Method #2: How to install WordPress via cPanel and autoinstallers

cPanel is the hosting management dashboard that most web hosts give their customers. When you sign up for hosting, your host should provide you with login details for cPanel. And for most hosts, the cPanel interface looks something like below. The style of your interface might look a bit different, but the basic layout will be the same:.

In your cPanel interface, your host should give you something called an autoinstaller. Autoinstallers basically automate the full WordPress install process that I’ll outline in the next section. So instead of needing to do everything manually, you just input some basic information, click a button, and the autoinstaller installs WordPress for you.

There are a few different autoinstallers you might encounter. Here are the most common WordPress autoinstallers:

• Softaculous
• Fantastico
• QuickInstall
• MOJO Marketplace

In some situations, your host might also offer a proprietary WordPress installer tool.

While there might be a few minor interface differences, all of the autoinstallers more or less function the same. So while I’ll show you an example on how to install WordPress in cPanel using Softaculous, the exact interface for your autoinstaller might look a tiny bit different.

To get started, find the link to the WordPress autoinstaller in cPanel and give it a click:

On the next screen, you should see an Install Now link (no matter which autoinstaller you’re using). Just give that another click:

Next, you’ll need to enter details for your WordPress install. Again, this interface should generally look the same no matter which autoinstaller you’re using.

First, fill in the protocol and domain name where you want to install WordPress:

For Protocol, if you’re using an SSL certificate, you should choose HTTPS. Otherwise, you should choose HTTP. Unless you purposefully installed an SSL Certificate, the default is HTTP.

Next, choose the directory in which you want to install WordPress. For 99% of situations, you should leave this field blank. Leaving it empty means WordPress will be installed at your main domain. That is, if your domain is YOURDOMAIN.com, then WordPress will be installed at YOURDOMAIN.com rather than something like YOURDOMAIN.com/mywpsite.

A bit further down, you need to enter your Site Settings. These are just the default values for your site’s name and description. You can always change them later from the WordPress interface:

Do not enable WordPress multisite unless you’re specifically trying to create a multisite network.

You’ll also need to create login credentials for your WordPress account. You’ll use this username/password combination to log into your WordPress dashboard after installation, so make sure that you remember it:

Depending on the specific autoinstaller that you’re using, you might see a few other options as well. You can safely ignore these. That is, it’s fine to leave anything I didn’t cover as the defaults.

Once you’ve filled out everything, make sure to click Install at the bottom of the screen. It might take a minute or so to run. Then, you should get a confirmation. You can log into your brand new WordPress install by going to YOURDOMAIN.com/wp-admin.