Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Download and Install WordPress: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you're looking to start a website or blog, chances are you've heard of WordPress. WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) on the internet, powering over 30% of all websites. In this article, we'll guide you through the process of downloading and installing WordPress on your own computer or web server.

Step 1: Download WordPress

The first step is to download the latest version of WordPress from the official website at https://wordpress.org/download/. WordPress is open source, which means it's free for anyone to use and modify. Click on the Download button and save the ZIP file to your computer.

Step 2: Extract the ZIP File

Once the download is complete, locate the ZIP file on your computer and extract its contents to a new folder. You can use any file archiving software such as WinZip or 7-Zip to extract the ZIP file. After extraction, you should see a folder named "wordpress" with all the WordPress files inside it.

Step 3: Create a Database

WordPress requires a database to store all its content, settings, and user information. You can use a tool like phpMyAdmin to create a new database on your server. If you're installing WordPress on localhost (your computer), you can create a database using the MySQL command line or GUI client.

Step 4: Edit the Configuration File

Before we can install WordPress, we need to edit the configuration file to connect to the database. Rename the file "wp-config-sample.php" to "wp-config.php" and open it in a text editor like Notepad. Fill in the database details such as database name, database username, and database password as instructed in the file.

Step 5: Upload WordPress Files

If you're installing WordPress on a remote web server, you need to upload the WordPress files to the server using FTP or cPanel File Manager. Create a new folder in the root directory of your website and upload the entire contents of the "wordpress" folder to it.

Step 6: Run the Installation Script

Once the files are uploaded, go to your website's URL in a web browser. You should see the WordPress installation wizard. Fill in the site title, administrator username, and password, and click on Install WordPress. WordPress will now create tables in your database and finish the installation.

Conclusion

That's it! You have now successfully downloaded and installed WordPress on your web server or local machine. You can log in to the WordPress dashboard using the administrator credentials you created during the installation process. From here, you can start customizing your website's appearance, adding content, installing plugins, and much more. Happy Blogging!