Installing WordPress takes minutes, but installing it properly from day one saves a lot of trouble with speed, security and SEO later. This post covers the three ways I use regularly — locally for testing, on hosting for live sites, and from the command line with WP-CLI — plus a post-install checklist.

Before you install

• Domain: short and memorable.
• Hosting: PHP 8.3+, MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.11+, free HTTPS (Let's Encrypt) and automatic backups.
• Database: its own database and user with a strong password — never shared with another site.
• Admin email: one you actually read; security alerts and password resets go there.

Option 1: Install locally for testing

LocalWP (easiest): download it, click "Create a new site", choose the "Preferred" environment and create an admin account. In minutes you have a site at yoursite.local.

Docker (closer to a real server): create docker-compose.yml:

services:
  db:
    image: mariadb:11
    environment:
      MARIADB_DATABASE: wordpress
      MARIADB_USER: wp
      MARIADB_PASSWORD: change-me
      MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: change-me-root
    volumes:
      - db:/var/lib/mysql
  wordpress:
    image: wordpress:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    environment:
      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db
      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpress
      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wp
      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: change-me
    volumes:
      - ./wp-content:/var/www/html/wp-content
    depends_on:
      - db
volumes:
  db:

Run docker compose up -d and open http://localhost:8080. The mounted wp-content folder lets you edit themes/plugins directly and keep them in Git.

Option 2: Install on hosting (cPanel)

One-click installer (Softaculous/Installatron): pick WordPress, fill in domain, site name and admin account, then Install. Change the default wp_ table prefix and don't use admin as the username.

Manual install (more control):

1. Create a database and user under MySQL Databases and grant all privileges.
2. Download the latest WordPress from wordpress.org and extract it into public_html.
3. Open your domain, choose a language and enter the database details.
4. Set the site title and a strong admin account, then install.
5. Enable SSL (AutoSSL/Let's Encrypt) and force https.

Option 3: Install with WP-CLI

wp core download
wp config create --dbname=db_name --dbuser=db_user --dbpass='strong-password'
wp core install --url=https://example.com --title="Site name" \
  --admin_user=yourname_admin --admin_email=you@example.com
 
wp rewrite structure '/%postname%/'
wp option update timezone_string 'Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh'
wp plugin delete hello akismet

10 things to do right after installing

1. Permalinks: Settings → Permalinks → "Post name".
2. Timezone and date format.
3. Delete sample content and unused plugins.
4. Allow search engines once the site is ready (Settings → Reading).
5. Install your theme; use a child theme for customisations.
6. Core plugins: cache, SEO, security, backup, SMTP — one plugin per job.
7. Basic security: two-factor auth, define( 'DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true ); in wp-config.php.
8. Automatic backups with an off-site copy.
9. Search Console and Analytics: verify the domain, submit the sitemap.
10. Benchmark speed with PageSpeed Insights before adding content.

Common install errors

Wrapping up

Installing WordPress is easy; what matters is the foundation: a modern stack, safe accounts, SEO-friendly settings and backups from day one. Next, read the complete WordPress guide for 2026 or get in touch if you'd like me to set it up for you.