Install, Edit and Stage your WordPress Website | Blog, News, Tips & Tricks

Published in

AUHost4u

8 min readAug 24, 2020

What is WordPress?

WordPress… WordPress… You may have crossed path with the term WordPress or WP. You may have been told to start and install your own WordPress website. But how to start?

After a quick introduction about WordPress we will show you in a detailed guide “ How to install your WordPress website”, “ How to create a staging environment before uploading it online” and even on “ How to manage and install your WordPress Plugin “.

Of course if you need our assistance, or if you have a special inquiry about your WordPress website, feel free to contact our 24/7 support via our ticket platform or Live Chat.

A quick WordPress History.

WordPress is the CMS behind millions of websites, and forms the backbone of many of your favourite blogs.

The most powerful CMS.

In short, WordPress is a tool that helps to create, modify and publish website content. And all this can be done without coding / programming skills so end users can design a professional looking website without require a web designer.

It has never been easier and more accessible to build his own website. Thanks to WordPress that’s certain but thanks to also the hundreds of other Website Builder provider such as AUHost4u Website Builder.

It originally started in 2003 as a tool primarily aimed at creating blogs, WordPress has since grown to accommodate any type of website.

You’ll find that thanks to the massive selection of themes and plugins available, you can use WordPress for anything imaginable and customize each and every aspects of your website.

Thanks to the open-source GPL licensing used, anyone can modify or use the software completely free of charge. Paving the way for massive amounts of customisation.

As of today, more than 35% of the websites on the internet are powered by WordPress. This includes some of the big names that you’ll undoubtedly recognize such as Microsoft, The White House, and AC/DC!

WordPress is very easy to install and we will show you how here below.

And we hope you’ll to understand why WordPress is so widely used after our explanation.

Almost every kind of websites can be run through WordPress, such as:

eCommerce stores
Membership sites
Portfolios
Forums
Resumes
Social networks

WordPress is structured in a way that content can be easily organised, stored and managed. This remove any complex administrative and management tasks running your own website.

So now, let’s see how you can install your own WordPress website.

How to install WordPress?

Install WordPress with cPanel interface

Once logged in your cPanel account, navigate to the WordPress option in the Softaculous Apps Installer. You should see the following screen:

Click on WordPress. And then select Install Now to create a new WordPress installation.

You will then be prompted to enter setup details, such as the domain to be installed on, the site name, and the administrator login details:

Here you can also select the theme you want to use, however this can also be done at a later time.

Once the installation finishes, you will be given a login URL for you to access the WordPress Dashboard.

Install WordPress with Plesk interface

On your Plesk panel home page, locate the button WordPress.

Click on the button Install.

That’s it!

How to login your WordPress account

To log in you WordPress Account you can either:

Login directly via cPanel:

1) Log in your cPanel account -> In the section Softaculous.

2) Click on the WordPress feature -> Scroll down then click on the icon here below:

You are now logged in your WordPress interface.

Login using the URL:

1) Log in using your WordPress URL, for example: https://www.example.com/blog/wp-admin

2) Enter your username and password, click enter and you are now logged in!

That’s it.

How to add a plugin in WordPress

First, you need to be logged in to your WordPress Admin Account by entering the admin URL that has been provided when you installed the WordPress. For example, www.example.com/wordpress/wp-login.php. Click here to see how to log in your WordPress.

Once logged in, it will redirect you to the admin page of your WordPress site. Hover your mouse to the “Plugins” button and click on “Add New”.

Then the Add Plugins screen will show up, giving you the option to search for the plugin you wish to install. For this article, we will install “Wordfence Security” (A WordPress Firewall and Malware Scanner).

Once the plugin is shown on the results, you can proceed by clicking on “Install Now” button.

You will see the plugin is installing as shown on the image. After it has been installed, you will be given the option to activate the newly installed plugin. Just click on “Activate” for the plugin to start working within the WordPress installation.

After the installation, the plugin will show up on Plugin list when you click on Plugins from the left pane.

How to install a WordPress website in a staging environment?

What is a staging environment?

A staging environment is a the exact replica of a product in a testing environment. To make it short, a staging environment is the preview of the product current rendering.

We use staging environments to test out codes, designs, builds, and updates to ensure the quality and the proper functioning of such product.

Create a WordPress staging website with the WP Staging plugin

If you want a simple way to create a WordPress staging website, there’s a fairly new plugin called WP Staging. It’s a good option for testing out basic tweaks, or checking if new plugins or themes are compatible with your current setup.

For example, some more complex plugins might interfere with the rest of WordPress, causing some unexpected problems. Enabling such plugins on a staging site first is a good idea because you can check if everything’s in order. This lets you avoid any trouble and/or downtime after a failed update/install. WP Staging will handle this purpose flawlessly.

To use WP Staging, you just need to install and activate it. Then, head to the WP Staging tab and click Create new staging site.

Give your staging site a name (for example, “dev” or “staging”) and then click Start Cloning.

The process might take a few minutes depending on how large your site is. Once it’s finished, you can access your staging site by following the prompt. You’ll need to log in with your normal username. Then, you’re free to start testing! You’ll always be able to tell when you’re on your staging site by looking at the orange admin bar:

And don’t worry — only users with admin accounts can access your staging site. Neither Google nor your website visitors will be able to view it.

How to create easily a staging WordPress Website without affecting your existing website?

To install a WordPress staging website without affecting your current site:

Log in your cPanel account.
In the section Softaculous App Installer, click on WordPress.
Click on Install now.
You will need to enter :
Setup details, such as the domain to be installed on, the site name, and the administrator login details.
In the section “In Directory”, you’ll need to enter the name of a sub-folder, make sure to not leave it blank. This will make the WordPress load like the following: example.com/foldername. Such as www.example.com.au/wp or www.example.com.au/mynewsite
From this step you can also select a theme for your WordPress staging website, but rest assured this can be done at a later time.
Once the information filled in, click on “Install”.
Once the installation finishes, you will be given a login URL for you to access the WordPress Dashboard.
The URL should look like this https://www.example.com/wp-admin
Use the account details you’ve entered to log in.

You have now successfully installed your WordPress website without affecting your current site.

When you will be satisfied with your WordPress you can simply go in your WordPress website settings, change the URL and remove your old website files.

If you are worried about losing any data we recommend you to always download a complete backup of your account before proceeding to any changes. That way, your website and data are safe. If anything happens, you’ll be able to recover your website easily.

In the Files section, click on the feature “Backup”.
Click on download a full account backup button.

If you want to restrict access even further, you can use a plugin called Hide My Site. In order to access any part of your site, visitors will first need to enter a password. You can still share your development site if needed by sharing the password, but strangers won’t be able to access your site.

To Conclude

We hope this guide will help you to both install your new WordPress website, create a staging environment and test all the changes you want.

Always remember to run a backup of your account before proceeding to any modifications on your website.

If you are unsure or if you need our assistance, please raise a ticket on our support portal here or contact directly our agents using our Live Chat on our website.

Originally published at https://www.auhost4u.com on August 24, 2020.