Wordpress installation
From ITPedia
| Added by | Marianne Petit, John Dimatos, Kacie Kinzer |
| Short description | This flyby goes over the steps needed to get a wordpress blog up and running on the ITP server. it takes about 20 minutes to complete. |
| main document (e.g. datasheet) | |
| Homepage Location | http://www.wordpress.org |
| Area of Focus | Applications |
| Additional Keywords | blogging, wordpress, itp101 |
Step by step instructions
1. Go to Wordpress.org and download the latest version of Wordpress, currently version 3.2.1. If the file doesn't automatically extract leaving you a folder called "Wordpress" be sure to extract it.
2. Using an FTP application, (we recommend Fetch and cyberduck - both are free) log into the ITP server. Note, the host is stu.itp.nyu.edu, your login is your NetID, and your password is the password you are currently using on all NYU systems. Be sure to select Secure FTP (usually referred to as SFTP).
3. At the root level of your directory Nancy has created a file called "sqlpw". This file - a simple text file- contains your database password. Wordpress will need it. Copy this file to your hard drive - you must keep this password secure.
4. On your desktop, return to the wordpress folder you just downloaded. In the root, you'll find a file named wp-config-sample.php. Rename it to wp-config.php.
5. We now need to edit this file. You can use any text editor to do it. Try downloading TextWrangler, You'll find this program useful for other work in the future. Once this file is open you will need to make several changes in order for wordpress to be able to find your database. You should have the password from step 3 handy in your clipboard. Replace text accordingly:
- define('DB_NAME', 'yourNetID'); // The name of the database, on ITPs server this should be your NETID
- define('DB_USER', 'yourNetID'); // Your MySQL username, again, this should be your NETID
- define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password'); // ...and password.. Not your NETID password, this is the file Nancy gave you. (see step 3)
- define('DB_HOST', 'localhost'); // You won't need to change this value on ITPs server
further down in the file, at line 57, you will also need to make one more change.
$table_prefix = 'wp_';
Replace 'wp_' with your own unique combination but only use numbers, letters, and underscores. This will allow you later on to install a second blog if you need to, and provides an additional level of security. You must do this for for security purposes.
Now, save the file.
6. Go back to your FTP application. Create a folder called 'public_html' inside the folder that is named with your netid. you want to end up with something like ~mp51/public_html , where mp51 is your netid. Inside the public_html directory upload the entire wordpress directory, as is. you should now have the equivalent of ~mp51/public_html/wordpress as your directory structure. Using the FTP program, rename this directory to something more meaningful (see below - wordpress has been renamed to "myblog" but you should choose whatever makes the most sense for you) so the directory structure changes to: ~mp51/public_html/myblog.
7. You now need to change permissions on the wp-config.php file. As the owner of the file you will want access to read and write to it. But no one else should be able to. Once again: You must do this for for security purposes.
8. Now you will need to log into Wordpress and complete the installation. Return to your web browser and go to the path of your blog (i.e. http://itp.nyu.edu/~mp51/myblog). Follow the instructions to create an admin user for yourself.
9. You can access your administrative pages at this url: http://itp.nyu.edu/~netid/myblog/wp-admin' where 'myblog' is the name you gave the folder in step 6. Log into wordpress with your admin username and the password that was assigned to you. Be sure to log into your profile page and change your password to something meaningful immediately.
10. You're ready to start posting!
BUT -
not so fast. If you don't take a few more short steps, your blog could get steeped in spam comments that could make the server slow for everyone. here's what you need to do to avoid that.
Installing the akismet spam plugin
1. go to the 'plugin' section of your administrative screen. at the top it should say 'Akismet is almost ready. You must enter your WordPress.com API key for it to work.' click that link to get the Akismet configuration screen. There, look for the 'Get your key' link or click this one.
2. Go ahead and create a wordpress.com account. Since we're not using them to host a blog, you can choose 'just a username, please' in the last option.
3. after the account is created, login and go to the profile section of your dashboard. copy the number that is your API key into your clipboard.
4. go back to your blog, and in the akismet configuration page paste that number into the appropriate field. you should get the message
Your key has been verified. Happy blogging!
Indeed.
Very Good Things ™ to do after you've installed your blog
Wordpress is a easily modified platform. For example, a common modification is to change the structure of each blog post URL to something more human readable. A common plugin for people who use twitter for example, sends a twitter message every time you post to your blog. To get an idea of how people use it, look at the following links and see if some of the recommended things fit your needs.
