We often hear people say that it is difficult to install
WordPress
.
In this article, we will explain how to easily install WordPress. We will also introduce settings that should be done after installation, so please read until the end.
What is WordPress?
First, let’s explain about WordPress. WordPress is
a CMS (content management system)
that anyone can use for free. CMS is a system that centrally manages website content and information. WordPress currently accounts for 42% of the world’s websites, and can be said to be the most popular CMS with the most installed results.
WordPress has the following four features.
The most appealing thing about WordPress is that it is available for free. First of all, WordPress is open source and license-free.
Open source
is source code that anyone can use, modify, and distribute for any purpose. You could say that source code is like a blueprint for a program. Because it’s open source, WordPress is free to use.
However, one thing to keep in mind is that when using WordPress, you must prepare a server and domain. The market price for rental server fees and domain acquisition is approximately 10,000 yen to 20,000 yen per year.
Additionally, WordPress has over thousands of themes that determine the design of the entire site and plug-ins that extend functionality, allowing you to create your own original website. This level of customization is one of the reasons WordPress is so popular around the world.
・For beginners who want to use WordPress! We will explain how to get started and how to use it!
How to easily install WordPress
Up to this point, we have provided an overview of WordPress. From here, we will introduce an easy way to install WordPress.
Sign up for an X server
In order to easily install WordPress, we will use “WordPress Easy Installation” from a rental server called
Xserver
.
First, register for an account and apply for the service from the Xserver website. Please fill in the required information in “New Application” and complete the registration. Once completed, a server account setup completion email will be sent within up to 24 hours.
Login to X server
Next, access the Xserver site and open the login screen. Please check the account information listed in the server account setup completion email, enter your email address and password, and log in.
Configure MySQL (database)
Before installation, you need to create a database to use with WordPress. MySQL means database.
After logging in to the X server, click “Add MySQL” in the server panel of the X server and create a database name to use. The database name will automatically be “your server ID_database name”, so please set the character code to “UTF-8”.
After that, click “Add MySQL User” and set the user ID and password. The user name here will also be “your server ID_database name”. After entering your user ID and password, click the “Proceed to confirmation screen” button and select the “Add” button.
Finally, click “MySQL List”, select “MySQL User” under “Users without Access Rights”, and click “Add” to complete MySQL settings.
Click WordPress Easy Install
Next, click “WordPress Easy Install” in the server panel of the X server.
Configure various settings during installation
Here you will configure various settings when installing WordPress. First, enter your site URL, blog name, username, password, and email address. Then, select “Turn on” for “Automatic cache deletion”.
For the last “Database”, we will use the MySQL (database) we created earlier, so click on “Use an already created database”, select the appropriate database name and database user name, and enter the database password. please.
Click install
When you have finished entering and selecting various settings, click “Proceed to confirmation screen.” Check and if there are no problems, click “Install WordPress”.
Finally, check if the installation is complete.
As a final check, check if WordPress is installed properly. After installation is complete, click the displayed link to go to the WordPress login screen. After logging in, click on the blog title on the management screen, and if the URL is displayed, the installation is complete.
7 settings to perform after installing WordPress
Although the WordPress installation has been completed, many people may not know what to do because there are so many menus on the management screen after logging in.
From here, we will introduce seven settings that you should do after installing WordPress. After completing this setting, use WordPress.
Change login information
As the number of users of WordPress increases, unauthorized access is increasing. To prevent unauthorized login, be sure to change the login information you registered during installation. Login information refers to your user ID and login password. Changing your user ID takes some time, so just change your login password.
First, log in to WordPress. Select “Users” on the admin screen and click “Your Profile.” Then, click “Generate Password” under “Account Management” to automatically create a strong password that is difficult to log in to. Make a note of your newly created password so you don’t forget it, then click Update Profile.
This completes the password change.
Introducing the theme
Next, let’s install a WordPress theme. WordPress has a wide range of templates and themes that allow you to design your entire site. There are over thousands of WordPress themes, both free and paid.
We will explain the steps to install a WordPress theme. First, click “Appearance” in the menu on the WordPress admin screen and display “Themes”. Click Add New and you’ll see a list of themes to choose from.
After that, select a design theme according to your company’s (your) budget, concept, and preferences, and click “Install”. When the message “Installed” appears, click “Activate” in the bottom left corner.
This completes the introduction of the theme.
Installing and configuring plugins
Next, install and configure the plugin.
Plugins
are tools that extend the functionality of WordPress.
This section explains the steps for installing and configuring the plugin. First, click “Add new” under “Plugins” on the admin screen. Then, a plug-in search screen will appear. Enter the plug-in name or keyword you want to add in the keyword input field and click “Search for plug-ins.”
After clicking, the relevant plug-ins will be displayed. Select the plug-in you want from among them and click “Install now” to install it.
When the installation is complete, the “Install now” button will display “Activate”, so click the “Activate” button and confirm that the message “Plug-in has been activated” is displayed. Please.
This completes the installation and configuration of the plugin.
SSL conversion
Next, let’s make the WordPress site you created SSL. Simply put, SSL refers to making site communications highly secure. Google also recommends SSL, so be sure to do it as an SEO measure.
When you install with X server, SSL settings are added as standard, so you don’t need to do anything for SSL, but I will explain it just in case.
Click “SSL Settings” from the server panel of X Server and select the domain you want to configure with SSL. Click “Add original SSL settings”, check whether the domain to be set is correct, and select “Add” on the confirmation screen.
This completes the SSL setup.
Permalink settings
Next, let’s set up permalinks.
A permalink
is a URL set for each page of a website. If you do not set permalinks first, problems may occur, so be sure to set permalinks at the first stage.
Here, set the permalink using the post name (post name). Select “Settings” on the WordPress admin screen and click the “Permalink Settings” button. Then, check “Post Name” from the displayed items and click “Save Changes.”
At this stage, the Japanese article title is still the URL. If you leave it in Japanese, it will be converted into a meaningless URL that looks like garbled characters, so when posting an article, click on the “permalink” displayed on the right side and change the notation to English. Please don’t forget.
Deciding on the site concept
Next, decide on the site concept. Determining the site concept can be translated into deciding what the site will convey. If you haven’t decided on a site concept, you won’t be able to properly decide how to write article content or select your target audience.
The most important part of the site concept is deciding on the domain name. A domain name is an address on the Internet. The domain name is probably the element that most reflects the concept of your site.
Choose a domain name that is easy to understand and remember for the target audience derived from your site concept. For example, business names and service names are commonly used domain names. Once you have decided on a domain name that matches your site concept, please acquire the domain of your choice.
With this, the site concept has been decided.
Deletion of meta information/sample pages
Finally, let’s delete the meta information and sample pages. Meta information is entered in the initial settings, but there is a risk that a third party may be able to find out your login URL. It is desirable to delete meta information to eliminate security concerns.
We will explain the steps to delete meta information. Click “Widgets” under “Appearance” in the menu of the management screen. The widgets in use will be displayed on the right side of the screen, so select “Meta Information”.
Next is the procedure to delete the sample page that is posted by default during installation. There is no need for the sample page to exist, so delete it. Click “Post List” in the “Post” menu on the management screen. Then select the title “Hello world!” and click “Trash”.
This completes the deletion of meta information and sample pages.
Summary: Install WordPress easily
We explained how to easily install WordPress and the settings that should be done after installation. WordPress is a CMS widely used around the world, and is perfect for content marketing and creating corporate websites.
First of all, why not follow the steps in this article to install WordPress and actually start using it?