How to Install WordPress on DreamHost

WordPress is currently the most popular website builder on the Internet. According to W3Techs, more than 40% of all websites on the Internet are WordPress powered. One of the many reasons making it so popular is its ease of installation, making it easy for anyone to create a website.

Most web hosting providers specializing in WordPress will have a one-click installation option to help get you up and running quickly. In most circumstances, you can set up WordPress in just a few minutes.

In this guide, we will explain and walk you through a couple of ways to install WordPress on DreamHost. One for beginners and one for advanced users.

DreamHost is a long-standing green web hosting provider that specializes in WordPress hosting and is officially WordPress recommended.

For beginners, we’ll explain how to install WordPress on DreamHost using the One-Click Installer. Additionally, we’ll point out its free deluxe features.

For advanced users, we’ll explain how to install WordPress on DreamHost using the WebFTP file manager.

NOTE: TarttWeb is reader-supported. This means that we may earn a small commission at no additional cost when you make a purchase through referral links on our site.

If you’d like to jump to the section you’re looking for, a hyperlinked table of contents is available.

Things to Know Before Installing WordPress

Before installing WordPress, you’ll first need to have a domain name and a good web hosting provider familiar with WordPress.

We personally use and highly recommend using DreamHost, a WordPress specialized Green web hosting provider. They will give you a free domain name for the first year when you sign up for web hosting. You will also get domain privacy, a free SSL certificate, email to match your domain name, and a 97 day money-back guarantee.

For beginners, we recommend getting started with something budget-friendly, which is the shared starter plan. It’s often best to start small with a lower initial investment and add features to your website as it grows.

DreamHost is an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider. They offer web hosting, specifically designed to work with WordPress, coupled with the most beginner-friendly installation process, making it an excellent choice for beginners. It can often be easier to manage your domain and hosting when they are both through the same company.

How to Install WordPress on DreamHost using the One-Click Installer

In this section, we will explain how to install WordPress on DreamHost using the One-Click Installer. We are assuming that you have purchased a web hosting plan through DreamHost and your chosen domain name is fully hosted.

If your domain name was purchased through another domain registrar, you need to point your domain to DreamHost servers. You will also need to have it fully hosted under a DreamHost web hosting plan.

Let’s begin.

Step 1. The DreamHost Web Panel

Make sure you are signed in to your DreamHost account. Once you are signed in, you will be directed to your DreamHost control panel. On the left side of the screen, you will see the control panel navigation.

Step 2. Click Domains or WordPress

Click Domains or WordPress on the DreamHost control panel. It will drop down and reveal multiple options. You should see One-Click Installs right away. When you are ready, click it.

Step 3. WordPress One-Click Installs

After clicking the One-Click Installs button, it will display Install a New Application. Look for the button Learn More & Install and click it.

Step 4. One-Click Installer

In this section, you’ll need to complete the following options before clicking the (Install it for me now!) button.

One-Click Installer Options

Install to: Select the desired domain that you would like WordPress installed on. In the textbox next to it, you can enter a subdirectory. 

For instance, if you want to install WordPress to yourwebsite.com/blog, select your domain from the dropdown and enter blog into the textbox.

For beginners, it is recommended to select your domain and leave the box next to it empty.

Select Database: Beginners will leave Automatically Create Database selected. However, if you have created a custom database for your installation, then select that here.

Deluxe Install: Checking this box will install some free extra features in addition to your WordPress install. This option will install some free popular WordPress themes, a few plugins, and a security enhancement to help get you started. Below is a breakdown of the Deluxe Install features.

Install WP Website Builder: This will install DreamHost’s WP Website Builder to your DreamHost control panel.

Deluxe Install Features

Here is a list of the free features that DreamHost’s Deluxe Install option includes. This is a great option for beginners who may not have a specific theme picked out. Additionally, themes and plugins can be installed, uninstalled, and deleted; one of the many great things about WordPress.

WordPress Themes

The Deluxe Install includes the following free and open-source themes from team Automattic:

• astra
• blocksy
• hello-elementor
• hestia
• neve
• oceanwp
• twentyfifteen (included with default WordPress install)
• twentyseventeen (included with default WordPress install)
• twentysixteen (included with default WordPress install)
• ultra

WordPress Plugins

DreamHost’s One-Click Install also include the following plugins:

• Akismet (also included in default installs) — Checks your comments and contact form submissions against Askimet’s global database of spam to prevent your site from publishing malicious content.
• All in One SEO (AIOSEO) — A plugin for Properly setting up WordPress SEO, so your websites can rank higher in search engines and uncover new growth opportunities.
• Hello Dolly — When activated, you will randomly see a lyric from Hello, Dolly in the upper right of your admin screen on every page.
• Jetpack — Provides easy-to-use, comprehensive WordPress site security including, auto real-time backups, and easy restores, malware scanning, and spam protection.
• WP Mail SMTP — Fixes your email deliverability by reconfiguring WordPress to use a proper SMTP provider when sending emails.
• WP Super Cache (automatically enabled by default) — Generates static HTML files from your dynamic WordPress blog; after an HTML file is generated your webserver will serve that file instead of processing the comparatively heavier and more expensive WordPress PHP scripts.
• WPForms Lite (automatically enabled by default) — Allows you to quickly create beautiful contact forms, feedback forms, subscription forms, payment forms, and other types of forms for your website.

