Start a Blog : Install WordPress and SSL in minutes

In this article you will get info on installing WordPress and SSL certificate through cPanel.

Plus in this article you will get info on GreenGeeks (affiliate link) Quick Install Tool as well. With GreenGeeks (Full Review) there is a simpler way to install WordPress without using cPanel.

If you have made up your mind to start a website or blog then some of the very first things you will need to do after purchasing your web host would be to install WordPress and SSL certificates on your website.

Here is the basic article how you can start blogging or start a website in just a few steps :

The thing is that to start a website you just need a Domain name and hosting.

Domain you can either get from GoDaddy or Namecheap (Full Review). Both GoDaddy and Namecheap (affiliate link) give domain names in cheaper rates.

Apart from GoDaddy and Namecheap the web hosts like GreenGeeks (affiliate link) also offer a free domain for a year if you start your journey with them.

If you are purchasing a Domain name not from your web host then after purchasing the domain you will need a web host to host your website. You can see this article before selecting any web host.

Here you can see the list of web hosts that might be useful for you as well.

So after getting a domain and web hosting the first things you will do to start your website is installing WordPress and SSL certificates.

So now let’s see how to install WordPress and SSL certificates to start your website in a few clicks.

Installing WordPress and SSL certificates through cPanel :

After you get the domain name and web hosting for yourself you will get a cPanel link from your web host.

Using this cPanel you can do many tasks with just a few clicks. Through cPanel you can carry out and control important tasks to manage your website.

cPanel is very important and almost all web hosts will give you the cPanel to control your website related tasks.

Now after purchasing the Domain and Hostings for yourself you would be thinking of starting your website.

So to start your website you need WordPress which is a free and Open Source Content Management System (CMS).

So after purchasing a domain and hosting there is no extra money you need to invest. WordPress is free to use forever.

It is just that to start a website you need to install WordPress on your server and with cPanel you can do this easily.

Installing WordPress through cPanel :

Here to install WordPress we are using the cPanel that you can get with most of the web hosting providers.

cPanel is the prime thing that you get with any web hosting. As mentioned earlier you can take care of all the necessary tasks related with your website with cPanel.

You will see the same kind of cPanel dashboard with any other web hosts but here we are learning from the cPanel provided by the HostGator (affiliate link) web hosting.

So remember the steps will be the same no matter which web host you are using.

Here we are using HostGator (Full Review) as a web host.

Steps to install WordPress through cPanel :

1) So the first step is to login to your cPanel. You will be given a cPanel login link by your web host. So use that cPanel login link to login into cPanel.

Softaculous App Installer :

2) Now after logging in to cPanel look for Softaculous app installer. Softaculous will get you WordPress installed in a simple and easy way.

3) If you cannot find Softaculous app installer you can search for Softaculous in the search bar of cPanel.

4) In the Softaculous app installer click on WordPress.

Software Set up Section :

5) After clicking on WordPress it will take you to the software set up page. On this page you will have to click install button but before that choose protocol and Domain in the software setup segment.

6) While choosing a protocol you can select from a few options like “HTTP://” or “HTTPS://” or “HTTPS: //WWW”. These days almost all of us use SSL certificates so selecting “HTTPS://” or “HTTPS //WWW” is advised.

7) In the Domain options put your domain name.

8) The “In Directory” option is mostly kept blank. If you are installing WordPress in a sub folder then you can write the sub folder name in the In Directory option.

9) In the Site Settings segment you can fill options like Site name, Site Description. If you are using multi site you can enable multi site option.

Admin Account Segment :

10) Then the Admin account segment is very important. Fill in details about Admin username. Keep the admin password strong. In the Admin Email option put the email you want to set for WordPress Admin Email. On this email you will get all communication from WordPress.

11) Next you can select the language you want.

12) Then there are some plugin and theme recommendations to install but you can do it after installation of WordPress as well.

Advanced Options :

13) In the advanced options you can change the Default Database and table prefix to your preferred names. Backup location should be left to default.

14) Now after filling out all these information just click install button at the end. After clicking the install button Softaculous will run installation.

After successful installation you will see a congratulation message. Along with congratulations message you can see your admin login link as well.

This admin login link you should save or store somewhere as this is the link you will need every time you login to your WordPress dashboard.

To understand the process better you can see this video tutorial as well.

That’s it with cPanel based WordPress installation. Now let’s see another easier way to install WordPress. GreenGeeks has brought the easiest one click installation method for installing WordPress in just one click.

GreenGeeks WordPress installation method :

Now since we are talking about easiest WordPress installation process I would like to mention another very simple WordPress installation process that you can get with GreenGeeks.

GreenGeeks recently has brought a new quick launch tool that doesn’t require a cPanel login to launch or install WordPress.

For any new user or beginner this GreenGeeks tool can be very simple and easy to follow.

Obviously you need to start with GreenGeeks (affiliate link) as your web host to use this feature.

So let’s see how to use GreenGeeks Quick Launch tool to install WordPress in just one click.

