--- title: "How to install WordPress: a step-by-step guide" description: WordPress is free. You need hosting and a domain. Here is the short path from nothing to a live site, plus the plugins worth adding after. source: https://steem.dev/blog/how-to-install-wordpress published: 2026-09-01 updated: 2026-09-01 site: Steem — AI WordPress plugin generator --- # How to install WordPress: a step-by-step guide How to install WordPress, in one sentence: you do not install it on your laptop. You pick hosting, the host puts WordPress on a real address, and you log in at /wp-admin. The software itself is free. What you pay for is a domain and a server that can run PHP and MySQL. The shortest path is a host that does the install for you, so you never see FTP, a zip file, or a database form. Some of the hosting links below are affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. They are the hosts we actually send people to, not a roundup of every company that would pay us. ## The prompt ```text Build a contact form plugin with a [contact_form] shortcode. Fields for name, email and message, server-side validation, honeypot spam protection, and an email notification to an address set on an admin settings page. ``` ## What you need before you start Three things, and only three. A domain (yoursite.com), hosting that is willing to run WordPress, and an email address you actually check. You do not need to download WordPress from wordpress.org, you do not need FileZilla, and you do not need to know what a database is. If a tutorial opens with phpMyAdmin, close it. That is the old path, for people who already have a VPS and want to do it by hand. This guide is for a public site, today. ## 1. Choose hosting (this is the whole decision) WordPress will run on almost any host. The difference is how much of the install they do for you, and whether you can add any plugin later. Three options cover most people. **[SiteGround](https://www.siteground.com/index.htm?afcode=f4fa8f9c8a7e6a0c2857d6415e58c09f)** if you want it set up properly. WordPress.org lists it as an officially recommended host. You get self-hosted WordPress, managed updates, and you can install any plugin. Through that link they currently offer up to 80% off premium hosting, a free domain for a new project, and a free migration if you already have a site somewhere else. Those are their terms, and they can change them. **[Namecheap EasyWP](https://namecheap.pxf.io/c/6256453/1632743/5618)** if you want the domain and the site from one place. EasyWP is managed WordPress: it installs for you, and plugins work on every plan. It does its own caching, so caching plugins are blocked. That is fine for a first site, and it is the one limitation to remember. **[WordPress.com](https://automattic.pxf.io/c/6256453/1919834/22744)** if you want it hosted by Automattic, the company behind WordPress itself. There is no installer to run: you sign up, pick a site name, and you are in. Plugins need a paid plan, from $4 a month. The free tier cannot install them, which matters the moment you want anything beyond the built-in blocks. ## 2. Install WordPress on SiteGround This is the one-click path. After you have an account, you are a few fields away from a live site. Step 1. Open [SiteGround](https://www.siteground.com/index.htm?afcode=f4fa8f9c8a7e6a0c2857d6415e58c09f) and pick a plan. If you do not have a domain yet, take the free one they include for a new project. Step 2. After checkout, open Site Tools, their control panel for the account. Step 3. Go to WordPress, then Install. Step 4. Choose the domain, a site title, an admin username that is not `admin`, a strong password, and the email you check. Step 5. Start the install and wait. It usually takes a couple of minutes. Step 6. When it finishes you get two links: the front of the site, and `/wp-admin` for the dashboard. ## 3. Install WordPress on Namecheap EasyWP EasyWP does not have a separate installer. Buying the plan *is* the install. Step 1. Open [Namecheap EasyWP](https://namecheap.pxf.io/c/6256453/1632743/5618) and start a plan. Step 2. Attach a domain: register a new one there, or point a name you already own. Step 3. Wait until the dashboard says WordPress is ready. There is nothing else to upload. Step 4. Open WordPress admin from the EasyWP dashboard. That is your `/wp-admin` login. Step 5. If they generated a password, change it on first login, and confirm the email on the account. ## 4. Get a site on WordPress.com There is nothing to install. [WordPress.com](https://automattic.pxf.io/c/6256453/1919834/22744) creates the site for you. Step 1. Open [WordPress.com](https://automattic.pxf.io/c/6256453/1919834/22744) and start a site. Step 2. Pick a site address. You can use a free yoursite.wordpress.com name first, then add your own domain later. Step 3. If you plan to install plugins, including anything you build on Steem, choose a paid plan. The free tier