Now you have a perfectly configured MySQL database waiting for someone to come along and use it. But before you can get WordPress up and running, you need to transfer the program to your website. This is a two-step process: first you download the latest version of WordPress, and then you upload it to your site. Here's how:
1. In your browser, go to http://wordpress.org/download, and click the down-load WordPress button.
WorDPress By hanD This downloads the latest version of WordPress as a compressed ZIP file, which
virtually all computers support. (If you look closely, you'll see an alternate link for downloading WordPress as a compressed .tar.gz file, but you don't need that.) 2. Inside the ZIP file is a folder named "wordpress." You need to extract that
folder to a convenient place on your hard drive, like the desktop.
For example, on a Windows computer you can drag the wordpress folder out of the ZIP file and onto the desktop, automatically unzipping its contents in the process. (You don't need much free space. Altogether, the WordPress files take up only a few megabytes of storage.) On Mac OS x, double-click the ZIP file to extract its contents.
Using either method, you end up with a folder named wordpress, which will have several subfolders and several dozen files in it, but you don't need to worry about those.
NoTE No matter where you put the wordpress folder, it will be a temporary storage location. After all, the WordPress files can't do much trapped on your computer. Your ultimate goal is to upload all these files to your website, where they can work their magic. Once you do that, you can delete the WordPress files from your desktop.
3. Figure out the FTP address you need to use.
You could ask your web host, but the address is almost always ftp:// followed by your domain name, as in ftp://reboot-me.com. The initial ftp:// is critical—it indicates that you're making a connection for transferring files, not visiting a website (in which case you'd use an address starting with http://).
4. Load your FTP program and navigate to your site.
FTP is a standard that lets computers pass files from one to the other. You'll use it to upload the WordPress files to your website.
In the old days of the Web, uploaders used specialized FTP programs to transfer files. Many people still use dedicated FTP programs, and you can, too. However, the latest versions of Windows and Mac OS x have built-in FTP functionality, so you don't need a separate program.
NoTE Depending on your web host, you may be able to upload files from your browser by using your site's control panel. However, browser-based file management is usually awkward and can trigger a triple-Tylenol headache if you need to upload a large batch of files, like the contents of the wordpress folder and its subfolders.
FTP is easier.
To open an FTP connection in any modern version of Windows, start by firing up the Windows Explorer file manager. (Right-click the Start button, and click a menu command that has a name like Open Windows Explorer.) Then, type the FTP address into the Windows Explorer address bar.
WorDPress
By hanD To open an FTP connection in Mac OS x, start out at the desktop and hit Command+K to launch the Connect to Server window. Then, type in the FTP address and click Connect.
5. When your FTP program asks, enter your user name and password in the boxes provided.
This is the same user name and password you use to connect to your host's control panel to manage your website.
NoTE Having trouble keeping track of all the different login identities you need to self-host WordPress? There are three altogether: one for your web host's control panel, one for your database, and one for your WordPress administrator account.
Once you log in through the FTP panel, you'll see your site's folders and files—the ones on your web server—listed; you can copy, delete, rename, and move them in much the same way you can for local folders and files.
6. Browse to the root folder of your website.
This is the heart of your site—the place people go when they type in your web address. It may be a folder named public_html or webroot. Or, you may start off in the right place when you log in. If you already have a traditional website on your domain, you'll know you're in the root folder when you see your web pages there. And if you're still in doubt, it may be worth a quick call to your web host's support center to make sure you're in the right spot.
7. open another file-browsing window to view the wordpress folder on your computer.
This is the place where you unzipped the WordPress files in step 2.
8. Copy the files from the wordpress folder to your website.
There are two ways to do this. If you want WordPress to take over your entire site (see page 53), you must select all the files in the wordpress folder (including subfolders). Then, copy all these files over to your root web folder. This is the strategy to use if you want people to go straight to your WordPress content when they type in your domain name (like www.reboot-me.com).
NoTE If you're putting WordPress in your root web folder, make sure you don't have another default page there. A default page is the page your website sends to a visitor when he types in your domain name (for example, www.reboot-me.com) rather than specifying a site page (like www.reboot-me.com/mypage.html). WordPress has its own default page, index.php, but you don't want another default page trying to take over. Possible default pages include anything that starts with "index" (index.html, index.shtml, index.html) and "default" (default.asp, default.aspx).
If you want to create a subfolder on your website for WordPress, you follow a slightly different procedure. First, rename the wordpress folder on your computer
WorDPress By hanD to the name of the folder you want to create on your website. For example, if
you want to create a subfolder named blog, rename the wordpress folder blog. Now you simply need to select and copy a single item—the blog folder that holds all the WordPress files.
Either way, you upload the files in the same way you copy them on your com-puter. For example, you can drag the selected files from your computer and drop them on the FTP window (Figure 3-12). Or, you can copy the selected files (that's Ctrl+C on Windows and Command+C on a Mac), switch to the FTP window, and then paste them (with Ctrl+V or Command+V).
The root folder on the website where you want to put WordPress
The downloaded WordPress folder (now renamed to “blog”)
Figure 3-12 Here, the folder named
"blog" contains all the WordPress files. A quick drag of the mouse transfers WordPress to your website.
At this point, all the WordPress scripts and templates should be on your web server, although they aren't actually switched on yet. Before you continue to the final step, it's a good idea to make sure you uploaded the software successfully. To do that, try requesting WordPress's readme.html file, which should be in the folder you just uploaded. For example, if you put WordPress at www.reboot-me.com/blog you can request www.reboot-me.com/blog/readme.html. When you do, you'll see a Word-Press page with some very basic information about the setup process. If you get a
WorDPress
By hanD "webpage not found" error, you've accidentally uploaded your files to a different location, so you need to take some time to sort it all out.