In this guide, you will learn how to install WordPress on SiteGround Hosting.
If you haven’t created an account with them, check out my other post: SiteGround WordPress Hosting Coupon Code. The guide will help you save up to 60% of your purchase when you sign up!
Most of the WordPress installation guides for SiteGround out there are outdated as they still use the old CPanel interface in their description.
Since July 2019, WordPress hosting clients have been using the new Client Area and Site Tools interface so this 2021 guide will reflect that.
The new interface makes site management easier and more efficient. It’s a huge difference in terms of usability and functionality compare to the old interface.
There are two ways to install a WordPress blog on SiteGround.
- Using the Website Setup Wizard – this is the easiest ways to install WordPress on SiteGround hosting.
- Installing WordPress manually
How to Install WordPress on SiteGround Hosting
Using the Website Setup Wizard
Installing WordPress is very easy with SiteGround. After you sign up for a WordPress hosting package:
- Simply login to you Client Area
- During your first login, you will see a notice saying you can either set up a new website or migrate it on your account. Click on the Set Up Site button.
- Next, you will see two options where you can choose to Start a New Website or Migrate an Existing one. Click on Select under Start New Website.
- Once selected, several new options will appear. Select WordPress and enter your preferred login details for your new WordPress site. Then click on Continue.
- Next, you can add extras to enhance your website. Currently, this includes just one addon which is the SG SiteScanner for security. You can skip this unless you need it. Then click Finish.
- That’s it! You can now visit your blog, access the WordPress admin area or go to Site Tools to manage your site. If your domain is not hosted by SiteGround, you will see the new DNS that you can use to point your domain to the new host server.
And that’s how to install WordPress on SiteGround hosting!
Installing WordPress Manually on SiteGround
If you are comfortable with manually installing WordPress, you can follow the following steps. You’ll need the ability to upload files to your site via FTP. I explain this in step 2 below.
You should use the first method if you can as uploading the files to your server can take a while if you have a slow Internet connection.
There are four steps to install WordPress:
- Download the WordPress installation package
- Upload the WordPress files to your Server
- Create a MySQL database for WordPress to use
- Begin installing WordPress
1. Download the WordPress Installation Package
To begin, download WordPress from the official download page.
Once downloaded, locate the installation package in your hard disk and extract the file to a new folder.
2. Upload the WordPress Files to Your Server
Once the files and folders are extracted, you need to upload them to your web server.
You need an FTP client to make an FTP connection to upload the extracted files to your server. For that, you need to have an FTP account for the website you are going to transfer the file to. Click here to learn how to create FTP accounts on SiteGround.
To make your WordPress homepage accessible via your main domain, i.e. www.yourdomain.com, you need to upload the extracted files to your public_html folder.
I wouldn’t recommend using SiteGround’s web-based File manager tool for the upload because this can be slow and you will have to upload each folder and each file separately.
If you want to run only part of your website on WordPress, you can create a subfolder, i.e. public_html/blog
3. Create a MySQL database for WordPress to use
Next, create a MySQL database and a MySQL user. Assign full permissions for that user.
Here’s a tutorial from SiteGround that shows How to Create MySQL Username and Database. Note that SiteGround MySQL Manager generates the database name, username and password automatically.
Once you create your MySQL Database, username and password, be sure to copy these for later. You will need them to continue with the installation process.
4. Begin Installing WordPress
Now it’s time to begin the WordPress installation process assuming the FTP transfer has completed. If you have uploaded WordPress in your public_html directory, you should visit http://yourdomain.com/ in your web browser.
You should see the WordPress install wizard. The first setup page will prompt you to select your preferred language. Select your desired language and click the Continue button.
On the next page, you will see a message asking you to get ready with the details of your database name, user and password. Click Let’s go! to continue.
Then, enter the details for your newly created MySQL database name, username and password. You can leave the Database Host and Table Prefix as they are.
WordPress will check to see if your settings are correct. If all goes well, you should be able to run the WordPress install:
Next, enter your WordPress site title and the other necessary info to create your WordPress admin account. Be sure to use a strong password to improve the security of your account.
Enter a real email which can be used later to recover your password in case you forget it. Leave the “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” UNCHECKED because you want search engine visibility.
Finally, click Install WordPress.
That’s it! You have successfully installed WordPress on SiteGround hosting manually. You can now log in with your account details to access the WordPress dashboard and start posting in your new site.
