Overview
This article explains how to install a new WordPress site using the DreamHost WordPress installer in your panel.
Background
The DreamHost WordPress installer allows you to quickly set up a new WordPress with minimal input. The DreamHost panel provides several features (such as the website renamer, automatic WordPress version updates, and easy DreamPress upgrades) to WordPress websites created by the DreamHost WordPress installer.
See this article if you instead wish to migrate an existing WordPress site to DreamHost.
If you would like to use the DreamHost WordPress installer features with an existing WordPress install, please contact support to have your installation converted.
Using the WordPress installer
The following steps show you how to install WordPress in the panel.
Configure hosting
To use the DreamHost WordPress installer, your domain must first be Fully Hosted. This means it cannot be Redirected, Mirrored, Parked, or set as DNS Only.
Check your website directory before installing
Before installing WordPress, check what files are already in your website's directory. The following three configurations could exist:
- WordPress was already installed using the DreamHost WordPress installer
- WordPress was already installed manually
- Non-WordPress files currently exist in the directory
If WordPress was already installed using the DreamHost WordPress installer
If you previously installed WordPress using the installer, the installation will stop and show you the following message:
You must either:
- Delete the DreamHost WordPress install in your panel, or
- Install WordPress into a subdirectory of this website
If you previously installed WordPress manually
If you manually uploaded a WordPress site to your server, it will not display in the panel. However, since WordPress files exist in your website directory, the DreamHost WordPress installer will add a timestamp to the old files. For example:
- index.php.1555975213
- wp-login.php.1555975213
- wp-settings.php.1555975213
The new DreamHost WordPress installer files will then be used instead of your old files. You can then delete the old files using the instructions in this article.
If there are non-WordPress files in your directory
If there are any non-WordPress files or directories, these will not be touched by the installation. The new WordPress files will be installed alongside your existing files.
Install WordPress
- Navigate to the Install WordPress page.
- Select your domain from the dropdown.
If you need to install WordPress into a subdirectory (e.g., example.com/blog), click Advanced and enter the subdirectory into which you wish to install (under Specify Path).
- Leave the Select Database dropdown set to Automatically Create Database (recommended).
- If you do not want a new database created, you can use an existing database you have already created in your panel. Click Advanced and select your database from the Select Database dropdown.
- If you choose an existing database from the dropdown that contains a previous WordPress install, the current database tables will remain, and the new WordPress tables will be installed alongside the existing tables.
- Click Install Wordpress.
- When the next page opens, select a site purpose (or None) for a guided WordPress install and then click Next.
- A page opens that shows you the suggested plugins specific to the site purpose you previously selected.
- Uncheck the box for any plugins that you do not wish to install.
- Click Install.
Within 15 minutes, an email is sent to you at the primary email listed on your DreamHost account. This email provides further steps to take to complete the installation.
Troubleshooting
You can use the following information to troubleshoot any installation issues that may occur.
If the installation does not complete
If the installation completes but you do not receive the email with the instructions on how to access your new WordPress install, you can always check the Contact Support page for an archived copy of that email.
If the DreamHost WordPress installation does not complete within 20 minutes or fails with an error, please contact support.
If the install link does not work
A 404 or Site Not Found error can appear on new WordPress setups when you attempt to view the site after changing it over from another hosting option (such as mirroring or redirection). In these cases, the site is still resolving to the old mirror or redirection A records rather than the new fully-hosted A records. Fortunately, this will resolve once DNS propagation completes, assuming that the site is using DreamHost’s nameservers. See this article for further information on DNS propagation.