Steps to Install WordPress with GreenGeeks Quick Install Tool :

1) As a beginner or a new user you might want to purchase your Domain and Hosting first.

As you can see in the above image first you can register a domain with GreenGeeks (affiliate link). A new Domain is free for a year with GreenGeeks (Full Review).

If you already have a domain name then also no problem. Just put your domain name in the neighboring section called “Use a Domain You Already Own”. Then Click next.

Account Info Section

2) Once you get your Domain registered it will take you to account info section.

You will just need to fill the account opening form here by giving your information.

Quick Launch Wizard :

3) After you successfully opening your account with GreenGeeks hosting you will be taken to the Quick Launch Wizard.

4) This Quick Launch Wizard makes it very easy for you to install WordPress without any help of cPanel. So it is a simple and more convenient way for any user.

5) In the Quick Launch wizard you just need to select the start a new website option if you are starting a new website.

As you can see in the above shot “Start New Website” option has been selected. If you want to migrate a website to GreenGeeks then also an option is provided.

If you want to do installation with cPanel then you can select “Skip This” option.

We want a one click install of our new website so we will select “Start New Website”.

Select WordPress :

6) Then after in the select your app section just select WordPress and it will take you to another section.

Select Your App section on the GreenGeeks Quick Launch Wizard

As you can see “WordPress” has been selected in the above shot.

7) After selecting WordPress it will take you to a welcome page. You can select your themes and plugins from this page. You can select your theme etc things afterwards also so no worries for themes and plugins.

Welcome Page after selecting WordPress in the GreenGeeks Quick Launch Wizard

At the end of the page just select create my website and that’s it.

you will see congrats message like this below image.

Congrats message for successful installation of WordPress

It shows that your website is ready. You can click the go to WP dashboard button to go to your WordPress admin dashboard.

The best thing about this GreenGeeks Quick Launch tool is that it is more simple than cPanel. You don’t need cPanel if you are using GreenGeeks Quick Launch Tool. It is really simple and one click method.

More info you can get in this video.

GreenGeeks Tutorial to Quickly Launch your WordPress Website

After seeing the two simple ways to install WordPress now let’s see how to install SSL with the help of cPanel.

Installing SSL certificate through cPanel in any web host :

Most of the web hosts these days are providing free Let’s Encrypt certificates.

The process to install a free let’s encrypt certificate through cPanel is very easy.

An SSL certificate makes your website encrypted so that your visitors become more secure while visiting your website. If your SSL is properly installed on your website then it shows the URL with HTTPS :// rather than HTTP ://.

Also you can see a lock icon near your URL if you have SSL certificate installed on your website.

Steps to install SSL certificate through cPanel in any web host :

Steps are going to be the same with any cPanel based web hosting.

cPanel login :

1) To install the Let’s encrypt certificate first you need to login to your cPanel.

To login to the cPanel use the login link that you get from your web host.

Let’s Encrypt Icon :

2) Now after successful cPanel login you should look for security section in your cPanel.

In the security section you will see Let’s Encrypt icon. Click the Let’s Encrypt icon.

+Issue Button :

3) After clicking on the Let’s Encrypt icon you will see the “Issue a new certificate” section.

In that section you can see your domain name. Just in the same row of your domain you will see +Issue button. +Issue button is in the actions column to be precise. Click that +Issue button.

Select your Domains for SSL installation :

4) After clicking the +Issue button you need to select the main domain and other options that are pointing to your server. In short you can uncheck the options that are not pointing to your server.

Generally in this step you need to select your domain name with “WWW” and “Non WWW” options.

If your email hosting is pointing towards your web hosting server then you will need to select email related option as well.

5) Then select http-01 as the validation method.

6) Click issue button in the end to complete the process.

After completing this process you will see a confirmation message that SSL is successfully installed on your respective domain.

Only thing you need to do after installing the SSL certificate is to redirect from HTTP:// to HTTPS://

Steps to set the redirect from HTTP:// to HTTPS://

1) Go to cPanel dash board and find the Domain section. Click redirect in the Domain section.

2) Now in the redirect to segment type your domain URL with HTTPS://

For example :

Your website URL is http:// yourwebsite.com. So change it with HTTPS:// yourwebsite.com and write it in the redirect to segment.

3) The last step is to click on add button at the bottom and that’s it.

You can check now that your website will show URL with HTTPS:// instead of HTTP://. Also it will show a padlock as well.

To understand this process better you can see this video.

Conclusion :

So concluding this article WordPress and SSL installation is very easy to do.

cPanel is of prime importance as most of the important tasks regarding your website can be carried out by cPanel in a few clicks only.

Keep all your passwords including cPanel password strong for better security.

SSL certificate installation has also become easier due to Let’s Encrypt SSL.

GreenGeeks can be a great option if you are looking for better performance along with affordability.

GreenGeeks (affiliate link) one click installation process shows how technically sound GreenGeeks can be as web host. So make sure you are counting on GreenGeeks (Full Review) as well when you are thinking of starting a website.

Start a Blog : Install WordPress and SSL in minutes