How can you host your own wordpress blog!!!
August 26, 2007 | By markneter | Topics: Article, Web Hosting, Wordpress
Several days ago someone (relequestual) asked a question on yahoo answers site, and after a search for this topic, I noticed that there are many similiar questions. I replied relequestual’s question on yahoo answers, but I want to broaden this topic here.
Wordpress is a blog publishing system written in Php scripting language and backed up by mysql database management system, therefore it needs a server that is capable of PHP (at least PHP 4.2) and a mysql server (at least MySQL 4). To publish your own wordpress blog you need either host your own wordpress blog, or create one on a wordpress based blogging service like wordpress.com.
What do you need to host your own wordpress?
Although the webserver (php side) and mysql database server can be on different servers, most of the providers (either free or paid) does not allow you to connect an external mysql database from their web servers. It means to host your own wordpress blog you need a host supporting PHP and MySQL. In addition to this basic requirements, you may need some other software, or functions depending on your needs. Some wordpress features require special php functions & rights which may be restricted by your hosting company. Most of the free providers set some restrictions, either for security reasons or to convince you to upgrade a premium paid package. For example, If your provider doesn’t allow you to send mails from your php scripts you can’t use the registration feature of wordpress because it sends users password to his/her e-mail address or any other feature or plugin that requires sending mail. If you are going to use a free hosting provider, I strongly recommend you to find one that allows mail functions.
Detailed Wordpress Requirements
WordPress server requirements for Version 2.2:
- PHP version 4.2 or greater
- MySQL version 4.0 or greater (3.23 is also okey for versions below 2.0)
- (Optional) Apache and mod_rewrite module (for clean URIs known as Permalinks)
It is also essential that your host allows remote connections.
How to install wordpress on your own computer?
If you want to install wordpress on your own computer and use it as a testing environment you should install PHP, MySQL and Apache softwares to your computer. I suggest you to use the opensource software called XAMPP instead of installing all of them seperately. XAMPP is a very easy to install Apache Distribution for Linux, Solaris, Windows and Mac OS X. The package includes the Apache web server, MySQL, PHP, Perl, a FTP server and phpMyAdmin.
After installing the required software and making the configuration, your computer will be ready to host a wordpress blog! You can use it for testing purposes and also to host your wordpress blog or any other php based page. Notice that it will be less reliable, less secure and slower than a real hosting provider, therefore I suggest you to get a hosting package either free or paid.
How to install wordpress on your own host?
If your host provides you a one click application tool (names may vary, Fantastico Installer, Auto install, 1 click install etc.), you can use this tool to install wordpress easily, otherwise you should install it yourself following the steps below.
First you need the latest wordpress packages which you can find at download section of wordpress.org. Next send the extracted packages into your web directory of your page. (Some providers have tools to extract the zip file on the server, which takes less time.)
Now the scripts are on your server, if you enter your site you will see a wordpress installation page. There are a few simple steps, which asks for blog name, blog description, the name and e-mail of the blog administrator (you), and the mysql database configuration.
The mysql configurations varies depending on your host, you may be supplied with a predefined database name with predefined username and password by your hosting provider, otherwise you should create them using your control panel. You also have to know the mysql hostname of your hosting provider. (The registration e-mail or the control panel may include this information. Otherwise you should ask it to your provider.)
After completing this easy installation steps your new wordpress blog is ready to use.
How to migrate from a wordpress blog hosted elsewhere?
If you were hosting your blog on wordpress.com or any similiar blogging service, you need follow some steps for migration.
- The new wordpress installation only includes a few basic templates. You should find a theme to use on your wordpress blog. There are tons of free templates at http://themes.wordpress.net/. Select a theme to use, edit it as you like, upload it to the themes directory (wp-content/themes) of your wordpress blog, and set it as your blogs current theme using the presentation menu on your admin page.
- Download the plugins that you use on your old blogging service. Differently from the past, now you are free to use any additional plugin you need. http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/ is a good starting point to find some plugins that are usefull for your purposes.
- Export your posts on your old provider, and import them to your new wordpress blog using the import tool under manage tab on your wordpress admin panel.
- The categories may mess up after the import, you should put them in order yourself!
If you have any questions or need further help, please feel free to leave a comment. It is hard to cover all topics in one simple article. Moreover I can’t imagine all possible uses and problems. I will edit the article, or write specific ones depending on your future questions.
(1 votes, average: 8 out of 10)
Loading ...August 26, 2007 | By markneter | Tags: Article, Web Hosting, Wordpress |
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Thanks. That will be really helpful to me but also to many others.
keep up the good work
Rel
Thanks for the informative post, I will refer others to it who want to do it themselves rather than use my WordPress Install service.
Nice blog keep up the good work!
Jeff
http://www.wordpressmax.com
Pretty awesome article. Thanks! - CowDir
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