- Log into Bluehost: https://my.bluehost.com/web-hosting/cplogin
- Click on Advanced in the left column
- If you have hosting that should take you right into cPanel.
- Scroll down to the “Softaculous Apps Installer” and click on WordPress.
- Click on Install in the top right corner.
- Fill out the Software Setup section:
Protocol: Select whether you need http or https. Https is used for sites that have an SSL purchased. If you’re not sure if you have an SSL you can contact BlueHost to find out or just select http (this can always be changed later if you get an SSL later or you find out you have one).
Choose Domain: Select the domain name you want the WordPress installed on. If you don’t see the domain you want listed here then it’s not set up on your hosting yet. BlueHost has a help article explaining how to add another domain if you need to do that.
In directory: Enter a folder name if you want your WordPress site to show up on a specific link on your domain (for example mysite.com/wordpress). Typically people don’t want to have a /something for their WordPress site. Just leave this box blank if you want the WordPress site on mysite.com. - Fill out the Site Settings section:
Site Name: Your site or business name. This can easily be changed later.
Site Description: A short once sentence description about your site. This can easily be changed later.
Enable Multisite (WPMU): This is for advanced WordPress usage and most small businesses won’t need this, leave it unchecked. Chances are if you need it, you will know you need it and know what it is. If you’re still curious what it is, BlueHost has a post about it. - Fill out the Admin Account section:
This is the username and password you’ll use to log into WordPress so make sure it’s something you can remember but is also secure. For the username, you’ll want to make sure you don’t use ‘admin’ since that’s a very common username and hackers often try that first.
- Select your language.
- Select plugins.
Leave these unchecked. You can always install these later.
- Skip the ‘Advanced Options’ section.
All of the default selections here are ok but you may customize, if you’d like.
Database Name: This is for the back end of the server, the name of the database where all of your WordPress data is stored. You don’t typically need to use or reference this later unless you intend to have a lot of WordPress sites installed on your hosting account.
Table Prefix: Similar to Database Name, this is used as the name of the table inside the database where your content is stored. This is typically not needed again unless you plan on having multiple WordPress sites installed on this hosting account.
Disable Update Notifications Emails: Bluehost will notify you when updates are available. Check this if you do not wish to receive these emails.
Auto Upgrade Options: I typically recommend people update manually in WordPress instead of automatically updating. Sometimes an automatic update can cause the website to break and it’s best to manually update so you can see if anything happens to the website after updating. - Select a theme (this is optional).
Look through the themes and see if you like any of them, if you do click ‘select.’ If you don’t see any you like, that’s ok you can always install a new plugin later. - Click Install
- Once it completes install you will be able to go to your WordPress admin and get started.
You can access it at mysite.com/wp-admin and then log in with your username and password.
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