Security Enhancement

The last thing the One-Click Deluxe Install includes is some additional protection against the execution of scripts within your uploads directory. DreamHost will add a .htaccess file with the following contents to your /wp-content/uploads/ directory.

### Generated by DreamHost. DO NOT modify!!! ###
SetHandler no-handler
################################################

If a malicious script is placed into your uploads directory compromising your website. The malicious script is returned as a download when accessed. This will help keep harmful code from damaging your site.

Step 5. Click Install it for me now!

Click the (Install it for me now!) button. Once clicked, within 15 minutes WordPress will be installed and an email will be sent to the primary email that you have listed on your DreamHost account.

Step 6. Login to your new WordPress website

Once WordPress is installed, you’ll receive an email with instructions to complete the installation. The email will have your information for logging in to your website.

When the WordPress installation is complete you can login at:

• yourwebsite.com/wp-login.php

That’s it! Now you should be able to login to your WordPress website with the information you provided during the install.

How to Install WordPress on DreamHost using the WebFTP File Manager

In this section, we will walk you through how to install WordPress on DreamHost using the WebFTP file manager and how to create a MySQL database.

Step 1. Download WordPress

The first step is to go to WordPress.org and download a copy of the WordPress ZIP file to your computer. Once the file has finished downloading, you will need to extract it. If you are not sure how to do that, just right-click, select extract all, and choose a location for the extraction. When the extraction is complete, you will be left with a folder named wordpress.

Step 2. Create a Database

Now you will need to create a database for your WordPress installation. You will need to save the information you use to create a new database. This information will be used to install WordPress.

Log in to your DreamHost account. Once the control panel has loaded, look on the left side for Websites and click it. Then click on MySQL Databases to navigate to that page.

On the MySQL Databases page, you will see a list of hostnames and databases, if any have been created.

To create a database, you will need to complete the following information:

• Database Name: Enter a database name, for example: dbyourwebsitename
• Use Hostname / New Hostname: Select an existing hostname if one exists. Otherwise create a new one.
• First User / New User: If you already have a MySQL user created, select it. Otherwise create a new one. For security, it is recommended to have a separate user for each database.
• New Password: If you are creating a new user, you will need to create a password.
• New Password Again: If you are creating a new user, enter the password again.
• Database Comment: Enter a description for organizational use(optional.)

When all fields have been entered, click (Add new database now!) to begin the database creation process.

New databases should start working within 5 minutes. Be sure you write down the information you created your database with. You will need it to install WordPress.

Step 3. Navigate to WebFTP

Once you have created a database, return to your DreamHost control panel and click on Websites. Once you spot Files, click it.

After clicking on the Files button, you will see the File Management page. There should be a user or list of users on this screen. To the right of the user, there is a Show Info dropdown button which will reveal your FTP login information. To the right of Show Info there is a Manage Files button, clicking it will open DreamHost’s WebFTP. Click Manage Files.

This will open the WebFTP file manager in a new tab revealing all files and directories under your username.

To navigate the file manager, click on a directory to enter it. This will load the directory.

To navigate out of a directory click the up arrow icon, which will return you to the directory just above the current directory.

Step 4. Upload WordPress

To upload WordPress, you will need to choose your website folder. Click the folder that has the same name as your domain name. Once you are in your website directory, click the upload button at the bottom.

Then click Upload Folder and select the WordPress folder that we extracted earlier. This will take a few minutes.

Step 5. Run the Install

In your web browser, navigate to your domain name(yourwebsite.com) where you uploaded the WordPress folder.

Now select your preferred language.

Then click, Let’s go!

This is where you will enter your hostname and database name. Enter the following:

• Database name
• Database username
• Database password
• Database hostname
• Table prefix: For security reasons it is recommended to change this. For example: You could use yw_ for yourwebsite.com.

Lastly go ahead and click Submit.

You will now see Run the installation. Click it to begin the WordPress install.

Step 6. Finish the Installation

Now that WordPress is installed you will need to finish the installation. Enter the following details:

• Site Title: The name of your website.
• Username: Your preferred username
• Password: Leave the generated password(write it down) or create your own.
• Your Email: If you have an email address from DreamHost enter that here.
• Search Engine Visibility: Tick this box if you don’t want google to start indexing your website.

Now click Install WordPress.

After this you should be able to log into your WordPress admin panel.

That’s it for this part of the guide. Hopefully this has helped you understand how to install WordPress using the WebFTP file manager through DreamHost.

Wrapping Up!

The One-Click Install feature that DreamHost offers makes getting started with WordPress pretty painless. It’s a good choice for anyone that wants to build a website and get up and running quickly.

Additionally, the WebFTP file manager that DreamHost has to offer is simple enough to use. Once you get through the learning curve.

However, this is best suited for minimal file transfers, like accessing a file really quick. For larger transfers, you may want to go with an FTP Client such as FileZilla.

Finally, that’s it. You have installed WordPress!

If, you found this article helpful, let us know in the comments section, follow us on social media, or subscribe to our newsletter for more. If you need a guide or article written, contact us and select article request in the dropdown.