Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up a WordPress Blog with cPanel.
We can setup your WordPress blog in a jiffy. Meanwhile, this guide can equally put you through it whether you're our customer or not.home » website design company » website design » wordpress blog
Long before the term "blog" was invented, people have been creating their own writing styles on various internet sites.
In the '90s, people were writing online journals and diaries that enabled them to express their feelings and share their opinion. Those diaries evolved and became the blog industry, which swiftly became a trend that everyone was trying to follow.
Here comes the moment to learn how you can start a WordPress blog of your own.
With so many ways to share your content, blogs have become more than just an outlet for creativity or as a personal diary. They are already a way of life.
While some people are blogging about their personal life as it happens, large corporations are investing significant amounts into their blogs.
Blogging has now developed into a career for some people and a dream job for many other individuals who now work from anywhere in the world or work on transit across the world as digital nomads.
Getting Started with WordPress.
Whether you see your blogging effort as a hobby or a source of money making online, first of all you need to establish it. Oh yes, you can even create your blog site from the comfort of your bedroom with a laptop.
Be aware that there are different blogging softwares that you can choose to use as your blog. In this article, our focus is going to be the most popular blog platform – WordPress.
Let us also make a clear difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org before we get into the details on how to setup the blog. This is very important to understand to avoid confusion down the road.
For beginners, WordPress.org is an open-source and it is openly available for anyone to exploit or download for free usage. Many designers, developers, and contributors that loved the open source software contributed and built the large community for discussion towards growth.
On the other hand, WordPress.com is open source, but a commercial project (service) that runs on WordPress.org system to power itself up.
Setting up a WordPress Blog through cPanel.
Even if you know nothing as a complete neophyte, we strongly advise you to get down with the self-hosted version - WordPress.org.
Of course, there will be a longer process in a quest to get it working and very likely more task to be done, but believe me, having your own blog asset that you can control is invaluable, and it certainly pays out to invest precious time into the it.
You will have control such that you'll be able to install choice themes, plugins, contents, and services that you want. You can even run ads, and make money from the blog anyhow you wish. There are literally no limit to what you can achieve with a self-hosted WordPress blog.
Prior to the installation of WordPress, you need to get a web hosting service with which you can store all your files, and ensure your content is adequately hosted on the internet.
Before you secure the hosting service, you have to register a domain name, your domain name is your internet identity. Usually, you can always get a domain name from your hosting company.
We do not recommend any hosting or domain name company in this post for a reason, most of the hosting companies offers cPanel for users to manage their account and we're going to be using cPanel.
1. Visit and log in to your cPanel dashboard.
Go to www.yourdomainname.com/cpanel, then use your cPanel username and password to log in to the cPanel dashboard. This must have been provided by your hosting company.
If you don't have it, ask for it right now.
2. Locate Softaculous on the Dashboard and Install WordPress.
If you are new and you don't know about the dashboard, scroll to the bottom of the dashboard to find "Softaculous Apps Installer", click to launch it.
You will land on the Softaculous dashboard where you will see all the Top Scripts, place your cursor on the WordPress icon and click on the install button.
Add the WordPress Details.
"Choose the version you want to install" - It is better to use the latest version, in this case 5.7.1.
"Choose an installation URL" - I prefer you use "https://www." option, this will make sure your blogs is secure.
Ensure that your domain name has been added, this is the domain name that you register for the blog.
Ignore this if you're going to be using the domain name and hosting specifically for blogging, but if you plan to run the blog along side your website, then you might need to create a directory.
If you want to install the WordPress in sub-directory, then specify a name for the directory, usually "blog". But if not, then leave the directory empty.
4. Give Your Blog a Name and Add Description.
In the Site Settings, change the "Site Name" to whatever you want to call your Blog, don't forget to also change the "Site Description" to a slogan or just keep it blank.
5. Set a Username and Password to Finalize the Installation.
Next is the Admin Account, select your "Admin Username" and "Admin Password", these are going to be your login details. Add your email address where the installation details will be sent.
Scroll down to the blue "Install" button and click on it. That's all, the WordPress has been installed.
Wait for the installation process to complete and move on.
6. Log in to your New Account.
Congratulations! You're now a proud owner of a new WordPress blog site. Login to your WordPress through this URL: www.yourdomainname.com/wp-admin to proceed with the setup.
7. Choose Your WordPress Theme.
Now you will be allowed to choose a WordPress theme (a WordPress is a UI/Design interface of a WordPress blog), there are hundreds of them available for free.
However, it is better to buy a premium theme from marketplaces like ThemeForest, Template Monster, or StudioPress.
Choose one that meets your need and represents your idea in the best way. You get to enjoy technical supports and good customer care if you buy a premium theme, but with free theme, you're on your own.
It is important to know that premium theme installation process is different, you will need to the theme as a zip file. If you need to do this and you're stuck, you can ask your vendor for guide.
8. Make Your First Post.
The next step is to make your first post, this is what you will be doing for the rest of your career as a blogger. You need to keep making blog posts so that you can generate traffic to the blog.
The video below will show you the whole process from start to finish:
Maintaining a WordPress Website.
WordPress software presented and works in two ways:
The Front-End.
As the name goes, this is the blog site interface that will be visible to your users whenever they visit your website. All the efforts carried out in the back-end like the article posts, customization of theme, and plugin demonstration are going to be visible to your visitors on the front-end. The WordPress is what the entire world will be seeing.
The front-end also accommodate users engagement like sharing on social media, commenting and subscription. All these engagements makes if interesting and interactive.
The Backend.
This is the WordPress dashboard – from this point, an Admin can oversee and administer all the activities of every part of the Blog's functionality, content, and design interface.
If you need to access the WordPress dashboard, type "www.yourdomainname.com/wp-admin" into the browser's address bar.
Then log in with your WordPress username and password you created for your account when you installed the blog.
After logging in, you will land on the Dashboard, this is what you will use to administer your Blog site.
The Dashboard as the nerve center of blog management consists of three parts, namely: the top toolbar, the left side menu, and the middle section.
On the left-hand column, you will the links to different section of the dashboard, the admin options, and where your creative effort will be targeted.
Writing You First Blog Post.
To write your first blog post, while still on the Dashboard. On the left side menu, click Posts, then select Add New.
The post editor will open, then you can write your first post.
There are a some things you must know. Watch the video below for more details on how to publish your first blog post.
Even though you have various options when commencing a WordPress blog, don't forget our advise, go for the self-hosted version - WordPress.org. For as small as $20 per year, you can have an absolute control over your Blog.
There are typically no limit when you host your own blog site, and you will not have to worry about making money from the Blog.
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