cannot install them. Paid plans start from $4 a month. Step 4. Finish the signup. The dashboard is already WordPress: there is no zip file and no installer screen. Step 5. Open `/wp-admin` on the site, or use the WordPress.com dashboard, and confirm the email on the account. ## 5. First login: three settings, then stop Visit `yoursite.com/wp-admin` and sign in with the username and password from the installer. On WordPress.com, the dashboard is waiting as soon as signup finishes. You land on the dashboard. Ignore the nags about news, WooCommerce, and themes you have not asked for. Do these three things before you install anything. Then look at the front of the site. A default theme is fine. Getting WordPress running is the job today; making it pretty is a different afternoon. **Settings → General.** Check the site title, the tagline, and the timezone. **Settings → Permalinks.** Pick Post name. The default Plain URLs look like `?p=123`, which is ugly and worse for sharing. **Users → Profile.** Confirm the email on the account. That is where password resets go. ## 6. Plugins worth installing on a new site A new site does not need twenty plugins. It needs a few that earn their keep, and then whatever your site actually does. Install from Plugins → Add New, search the name, Install, then Activate. Prefer the listing on wordpress.org with a recent update over a lookalike with a similar name. On WordPress.com this menu only appears on a paid plan. Do not install a page builder just in case. Do not install a slider, a social-share pack, and a contact-form suite before you know you need them. Each one is code that has to stay updated. **A backup you control.** [UpdraftPlus](https://wordpress.org/plugins/updraftplus/) sends a copy to Google Drive or Dropbox. SiteGround already backs up the account; an off-site copy is so a hosting problem is not also a data problem. WordPress.com backs up paid sites itself. **Security, but only one.** [Wordfence](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordfence/) is the usual pick. SiteGround ships its own security plugin. If you use that, do not stack Wordfence on top. Two firewalls fighting each other is a real failure mode. WordPress.com handles this at the platform; skip a second scanner there. **SEO, if you care about search.** [Rank Math](https://wordpress.org/plugins/seo-by-rank-math/) or [Yoast SEO](https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/). Pick one. Not both. **Skip a caching plugin on EasyWP and WordPress.com.** Both already cache at the platform. On SiteGround, use their own optimizer rather than adding a third cache. ## 7. When the plugin you need is not in the directory The directory is full of plugins that do fifty things so they can sell a pro upgrade. Most new sites need one of those things: a contact form that emails you, a banner for a launch, a custom type for case studies, a duplicate button. Those are small plugins. They are faster to generate than they are to configure. Describe the job in a sentence on [Steem](/app). It writes the PHP, previews it in a real WordPress in the browser, and hands you a ZIP you install like any other plugin. On WordPress.com, that ZIP still needs a paid plan to install. The prompt below is the one most new sites actually need first: a contact form, with spam protection, that emails you. Edit it before you send it. ## Questions ### Do I have to pay for WordPress? No. WordPress from wordpress.org is free. You pay for hosting and the domain. Premium themes and some plugins cost extra, and none of them are required to get a site online. WordPress.com's free tier is free too, but it cannot install plugins. ### What is the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com? WordPress.org is the software you install on hosting such as SiteGround or Namecheap EasyWP. [WordPress.com](https://automattic.pxf.io/c/6256453/1919834/22744) is Automattic's hosted service. Plugins on WordPress.com need a paid plan, from $4 a month; the free tier cannot install them. ### Can I install WordPress on my laptop first? Yes, with Local, Docker, or similar. That gives you a private copy for testing, not a public site. This guide is for something people can actually visit. ### How long does this take? The one-click path is usually under fifteen minutes, most of it waiting on the host and on DNS. WordPress.com is faster still, because signup is the whole install. The first visit to a custom domain can lag a little while the name finishes pointing at the server. ### What if I want to install it myself with FTP? You can, on a VPS, if you already know how to create a MySQL database and edit wp-config.php. For a first site, use the host's installer, or WordPress.com. Doing it by hand does not make the site better. It only adds ways to get the database details wrong. --- Source: https://steem.dev/blog/how-to-install-wordpress Build this plugin: https://steem.dev/app