Build A WordPress Site Using Softaculous In 5 minutes
Tags: wordpress, webdev
Published: 2021-01-05 09:34:17

Hey there!

Today, I will be showing you how to create your first WordPress site in 5mins.

#### What is WordPress?

[WordPress](wordpress.org) is an open-source software that is used to create beautiful websites, blogs, or apps. WordPress powers over 35% of all websites on the Internet. More than one in four websites you visit are likely powered by WordPress.

WordPress makes it super easy (of course, depending on how well you know it) to create something as simple as a blog and something as complex as [TechCrunch](http://www.techcrunch.com/). You can see some of the biggest sites built with WordPress on the [WordPress Website Showcase](https://wordpress.org/showcase/).

#### Hosting and Domain

While you can set up WordPress locally on your computer, this tutorial is focused on setting up WordPress online so you would need a host and domain.

A host is like a memory card where files are stored and you can access the files through a domain name that is linked to the files. Yeah, I know it's not like that but this gives a broad overview.

There are a lot of hosting companies. However, for this tutorial, I will be using a shared hosting plan on [Namecheap](https://affiliate.namecheap.com/?affId=108977).

Once you purchase a hosting plan, you get the cpanel login details in your email and you can proceed to login to Cpanel. You should see something like this:
![Cpanel Homepage](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/k801uk49c9cnnkvny2or.png)

#### Installing WordPress with Softaculous

Softaculous automates the installation of web applications to a website through the use of predefined scripts. It allows you install CMS, scripts and applications in as little time as possible

Scroll down to the softaculous section and click on the WordPress icon there
![Softaculous](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/86g12fshyzwcliir2e8r.png)

Here you can either manage your existing WordPress installation or install a new one. We will be clicking on install
![Softaculous WordPress Install](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/8ktfjxnva352j9h9msja.png)

I will be filling in the details of my installation here, first up is to select the WordPress version. I usually leave it at the default value because Softaculous uses the latest. Then you select your protocol, domain name and directory.

I use http:// as my protocol as you can always change it later when you have your SSL certificate ready. The domain name I want to use is already selected and I used a 'testing' directory so I can install it in a fresh directory. If you want to install it in the root directory of your domain like yourdomain.com, leave this empty.![Softaculous WordPress Install Screen](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/lad44sxzhp3z795twz39.png)

You can set your site title, description, admin username, email and password.
![Softaculous set site title, description, username and password](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/bew1anypodt2kyofcuiz.png)

You can choose your language, install default plugins, manage themes and set advanced options(not going to delve into this today but feel free to be curious hehe).
![Softaculous advanced options](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/e3l0pyic3cs32qhleziz.png)
 
Just below the installation button is a little box that you can input your email so you can send the installation details to yourself for safekeeping. Then click on the install button ![Softaculous install](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/1qmozqrjqp9yz02khg4m.png) 

Takes about 10 seconds to load up and yaaaaaay, we have our first WordPress site all up and running ![Softaculous completed](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/0e836vlm05otof2hokih.png) 
 
And yup, that's it.

#### Conclusion

We saw how easy it is to create a WordPress site on Cpanel using Softaculous. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me on Twitter: [@geektutor](https://twitter.com/@geektutor)