLANG to 'de'
// to enable German language support.
define ('WPLANG', '');

/* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */

define('ABSPATH', dirname(__FILE__).'/');
require_once(ABSPATH.'wp-settings.php');
?>

What would my database connection details be and where would I place them in the above code? do I need to create a mysql database from my control panel first?

3. It then tells me to "upload everything" should I create a new directory on my webspace like /new (blog) folder/ and just drag all of the contents out of the unzipped wordpress folder into the folder on my webspace called /blog/ via ftp.

Thanks in advance. (sorry for being so basic)

 

[dhscott]

Installing Wordpress

If you have a host which uses cPanel, you can use Fantastico to install Wordpress quickly and easily.

If you don't have cPanel with Fantastico, follow this guide: Installing Wordpress

 

[Nonactiveuser8999]

If you can't install using the Codex Tutorial I will be happy to install it for you

 

[funkypilchard]

hey thanks guys.. I do have cpanel, I will have a look at fantistico and if I get stuck I may come back to you

 

[funkypilchard]

ok I looked at Fantastico and although very comprehensive it is also quite costly so I will try myself first using codex, one question I am using ZipDeploy to upload the files to my web space.

My computer runs windows xp but the cpanel on the web space is linux, should I download the windows version or linux version? thanks

 

[Bagi Zoltán]

All you need in order to succesfully install a word press is 4 data:
database name, database username, db password and the database host. In general the hosting providers send this information when they set up the user's account. If you don't have the you should request again. I don't really know cp but it's possible that you will find those info there as well. If you have them you should open the wp-config-sample.php file for editing. Set the data

('DB_NAME', 'yourdatabasenamecomeshere'); // The name of the database
define('DB_USER', 'yourdatabaseusernamecomeshere'); // Your MySQL username
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'yourdatabasepasswordcomeshere'); // ...and password
define('DB_HOST', 'yourdatabasehostcomeshere') /it's usually localhost.

As the next step you should save this file as wp-config.php. After finishing with it copy the content of the packaging directory via ftp to your server. Copy only the contant without the directory.

The last step will be installing by running the yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install.php file in your browser. Follow the steps and you will be happy

 

[funkypilchard]

thanks both, this place is extremely useful

 

[funkypilchard]

All you need in order to succesfully install a word press is 4 data:
database name, database username, db password and the database host. In general the hosting providers send this information when they set up the user's account. If you don't have the you should request again. I don't really know cp but it's possible that you will find those info there as well. If you have them you should open the wp-config-sample.php file for editing. Set the data

('DB_NAME', 'yourdatabasenamecomeshere'); // The name of the database
define('DB_USER', 'yourdatabaseusernamecomeshere'); // Your MySQL username
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'yourdatabasepasswordcomeshere'); // ...and password
define('DB_HOST', 'yourdatabasehostcomeshere') /it's usually localhost.

As the next step you should save this file as wp-config.php. After finishing with it copy the content of the packaging directory via ftp to your server. Copy only the contant without the directory.

The last step will be installing by running the yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install.php file in your browser. Follow the steps and you will be happy

ok.. so, I already have one database with my website which is to do with it being e-commerce, should I use these existing details or.. should I create a new database specifically for the blog and if I do should I create an Access Host: (localhost) along with password etc?

I'm not sure what an access host is actually?

thanks

 

[temi]

Nick,
Whenever you are installing and application that needs database, you MUST create a new database for that application, so you need to create a new database for Word Press and should you install another application that needs database you need to create yet another database for that application.

Thanks

 

[funkypilchard]

brilliant thanks.

 

[funkypilchard]

Ok guys..

I have upgraded to a business package to get the extra database.
I am pretty sure I have created a new database on mysql correctly.
Here is the word press file I edited and saved (my info is the *** )

<?php
// ** MySQL settings ** //
define('*****_****', 'wordpress'); // The name of the database
define('*****_****', 'username'); // Your MySQL username
define('*****_****', 'password'); // ...and password
define('*****_localhost', 'localhost'); // 99% chance you won't need to change this value

// You can have multiple installations in one database if you give each a unique prefix
$table_prefix = 'wp_'; // Only numbers, letters, and underscores please!

// Change this to localize WordPress. A corresponding MO file for the
// chosen language must be installed to wp-includes/languages.
// For example, install de.mo to wp-includes/languages and set WPLANG to 'de'
// to enable German language support.
define ('WPLANG', '');

/* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */

define('ABSPATH', dirname(__FILE__).'/');
require_once(ABSPATH.'wp-settings.php');
?>

I have created a new folder called blogs in the public.html folder (the root folder?) I used normal mode to upload.

unfortunately all I see is a new web page with no word press details, do you think it is because I should have selected binary or ascII when uploading to my web space, I uploaded EVERYTHING from within the word press folder but not the main folder itself?

thanks in advance.

