Install WordPress the Right Way

One-click install

  • 1 In cPanel open the WordPress installer under Software.
  • 2 Select the domain, leave the directory field empty so the site lives at the root, and enable HTTPS.
  • 3 Choose an admin username that is not 'admin' and a generated password.
  • 4 Set the site title and admin email, then install.
  • 5 Log in at yourdomain.com/wp-admin and delete sample content and unused themes.

Manual install when you need control

cd ~/public_html
curl -O https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
tar -xzf latest.tar.gz --strip-components=1 wordpress
rm latest.tar.gz
cp wp-config-sample.php wp-config.php
# then edit DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD and paste fresh salts

Generate unique authentication salts from the official WordPress secret-key service and paste them into wp-config.php before your first login.

Settings to change before you publish

  • Permalinks — set to Post name for clean, readable URLs.
  • Discussion — disable comments if you do not moderate them, and require approval if you do.
  • Media — set sensible image sizes and enable WebP conversion at upload.
  • Reading — confirm search-engine visibility is enabled once the site is ready, and disabled while building.
  • Users — one administrator, editors for content staff, no shared logins.
  • Time zone and site language — get these right early, because scheduled posts depend on them.

A lean starting plugin set

  • A caching plugin — LiteSpeed Cache on our servers, because it uses the server-level cache rather than PHP.
  • An SEO plugin for titles, meta descriptions, schema and sitemaps.
  • A security plugin or, better, server-level protection plus login hardening.
  • A backup plugin as a second layer to server backups.
  • A form plugin configured to send through authenticated SMTP.

Every plugin is code you inherit. Twelve well-chosen plugins are fine; forty overlapping ones are the most common cause of a slow, fragile WordPress site.

Frequently asked questions

Should I install WordPress in a subfolder?

Only if the root is used by something else. Root installs are simpler for SEO, migrations and SSL.

Which PHP version should I use?

The newest version your theme and plugins officially support. Newer PHP is significantly faster and receives security fixes.

Need a hand applying this?

Our engineers can do it for you. Open a ticket and we will help.

See plansTalk to us