How to install WordPress
on your DreamHost web hosting account

Need to know how to install WordPress on a non-DreamHost hosting account? See our tutorial on installing WordPress on any host that uses cPanel.

You’ve purchased a Dreamhost web hosting account, and now you’re ready to get WordPress installed so you can get to work! Here’s how to make it happen.

First, log in to your DreamHost account, and follow the directions below.

Make sure your domain name is set up

Before installingWordPress, first make sure your domain appears in Domains:

If your domain shows up in this list, skip ahead to Let’s Proceed with WordPress Installation.

If you don’t see your domain there, here’s how to add it.

On the “Manage Domains” screen, click “Add New Domain/Sub-Domain.”

You’ll be taken to the “Add Domain” screen, which looks like this:

Fill in the first section of the Add Domain screen as follows:

1. Type your domain name including the .com (or .org or other suffix), but without the http:// or the www.
2. We recommend choosing “Remove WWW” from the three “Do you want the www in your URL?” options. It makes your domain name easier to type AND say, and if anyone does happen to type the www before the domain name, they will still be taken to your site.
3. Your default FTP user should be listed in the drop-down; leave this as-is.
4. Web directory will get automatically filled with the domain name you typed — leave this as is.
5. Leave Web Options as-is — the defaults are fine here.
6. Leave Google Hosted Services as-is for now. We recommend using gmail for your domain if you’re going to have email addresses @yourdomain.com (it’s more powerful and more flexible than the DreamHost-hosted email servers), but setting that up is beyond the scope of this tutorial. You can always go in and set that up later.
7. Click the blue “Fully host this domain” button.
8. You should see a green success message:

Please note: Adding a domain to your DreamHost hosting account does not register that domain name. If you already have a domain name registered elsewhere, follow this tutorial to point it to your DreamHost account. If you don’t have the domain name registered, DreamHost will point out this fact in the green success message, and give you the option to register the domain name within your DreamHost account.

Let’s proceed with WordPress installation

Click on “One-Click Installs” in the left navigation menu:

On the One-Click Installs page, scroll down until you see WordPress, and click it:

A pop-up window will open, containing a brief description of the software and a big blue button labeled “Custom Installation”:

Go ahead and click the big blue button, which will expand the bottom of the pop-up window to include a few installation options:

1. Choose the domain where you want to install WordPress from the drop-down list (if you only have one domain hosted on your DreamHost account, this step will be super-easy because that domain will already be showing by default). If this is the first time you’ve ever done anything with this domain, don’t worry about the “Please be sure there are no files there now” warning, because there won’t be.
2. Leave the white field to the right of the domain name blank.
3. Select Database should be set to “Automatically Create Database”, so leave that as-is.
4. We recommend UNchecking “Deluxe Install,” because the main benefit of DreamHost’s deluxe install is that a selection of more than 100 (!) free WordPress themes are included, and you don’t need any of those, because you’ve made the smart choice to use the Genesis Framework and the Prose child theme, which you’ll upload yourself after installing WordPress.
5. Click the “Install it for me now!” blue button.
6. (Have you been counting clicks? Because we’re up to at least four by now, despite the fact that this process is labeled a one-click installation. We hope your trigger finger isn’t too tired!)
7. You should now see a green “Success!” message at the top of the screen:

If the installation goes smoothly, just as the Happy DreamHost 1-Click Robot promises, you’ll get an email from the “DreamHost Installer Robot” with the subject line containing the words “Success installing WordPress on your site!”

That email contains a link to click, that will look something like this:

http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install.php

You must click on it to go to the last step in your installation. You’ll see the WordPress install screen:

Fill it out like this:

1. Site Title will appear by default in the header area (you can always change this easily in WordPress)
2. Please please please change the username to anything but admin. This is harder to change later, though it can be done, so we really recommend changing it now.
3. Choose a strong password. The username and password combination is your first line of defense against Internet Bad Guys, so both parts need to be strong.
4. Enter your email address so WordPress can send you a confirmation email containing your username and password.
5. If you’re just starting your first site, we recommend UNchecking the “Allow my site to appear in search engines…” checkbox. You can easily let search engines back in once your site is ready for prime time.
6. Click “Install WordPress.”
7. You should see a success message:

Now you can login to your dashboard by clicking the Log In button, and get started installing Genesis, Prose, and the plugins of your choice, and using the Prose design controls to create your 100% unique website.

Have fun!

Wendy Cholbi and Pamela Wilson

Need to know how to install WordPress on a non-DreamHost hosting account? See our tutorial on installing WordPress on any host that uses cPanel.

P.S.

If you made it here from Twitter, Facebook, or a link from a friend, why not go ahead and pick up the complete series of tips? This is lesson #9 in a free 9-step course on setting up your first website the easy and smart way. Click here to get the free course.