 

[funkypilchard]

one other thing, I edited and saved the php file in wordpad, if that makes a difference?

 

[funkypilchard]

hey hey... don't know how but I've got to the first step :-o

 

[temi]

I think you have done more than the first step, you have actually installed the blog, well done

 

[funkypilchard]

cheers Temi and friends...

I will try and post a clear precise way to install a word press blog in my own laymans words here tomorrow, this may help others like me in the future? but tonight I need a cold beer

 

[temi]

That would actually very useful for complete newbies because most of the people who have been giving you advice makes lots of assumption about your experience, that assumption is based on their own experience which is usually considerably more than a newbies, so a step by step install guide form you will be VERY good, it will also serve as a manual for you should you need to install another copy in future

 

[funkypilchard]

Firstly you will need to gain access to your web space control panel, in my case it is a cpanel, it is straight forward to create a new database, you simply click on create new database, then create a new user and password, assign the user to the database you have just created allowing all privileges.
Cpanel should tell you what the host is, mine is localhost. (write down or save the user name and password, my database added my domain name and a _ before the user name etc).

Then you will need to download your blog files ready for editing, I used word press: WordPress › Blog Tool and Weblog Platform there are very good instructions here for installation but it doesn't tell you everything: How to install a WordPress blog in cPanel at Metafluence

You then unzip the file and open the php file that will drive the database, in word press that file is sample-wp-config.php
DO NOT open and edit in wordpad. Notepad was what I used.

For this example lets say my website is called www testwebsite.com
You need to add three things.
OK the code in sample-wp-config.php looked exactly like this after I had edited the file:

<?php
// ** MySQL settings ** //
define('DB_NAME', 'testwebsite_blog'); // The name of the database
define('DB_USER', 'testwebsite_testuser'); // Your MySQL username
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'mypasswordgoeshere'); // ...and password
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost'); // 99% chance you won't need to change this value

// You can have multiple installations in one database if you give each a unique prefix
$table_prefix = 'wp_'; // Only numbers, letters, and underscores please!

// Change this to localize WordPress. A corresponding MO file for the
// chosen language must be installed to wp-includes/languages.
// For example, install de.mo to wp-includes/languages and set WPLANG to 'de'
// to enable German language support.
define ('WPLANG', '');

/* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */

define('ABSPATH', dirname(__FILE__).'/');
require_once(ABSPATH.'wp-settings.php');

 

[funkypilchard]

OK, then you need to save this php file over the existing sample-wp-config.php in the folder you opened it in originally, then simply rename the file wp-config.php (by removing the word 'sample').

Now, access your webspace via ftp, I downloaded and installed FileZilla Homepage - Index which is free.

Then find the root directory which in my case is called called public_html but it can also be called “httpdocs”, “www”, “http”, “docs”, or “public”.

Open that folder on your webspace, create a new folder called 'blogs' (or alike) and double click to open it, then open the main word press file on your p.c. (still in the ftp programme) and drag and drop all of the content files of word press (including the newly edited wp-config.php) into the newly created 'blogs' folder which now sits within public_html. My ftp decides how to upload files automatically I think, but I believe that binary should be selected for php file transfers which can be selected from the nav bar in ftp programme (Temi?).

Once this is uploaded, close the ftp and type something like... yourwebsite.com/blog or... yourwebsite.com/blog/wp-admin/install.php in your address bar (including the www. of course)

If this brings up an error page, follow the instructions there, check your user name, password etc is typed correctly with no spaces or spelling errors, a good place to go then could be post a question here or on the word press forum (you're likely to get honest help and fast response here) I worked between the two to be honest.

If it worked then you simply follow the on-screen instructions, my own blog needs some attention because of the way the web site was built, in this instance you could try going back to your web designer OR as suggested, you might get a response here or at least someone will maybe point you to somewhere that would be of help.

That's all folks

 

[temi]

FunkyP,
This is excellent, I will repost it at a more visible location tomorrow, thanks for taking the time to put back in the community, I have added to your reputation

 

[funkypilchard]

Thanks Temi... (and fam), to anyone reading this, the encouragement is sometimes all that you need to suss it out for your self.
If you get stressed, walk away for a few hours, forget it, look at it afresh the next day, the brain can take in a great deal of info but trying to unravel that info and put it in some kind of coherent formula in one GIANT leap is often too much.

I sometimes think of myself as a complete novice with web related matters, but really.. it's like anything, once you jump onto that first stepping stone, basically, it gives you the confidence to try the next one, and the next one and so on