How to Install WordPress

Installing WordPress on your Ultra Web Hosting account takes about 5 minutes using our one-click installer. This guide covers both the easy way (Softaculous) and the manual method, plus essential post-install steps that most guides skip. All Ultra shared hosting plans include Softaculous and support WordPress out of the box.

01. Install with Softaculous (Recommended)

This is the method we recommend for everyone. Log into cPanel and follow these steps:

1. Open Softaculous - in cPanel, scroll to the "Software" section and click "Softaculous Apps Installer." Click the WordPress icon (or search for it)
2. Click "Install Now" - this opens the installation form
3. Choose your settings - select the domain, leave the directory field empty if you want WordPress at your root domain (e.g., yourdomain.com). Set your site name, admin username, admin password, and admin email
4. Pick a theme - Softaculous lets you pick a starter theme. The default theme is fine, you can change it later
5. Click Install - Softaculous creates the database, configures everything, and installs WordPress. You'll see a success page with your site URL and admin login URL

02. Manual Installation

If you prefer to install WordPress yourself, here's the process. You'll need cPanel access and a basic understanding of databases and FTP.

Step 1: Create a Database

In cPanel, go to MySQL Databases. Create a new database and a new user, then add the user to the database with "All Privileges." Write down the database name, username, and password. You'll need them in a moment.

Step 2: Download WordPress

Download the latest version from wordpress.org. Upload the zip file to your public_html directory using cPanel's File Manager, then extract it there.

Step 3: Configure wp-config.php

Rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and edit it. Fill in your database details:

define( 'DB_NAME', 'your_database_name' );
define( 'DB_USER', 'your_database_user' );
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'your_database_password' );
define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );

Also replace the default salt keys with fresh ones from the WordPress salt generator.

Step 4: Run the Installer

Visit yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install.php in your browser. WordPress will ask for your site title, admin username, password, and email. Fill these in and click "Install WordPress."

03. Essential Post-Install Steps

WordPress is installed, but don't stop here. These steps protect your site and improve its performance from day one.

Set Your Permalink Structure

Go to Settings > Permalinks and select "Post name." This gives you clean URLs like yourdomain.com/my-first-post instead of yourdomain.com/?p=123. This matters for SEO and is much easier for visitors to read and share.

Delete Default Content

WordPress ships with a "Hello World" post, a sample page, and a sample comment. Delete all three. They're indexed by search engines and look unprofessional.

Install a Caching Plugin

Our servers support LiteSpeed Cache, which is the fastest caching option for WordPress on our infrastructure. Install the LiteSpeed Cache plugin from the WordPress plugin directory. It works out of the box with our servers and dramatically reduces page load times. See our WordPress Performance Guide for detailed optimization settings.

Set Up Backups

Don't wait until something breaks. Set up automated backups now. Softaculous includes a built-in backup scheduler, or you can use a plugin like UpdraftPlus. See our Backup Guide for full instructions.

Secure Your Installation

At minimum: keep WordPress, themes, and plugins updated; delete unused themes and plugins; and install a security plugin like Wordfence (free version is fine). Our WordPress Security Guide covers this in detail.

04. Installing WordPress Multisite

WordPress Multisite lets you run multiple WordPress sites from a single installation. This is useful for agencies managing client sites or businesses with regional subdomains.

To enable Multisite, add this line to wp-config.php above the "That's all, stop editing" comment:

define( 'WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE', true );

Then go to Tools > Network Setup in your WordPress admin. WordPress will give you additional code to add to wp-config.php and .htaccess. Follow those instructions exactly.

05. Installing in a Subdirectory

Sometimes you want WordPress to power your site at yourdomain.com but keep the actual files in a subfolder like /wordpress/ to keep your root directory clean.

The approach: install WordPress in the subdirectory (e.g., /wordpress/), then change the Site URL in Settings > General to your root domain. Copy the index.php and .htaccess from the subdirectory to your root, and edit the copied index.php to point to the subdirectory:

require __DIR__ . '/wordpress/wp-blog-header.php';

Your visitors will see yourdomain.com in the address bar, but WordPress files live neatly in their own folder.

06. Common Installation Issues

"Error Establishing a Database Connection"

The database credentials in wp-config.php don't match what's in MySQL. Double-check the database name, username, and password. Remember that cPanel prefixes database names and users with your account username (e.g., youraccount_wpdb). Also verify DB_HOST is set to localhost.

"Sorry, This File Type Is Not Permitted"

WordPress restricts which file types you can upload by default. If you need to upload SVGs, fonts, or other restricted file types, you can add them to the allowed list with a plugin like "WP Extra File Types" or by adding a filter to your theme's functions.php.

White Screen After Installation

This usually means a PHP error that WordPress isn't displaying. Enable debug mode by adding this to wp-config.php:

define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );

Then check wp-content/debug.log for the actual error. Common causes: incompatible PHP version (we recommend PHP 8.1+), insufficient memory (our servers default to 384MB), or a corrupted download.

Softaculous Says "Installation Directory Not Empty"

There are leftover files in the directory where you're trying to install. Use cPanel's File Manager to check the directory (usually public_html) and remove old files like index.html, .htaccess, or files from a previous installation. Back them up first if you're not sure.

Quick Recap: Install WordPress the Right Way

If you only do 5 things from this guide, do these:

1. Use Softaculous - it's faster, creates backups, and handles updates
2. Set a strong admin password - don't use "admin" as your username
3. Change permalinks to "Post name" - better URLs for SEO and sharing
4. Install LiteSpeed Cache - works natively with our servers for maximum speed
5. Set up automated backups - before you do anything else with the site

Last updated March 2026 · Browse all WordPress articles