FTP client, MySQL database, web hosting – if you are dealing with the topic of WordPress installation for the first time, all this might sound like the purest foreign language right now. Don’t worry: Here we explain step by step what is meant by these terms and how you can install WordPress. On top of that, there are tips on how to move your WordPress website and when that is (not) recommended!

BEFORE WORDPRESS INSTALLATION: THE BASICS.

Before we start with the actual tutorial, briefly on the main components you need to install WordPress manually:

your own domain and web hosting
an FTP access
a database (MySQL)
the WordPress download

You need the domain and the hosting package so that you have a storage space for all your site content, and via the download link you can download the WordPress files directly in German. So far quite logical and simple, but what about FTP and MySQL?

FTP CLIENT: SET UP FILEZILLA FOR WORDPRESS

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol; so it is a protocol for transferring data. The FTP client makes it possible to copy the WordPress files and folders that you save on your computer during download to the server.

In other words, thanks to the FTP client, you can transfer locally stored elements to the online storage. This storage is the web space provided by your hosting provider.

Which FTP client you use is entirely up to you. The only important thing is that you have such a program ready before you start installing WordPress. Very popular is the free program FileZilla (Windows, Mac, Linux). Alternatively, there are, for example, Cyberduck, FTP Voyager or CoffeeCup. Other options are listed by Netzwelt and Lifewire.

Whichever FTP program you choose, the bottom line is that you will always need FTP credentials for WordPress installation. You can find these in the customer menu or control panel of your web hosting package. With Hoststar, for example, you can get to the FTP management area via the My Panel and the “Hosting” tab.

MYSQL: THE DATABASE FOR WORDPRESS

As the name suggests, the MySQL database is where all WordPress files and file folders are stored on the web server. During the WordPress installation you need to specify the following things regarding the database:

the database name
the host of the database
the username
the password
the table prefix
You can usually set these credentials via the menu of your hosting provider or they can be found in the “Databases” section. In case of Hoststar it is the same path as already described above (My Panel / “Hosting” / “FTP”). If you are just creating the database, it is best to open the text editor and copy these details into it. This way you can easily take them over during the WordPress installation.

That’s it – in principle, you don’t need more technical language for the new installation of WordPress. Let’s get started!

INSTALL WORDPRESS OFFLINE AND MANUALLY IN 7 STEPS: THIS IS HOW IT WORKS

First of all: When we talk about “offline” here, we don’t mean that you don’t need Internet access for this installation. Of course, this is still necessary, after all, you need to be able to access your domain.

Rather, we assume here that it is not about the 1-click installation. The advantage of installing WordPress manually instead? You automatically become familiar with the processes “behind the scenes” and can better understand how the software actually works.

So how does the installation work? Basically, here’s what happens:

1 WordPress download
2 Upload of the files via FTP client
3 Entering the access data for the database
4 Set the website information
5 Confirm
That doesn’t sound so complicated anymore, does it? It’s not!

STEP 1: DOWNLOAD WORDPRESS

Click on “Get WordPress” on the de.wordpress.org page. (On the English site, “Get WordPress.”) Now you can download the latest WordPress version, packaged in a .zip file. Save this file in a place you can easily remember, for simplicity’s sake, for example, on your desktop.

After downloading, you need to unzip the .zip file. This can be done by double-clicking on the file or via right-click. Afterwards you should see three subfolders:

wp-admin
wp-content
wp-includes

STEP 2: SET UP FTP-CLIENT

Open your FTP client (we will start from FileZilla). Under “Server” you can enter the host or the server where your web hosting is located in the upper left corner. Also, type in the username and FTP access password. Now select “Connect” and then “Ok”.

You are now connected to the web space and you will see two columns:

Left column: This shows the files on the local storage, that is, those that are on your computer.
Right column: Here you can see the files on the server. In this column, after the next step, you should find the WordPress data that you just downloaded.

STEP 3: UPLOAD WORDPRESS FOLDER

In the first step you have unzipped the WordPress folder. Now select all files/subfolders in this folder and choose the option “Upload” after a right click. Very important: Do not simply copy the entire WordPress folder, but really the individual files!

Now all marked files will be transferred to the server, into the so called root directory or main directory. Since it is quite a lot of data, it is quite normal that this upload takes a few minutes (depending on your internet speed).

Attention: Before the upload it is very important that you choose the right directory. Pay explicit attention to this point, because only then the data will be located in the directory that is assigned to the respective domain.

STEP 4: CALL WORDPRESS PAGE

Enter the URL or domain of your page into the browser and confirm. Now the message should appear that the page is not available. Append the following addition to the URL: /wp-admin. This then looks like this: beispielblog.ch/wp-admin. By confirming the entry, you will get to the configuration level.

STEP 5: ENTER THE DATABASE DETAILS

Now you need the MySQL database credentials that we mentioned above. If you have cached them in the text editor, you can simply copy the details from there and paste them into the relevant fields.

We also recommend that you change the table prefix. By default, this line contains wp_. Insert some arbitrary characters after the underscore and finish with another underscore. This may look like this: wp_psoijq_.

This step is not a must, but it will make your life easier later, should you want to manage multiple installations in the same database.

If you have now entered all these details, confirm them with “Send”. The message appears, WordPress can now communicate with the database – everything done correctly! Now all that’s left is to click on “Perform installation”.

STEP 6: ENTER WEBSITE INFORMATION

You are now almost done with the installation, only the WordPress site information is missing. WordPress will now ask for these details:

Website title
Username
Password
Email address
Setting for search engine optimization
Our tip: Feel free to stick with the auto-generated password WordPress suggests. It’s a very secure combination – usually more secure than anything you might come up with on your own.

As for the checkmark on the SEO setting: this determines whether Google indexes your new WordPress website or not. For now, uncheck it if the site is still in the development phase and check it again later when everything is set up as desired.

STEP 7: CONFIRM AND COMPLETE INSTALLATION

You can now save your entries by clicking on “Install WordPress”. That’s it – the installation is finished. If you then go to your domain, you can log in with the username and password (you set this data in the previous step).

After login you will see the backend, where you can manage the content of your WordPress site. You can get there by adding wp-admin to your domain, like this: exampledomain.ch/wp-admin.