How To Install WordPress via Softaculous

Softaculous can make a useful way of installing software for creating websites, and for helping to keep the installed software updated. One of the most common things to install with Softaculous is WordPress.

Note that in order to install WordPress via Softaculous, it is necessary to have a Premium license for Softaculous. If you do not yet have a Premium license for Softaculous, you can purchase one via our Billing Department.

Step 1: Make sure WordPress is available for installation

First, log into WHM and make sure WordPress is one of the scripts being made available to the cPanel users for installation. To do this, log into WHM and go to Plugins → Softaculous Instant Installs”.

Then within the Softaculous frame’s left sidebar, go to “Software → General Scripts”.

Then make sure WordPress is enabled there. To save time later, you can also check the box in the Pre-Download column. After checking that the boxes are checked, click “Update Settings”.

You should then see the success message:

Step 2: Create the cPanel account

If you haven’t already, you will need to make the cPanel account for the site. This is done in WHM under “Create a New Account”. If you aren’t already sure how to do this, you can read more about some of the first steps to getting a cPanel account set up here.

Step 3: Install WordPress

After logging in to the cPanel, scroll down to section “Softaculous Apps Installer”. In the subsection “Scripts”, one of the options should be WordPress.

Then click the “Install Now” button.

Fill in the information in the form. The first three blanks are for determining the url of the main page of the site. The first dropdown box is to specify if you want to use https or plain http, and whether you want “www.” as part of the url or not. The second dropdown box chooses which of the domains or subdomains in the cPanel account to use for the site (in case the cPanel account has more than one). The third box is to type the folder name of the site, in case you don’t want it directly under the domain’s documentroot. After that is space for the site’s name, description, and whether you want to enable multisite.

You will also need to specify the username and password you would like to use for the administrative account in the new WordPress site. Be very sure to choose a strong password! This is also where you can specify the email address to configure as the new site’s administrator’s contact email address. You can also choose the language and theme, and has a small selection of plugins that can be pre-installed in the site. While considering the plugin options, you may want to review some of our relevant security tips. You can always install other plugins from within WordPress once it has been installed. There is also an expandable list of Advanced Options.

Within the “Advanced” section, it is strongly recommended to enable Auto Upgrade, not only for the site itself, but also for the plugins and themes. It is extremely important that whenever updates are available that they be upgraded as quickly as possible, in case there are important security patches included in the newer versions. If needed, you can also enable softaculous-level backups of the site, but it is recommended instead to use the automatic backups builtin to WHM. If you do enable the Softaculous-level backups, be sure to enable the backup rotation for a finite number of retained backups. Do not choose unlimited here! This section is also where you can choose the Database Name and/or Table Prefix, if desired. If WHM has “Require a username prefix on names of new databases and database users” enabled in “Tweak Settings”, you do not need to add the prefix yourself.

Once you have chosen the desired settings, click the Install button at the bottom of the page. If desired, you can first enter your email address in the box below the button, to have Softaculous email you details about the installation.

After clicking “Install”, there will briefly be a progress bar as Softaculous checks the validity of the information you entered into the form. If it worked, you should soon thereafter see the success page.

If you choose to have Softaculous send you an email with the installation information, it should look something like this:

Return-path: <wordpress@host.XXXXX.net>
Received: from wordpress by host.XXXXX.net with local (Exim 4.87)
        (envelope-from <wordpress@host.XXXXX.net>)
        id 1c3PtE-0008F3-NM
        for admin@domain.tld; Sun, 06 Nov 2016 11:01:48 -0500
To: admin@domain.tld
Subject: New Installation of WordPress
X-PHP-Originating-Script: 0:mail_functions.php
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
From: Softaculous <admin@domain.tld>
Reply-To: admin@domain.tld
X-Mailer: PHP/5.6.20
Message-Id: <E1c3PtE-0008F3-NM@host.XXXXX.net>
Date: Sun, 06 Nov 2016 11:01:48 -0500

A new installation of WordPress 4.6.1 has been completed. The details of the installation are shown below:
Path : /home/wordpress/public_html
URL : http://wordpresstest.XXXXX.net
Admin URL : http://wordpresstest.XXXXX.net/wp-admin/
Admin Username : hopefullysomethingnotobvious
Admin Password : ********
Admin Email: admin@wordpresstest.XXXXX.net
MySQL Database : wordpres_wp952
MySQL DB User : wordpres_wp952
MySQL DB Host : localhost
MySQL DB Password : ********
Update Notification : Enabled
Auto Upgrade : Enabled
Automated Backups : Disabled
Time of Installation : November 6, 2016, 4:01 pm

If you wish to unsubscribe from such emails, go to your Control Panel -> Softaculous -> Email Settings

Step 4: First Login

Once the site has been installed, you can then log into the newly-installed site.

Once logged in, you can install additional plugins, or jump right in with writing your first blog post!