First, we need to find a good web host with tons of features, including PHP support and relatively large storage. In this economy, however, it’s very hard to find paid hosts with these features without costing hundreds of dollars a year.
However, there is a service called 000webhost that comes with PHP, MySQL databases, 1.5 GB of space, 100 GB of bandwidth per month, subdomains, email hosting, FTP, and many other features. However, for the average user this doesn’t matter much, all we really need is PHP, FTP and 1.5 GB of space, which will be hard to fill. However, in order to use their services, you must register for an account. Once you’re done, edit your domain’s CNAME from your domain provider or choose a subdomain if you’re on a budget, but I recommend a domain as it’s only $5.
Once you do that, install an FTP client on your desktop, such as FileZilla or FireFTP. Once you do that, collect your FTP username and password under “View Account Details” in cPanel at 000webhost. Once you’ve connected to your server, most of the hard work of setting up the host is done.
Next, to install WordPress, go to WordPress.org and download the zipped folder and download it somewhere you can find. Extract it somewhere and then upload it to your FTP server by right-clicking the folder in your FTP client and clicking “Upload”. Make sure when you upload it, it’s not in a folder called “WordPress” or you’ll have to go to yoursite.com/WordPress and not yoursite.com.
Now, once you’ve downloaded WordPress, there’s a bit of work to do on the host once again. Login to 000webhost and go to your cPanel. Navigate to “MySQL” in the “Software/Services” category. Enter a MySQL database name, a MySQL username, and an easy-to-remember password. Now, to make the installation easier, go to cPanel one more time, go to “Account Tools” and do “Fix File Ownership” and “Fix File Permissions” for the initial installation and installation of themes and plugins later. we are a much easier affair.
Now for the 5 minute install go to http://example.com/wp-admin/install.php and follow the installation instructions. You can get the information about your database once again from your 000webhost cPanel to “MySQL” under “Software/Services”. Enter all this information and in a few minutes your blog will be ready to be used. Finally, here are some extras for your newly created blog. First, you may want to import content from your old blog. To do anything in WordPress, you must first log in at yourdomain.com/wp-login.php. In the left sidebar, go to “Tools” -> “Import”. Decide which category is applicable, and then follow the step-by-step instructions on how to download it.
Plugins are very useful in WordPress to add features like surveys, search engine optimization, sitemap generation, related post generators, login customizers, anything you can think of! To add a new plugin, go to “Plugins” -> “Add New”. There are some really useful ones that can add features and automate many processes to make your life easier.
Lastly, you’ll want to change the default theme to something that complements your blog content. To add one, you can go to “Appearance” -> “Themes” in the sidebar on the left in Dashboard and then click the “Install Themes” tab at the top. Pick one that is interesting and will make your content stand out while still being unique.
Overall this process took me around half an hour, and you can make it even faster with this handy tutorial!