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Support Topics: Blogs: How to: Setup WordPress as my site


IMPORTANT SECURITY WARNING: Adding scripts to your site is a security risk no matter where it is hosted. Hackers are always looking for security holes in scripts (such as Wordpress) that they can exploit to send out spam or propagate viruses & scams. This could also mean severe damage to your website and other websites on the server. MacHighway asks that you frequently check wordpress.org (external link) for important updates to your blog system to prevent such exploits.

What you would use this for: To offer an easily updated blog on your site.

What you need:
An FTP client (Transmit - external link)
A text editor (TextWrangler - external link)
A MySQL database (if you don't already have one setup for your site, please request one)

1. Go to http://www.wordpress.org/ (external link) and download the Wordpress installation package. In this example, we're using the .tar.gz download.

2. If the installation package doesn't expand automatically, double click the wordpress.tar.gz file. This should force the compressed wordpress.tar.gz to expand into a folder called wordpress.

3. Open the wordpress folder and find the wp-config-sample.php file. Open this using TextWrangler (Control+Click on the file to select the application you'd like to open it with). You'll now have to modify a few lines of this code.

define('DB_NAME', 'wordpress'); // The name of the database

On this line, replace 'wordpress' with the name of your database. An example of this change is below:

define('DB_NAME', 'yourusername_db'); // The name of the database

Next, you'll need to replace 'username' and 'password' with your MySQL database username and password.

define('DB_USER', 'username'); // Your MySQL username
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password'); // ...and password

In almost every instance, this will be the same username and password that you use for FTP. If there is any question, refer to the email from us with the subject line "From MacHighway: Your MySQL database is setup". An example of this change is below:

define('DB_USER', 'YourUsername'); // Your MySQL username
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'YourPassword'); // ...and password

Lastly, you'll see the line that defines the database host as 'localhost'. You'll need to change this to the location of your MySql database.

define('DB_HOST', 'your mysql server'); // Replace "your mysql server" with the location of your MySql database as indicated in the e-mail "From MacHighway: Your MySQL access is set up".

Go under the file menu, choose "Save As..." and save the file under the new name of "wp-config.php". It is now safe, and recommended, to delete the "wp-config-sample.php" file in the Wordpress folder.

4. Open the wordpress folder and upload the entire contents of the folder into your public_html folder.

5.Next you'll want to create a folder called "uploads" where you will store files you upload through Wordprss. Navigate to /public_html/wp-content/ and click the New Folder button in Transmit. Name the folder "uploads" (without the quotes). Next, set the permissions on your newly created uploads folder to 777. To do this using Transmit, highlight the folder and press command + i. In the window that pops up, you can either type 777 into the bottom field or make sure all boxes are checked.

6. Point your browser to the /wp-admin/install.php at your domain name (example http://www.examplesite.com/wp-admin/install.php). If all goes well, you should see a welcome screen and a big link that says "First Step >>" - click on that link. Follow the on-screen instructions and by the time you're finished, you'll have a running copy of Wordpress.

7. Prevent spam. Have a look at the Wordpress Anti-Spam page for plug-ins that will help prevent spam by clicking here (external link).

For further support, review the included documentation in the Wordpress folder or visit their support site here. (external link)

IMPORTANT SECURITY WARNING: Adding scripts to your site is a security risk no matter where it is hosted. Hackers are always looking for security holes in scripts (such as WordPress) that they can exploit to send out spam or propagate viruses & scams. This could also mean severe damage to your website and other websites on the server. MacHighway asks that you frequently check wordpress.org (external link) for important updates to your blog system to prevent such exploits.

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