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Install WordPress

Install a new WordPress site on our shared hosting with WordPress Toolkit or Installatron, then turn on HTTPS.

Updated

A new WordPress site on our shared hosting is installed from cPanel. WordPress Toolkit or Installatron creates the files, the MariaDB database, the wp-config.php file, and the admin user. Do not start by downloading a zip from wordpress.org.

This article is for Beginner and Standard shared hosting (cPanel) in Australia. Open cPanel from the portal. Do not guess a hostname.

On a VPS you install the web stack and WordPress yourself. Credentials and the console are on that server in the portal. See the VPS section below.

On a dedicated server, open a support ticket and we will walk you through access.

Moving a site that already exists? Do not run a fresh install into the live folder. Follow Back Up and Migrate a WordPress Site. For DNS and the hosts-file test, see Migrate your website to us with minimal downtime.

Need the hosting account first? Browse shared hosting, then Getting started after you order hosting. Need a domain? Search and register at /domains.

A step is unclear? Open a support ticket and we will help.

Open cPanel

  1. Sign in at the portal.
  2. Open the hosting service for the site.
  3. Click Log in to cPanel.

You do not need a server hostname to get in.

Before you install

A domain on this account. The main domain is already there. For a second website, add an addon domain. For blog.yourdomain.com, create a subdomain first, then choose that name in the installer.

DNS pointing here if you want the public name and HTTPS to work straight away. AtlasDNS is the default. Our nameservers are:

ns1.atlasdns.net.au
ns2.atlasdns.net.au
ns3.atlasdns.net.au

If you registered the domain with us, it is already on AtlasDNS. Open Domains → the domain → DNS in the portal when you need extra records. If the name is registered elsewhere, set those three nameservers, then see Point your domain at your hosting. cPanel Zone Editor applies only when the domain is in cPanel Hosting DNS mode.

An empty document root. The main site uses public_html. Addon domains and subdomains each have their own folder. Do not install over files you still need. A second install into the same folder overwrites wp-config.php and can empty the site.

PHP 8.x on that folder. Change it only if you have a reason. See Choose your PHP version.

Decide whether WordPress should live at the domain root (leave the directory blank) or in a subfolder such as /blog. A subfolder is a path on the same name (yourdomain.com/blog). A subdomain is a different hostname (blog.yourdomain.com). Prefer a subdomain when the blog should feel like its own site.

You do not create a database first. Toolkit and Installatron do that. Every Beginner and Standard plan includes unlimited MariaDB databases. cPanel still labels the tools MySQL.

WordPress Toolkit (preferred)

Every Beginner and Standard plan includes WordPress Toolkit.

  1. In cPanel, open WordPress Toolkit.
  2. Click Install (some themes label it Install WordPress).
  3. Choose the domain (main domain, addon, or subdomain).
  4. Leave the path empty to install at the domain root. Enter a folder name such as blog only if you want yourdomain.com/blog.
  5. Set the site title. You can change it later in WordPress.
  6. Create an administrator username that is not admin. Use a long, unique password and store it in a password manager. See Create strong passwords and use a password manager.
  7. Enter an administrator email you can read. Password resets go there.
  8. Leave the database settings on automatic if the form shows them.
  9. Review auto-update choices if they are there. Minor WordPress updates are fine to leave on.
  10. Click Install and wait for the confirmation.

Sign in at https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin (or https://yourdomain.com/blog/wp-admin if you used a folder) with the administrator user you just created.

If Toolkit reports the directory is not empty, stop. Pick a different folder, move the old files out, or open a support ticket. Do not force a second install on top of a live site.

On shared hosting, do not download WordPress yourself unless we ask you to. If Toolkit will not install, try Installatron below, or open a support ticket.

Installatron

Installatron is also on every Beginner and Standard plan. Use it if you already work from My Applications, or if Toolkit is not the right fit for this install.

  1. In cPanel, open Installatron.
  2. Open Applications Browser and choose WordPress.
  3. Click Install this application.
  4. Choose the domain and the directory the same way as Toolkit (blank directory = domain root).
  5. Set the administrator username, password, and email. Do not use admin as the username.
  6. Leave the database on automatic.
  7. Click Install.

After it finishes, the install appears under My Applications. Sign in at /wp-admin with the administrator user you set.

Do not run Toolkit and Installatron against the same folder. Pick one tool for a given site.

After the installer finishes

HTTPS. Shared hosting includes AutoSSL (Let's Encrypt). The name must already resolve to this account.

  1. In cPanel, open SSL/TLS Status.
  2. Find the domain and www.
  3. Run AutoSSL if a certificate is not there yet, then wait for a valid cert on that row.
  4. Turn on Force HTTPS Redirect for that name if the control is there.
  5. In WordPress, go to Settings → General and set WordPress Address and Site Address to the https:// URLs. Save.

Background: Understanding SSL/TLS and HTTPS. If SSL/TLS Status still shows no certificate after DNS has updated, open a support ticket.

Copies we already keep. Every Beginner and Standard plan includes Acronis hourly backups. They live on a separate server and do not use your disk quota. You do not turn them on. For a copy on your computer, or to move the site later, see Back Up and Migrate a WordPress Site.

Toolkit and Installatron archives that stay on the account do count toward disk. Download them, then delete the leftover file. See Check Disk Usage.

The site itself.

Files already on the account

If WordPress files are already in the document root (you uploaded them, or a migrate copied them), do not run a new install into that folder.

  1. In WordPress Toolkit, use Scan (some themes label it Scan for WordPress).
  2. Attach the existing install if Toolkit finds it.

Installatron can list an existing site under My Applications after an import, when that control is there. If neither tool lists the site, leave the files and open a support ticket, or follow the migrate article instead of installing again.

Manual install on a VPS

Shared hosting should use Toolkit or Installatron. On a VPS those tools are not there: there is no cPanel on the VPS. You install the stack, then WordPress.

  1. Sign in at the portal, open the server, and use SSH or the console. Start with First steps on a new VPS.
  2. Install a web stack: LAMP or LEMP.
  3. Create a MariaDB database and user on the VPS. See Install MySQL or MariaDB and Secure It.
  4. Download WordPress from wordpress.org, extract it into the site document root, and visit the site in a browser to run the setup wizard.
  5. Use host localhost (or 127.0.0.1) for the database unless you deliberately put MariaDB somewhere else.
  6. Issue a certificate with Certbot.

If you would rather we walk through that setup, open a support ticket.

If something is not working

Do not wait on an email thread. Open a support ticket and we will help.

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