How to Install WordPress in 2026: One-Click, Manual, or Local

Most people who search for how to install WordPress are about to make it harder than it needs to be. There are three real ways to do it, and the right one depends entirely on what you’re building. We install WordPress dozens of times a month across client projects, staging servers, and our own sites, and we reach for the simple one-click method far more often than the manual route the documentation leads with. This guide sorts out which method you actually need, then walks each one.

Quick orientation before the steps: WordPress.org is the free software you install yourself. That’s what we’re installing here. WordPress.com is a separate hosted service where there’s nothing to install. If you’re not sure which you want, we sorted that out in our guide on how to start a WordPress blog.

Three ways to install WordPress, and who each is for

Pick your method first. It saves you from following a tutorial that solves a problem you don’t have.

• One-click install through your host. Best for almost everyone launching a live site. Takes about two minutes.
• Manual install via FTP. For custom servers, niche hosts with no installer, or when you want to understand exactly what’s happening under the hood.
• Local install on your own computer. For building and testing offline before anything goes public, or for plugin and theme development.

If you just want a working website, use the one-click method and stop there. The manual install isn’t a badge of honor; it’s a tool for specific situations. We’ll be honest about that throughout.

Method 1: One-click install (what most people should do)

Nearly every mainstream host (Bluehost, SiteGround, Hostinger, DreamHost, and the rest) ships a one-click WordPress installer in its control panel. Some hosts pre-install WordPress the moment you sign up. The flow is roughly the same everywhere.

1. Log in to your hosting control panel and find the WordPress or “Install site” option. On cPanel hosts it’s often labeled Softaculous or “WordPress Installer.”
2. Choose the domain to install on, and leave the directory field empty so WordPress lives at the root of your site, not in a /blog subfolder you didn’t want.
3. Set your site title, an admin username that is not “admin,” and a long password. Save those credentials somewhere safe.
4. Click install. After a minute you’ll get a link to your new wp-admin login.

That’s it. The installer creates the database, writes the config file, and runs the setup for you. The one place people trip: installing into a subdirectory by accident, then wondering why their homepage is blank. Leave the directory field empty unless you have a reason not to.

Method 2: Install WordPress manually via FTP

The manual install is the “famous five-minute install” the WordPress.org docs describe. It’s worth knowing if you run a custom server, use a host without an installer, or simply want to see how the pieces fit. You’ll need an FTP client like FileZilla and access to create a database.

1. Download the latest WordPress from wordpress.org and unzip it on your computer.
2. In your hosting panel, create a MySQL database and a database user, then assign that user full permissions on the database. Write down the database name, username, and password.
3. Rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and open it in a plain text editor. Fill in your database name, user, and password. While you’re there, paste fresh secret keys from the WordPress.org salt generator.
4. Connect with FTP and upload the WordPress files to your site’s root folder (usually public_html or www).
5. Visit your domain in a browser. WordPress runs its install script, you pick a title and admin account, and you’re done.

The step that bites people is the database. If the install screen throws an “Error establishing a database connection,” the cause is almost always a typo in wp-config.php or a user that wasn’t granted permissions on the database. Recheck those two things before anything else.

Method 3: Install WordPress locally on your computer

A local install runs WordPress on your own machine with no public address. We use this constantly for building a site before launch, testing a risky plugin update, or developing a theme without touching a live server. The easiest tool is Local (formerly Local by Flywheel); LocalWP, MAMP, and XAMPP all do the same job.

With Local, you download the app, click “Create a new site,” and it spins up WordPress with its own PHP, web server, and database in about a minute. Nothing is exposed to the internet, so you can experiment freely and push the finished site to a live host later. If you’re learning WordPress, this is the safest sandbox there is.

After you install WordPress: five quick wins

A fresh install is a blank slate with a few default settings worth fixing immediately, before you forget they exist.

• Set permalinks to “Post name” under Settings then Permalinks, so URLs are clean from the start.
• Delete the sample “Hello world” post and the default page.
• Install a backup plugin and run your first backup before you build anything. Here is how to back up WordPress properly.
• Confirm your site has an SSL certificate and loads over https. Most hosts issue one free.
• Under Settings then Reading, make sure “Discourage search engines” is unchecked once you’re ready to be found.

When you’d rather not install it yourself

Installing WordPress is genuinely easy. Configuring it so it’s fast, secure, and won’t break on the first update is the part that takes experience. Once you’re live, lock it down with these WordPress security best practices. If a site goes sideways, or you’d rather hand off setup and maintenance entirely, that’s where we come in. Our WordPress support service covers installs, fixes, updates, and the ongoing care that keeps a site healthy. And when it’s eventually time to move hosts, our guide on migrating WordPress without downtime picks up where this one leaves off.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to install WordPress?

About two minutes with a one-click installer. A manual FTP install takes 10 to 20 minutes once you’ve created the database. A local install with Local takes a minute or two.

Can I install WordPress for free?

The WordPress software is free under any method. A live site still needs hosting and a domain, which cost money. A local install on your own computer is completely free because nothing is hosted publicly.

Should I install WordPress manually or use one-click?

Use one-click unless you have a specific reason not to. It creates the database and config for you and is just as legitimate as a manual install. Reach for the manual route on custom servers or when no installer exists.

Why do I get “Error establishing a database connection”?

Almost always a wrong database name, username, or password in wp-config.php, or a database user that wasn’t granted permissions. Double-check those credentials against what you created in your hosting panel.