KB / Account Control Panel / Goodies :: One-Click Installs / WordPress Blog
From DreamHost
From the "Goodies > One-Click Installs" tab you can install a WordPress weblog on any fully hosted DreamHost site with just one click! See also Wordpress.
Parent Article
Can I install multiple copies of WordPress in the same database?
Yes, but it's a bit tricky..
To install the second (or third, fourth, etc... there's no limit!) WordPress install in the same database as your first you first go install it as usual, choosing the same MySQL database you already used once.
But this time, after you get the email telling you the URL to go to to finish your install, first find your wp-config.php file in your WordPress directory and edit it. Find this part: // Change the prefix if you want to have multiple blogs in a single database.
$table_prefix = 'wp_'; // example: 'wp_' or 'b2' or 'mylogin_' Change 'wp_' to be anything else (because your first WordPress is already using 'wp_'). Maybe choose 'wp2_' for example!
Now continue with your set up as normal and you'll be all set to have two WordPress blogs running off the same database!
How do I set up a WordPress weblog on DreamHost?
Of course, you should just use our one-click installation method at our "Goodies > One-Click Installs" area! Here's how:- Make sure you've got at least one fully-hosted domain with DreamHost! If not, you won't be able to install WordPress anywhere.
- Decide what URL you'd like WordPress to be installed in. That is, the URL you want your blog to have (like maybe http://blog.domain.com/ or http://www.domain.com/mythoughts/).
- The URL you choose must have no files in its directory currently.
- If you're upgrading/migrating an existing blog, choose a temporary directory to install WordPress in. When you're done upgrading, you can just use your ftp client to rename/move that directory to its final location!
- If you'd like to set it up at an entirely new domain (or sub-domain), add that domain first via the "Domain > Add Domain" area.
- Make sure that that domain is registered and has its nameservers set to ours too of course!
- If you want WordPress at the top level of your domain, just choose the domain you want and leave the text input to the right of it blank. If you want it in a sub-directory, enter that sub-directory in the text input area.
- Choose or create a new MySQL database for WordPress to store its settings as well as your posts and all post comments.
- If you're upgrading from an older version of WordPress, you should choose the MySQL database you already set up for that old version.
- All WordPress database tables start with "wp_". You're fine using an existing database as long as no tables conflict. If there's any doubt, you might as well create a new database for this WordPress install.. you get as many as you want for free afterall!
- If you're creating a new MySQL database, you must choose a unique db name, db hostname, and db username - across all of DreamHost. We know, it's kind of dumb, sorry! What should you choose for all those things? Anything you want.. it totally doesn't matter and you don't ever use them again!
- The DB hostname you pick can't be the same as any domain you have set up (even the one you're going to put WordPress on).
- That username you set up is NOT the one you use to log into WordPress. It's just the one WordPress internally uses to connect to the database.
- If one of your existing databases doesn't have a username or a hostname set up, it will be italicized and you won't be able to select it. You can add a username or a hostname to it from our "Goodies > MySQL" area and then use it, or just create a new MySQL database for your WordPress install!
- Click the "Install it for me now!" button.. You'll be emailed with further instructions to your primary contact address (which you can change by clicking the email address you see there).
- When you get that email it means we've just installed the latest version of WordPress (downloaded directly from http://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz) in the directory you requested! Read that email carefully, it provides a link for you to go to to complete your configuration of WordPress, depending on if this is a new install or an upgrade/migration.
- When going through the install process you'll be given a random password you use to log in to your WordPress installation (the default username is admin). Make note of it!
- Before making your first post, you should really read how to fight comment spam! (KB / Account Control Panel / Goodies :: One-Click Installs / WordPress Blog#What is comment spam and how do I stop it?)
- If you end up somehow absolutely hating WordPress and want to un-install it, just delete its directory with your FTP client! If you're anal, you can also delete the MySQL database (assuming you're not using it for anything else!) with our "Goodies > MySQL" area.
Why can't I log into WordPress management area?
Are you maybe trying to log in with your MySQL username and password and not your WordPress one?
When you use our one-click installer, you might have entered a username and password. Those are for the MySQL database our system creates to store your WordPress settings. That username is the username WordPress itself uses to connect to the database. What you need to manage your WordPress installation itself is a different username and password completely.
Your default username for managing your WordPress install is "admin". The password is created for you when you go to the URL listed in the email you receive after WordPress is set up by our system. After you log in the first time with that info you can add more users or change your password from the admin area!
Why isn't one of my domains in the URL drop-down?
If a domain (or sub-domain) isn't in the list of domains that you can install WordPress on, but it is on your DreamHost account, it must not be set up as a fully-hosted domain.
Remember, mirrored domains, redirect domains, parked domains, and cloaked domains can't have WordPress installed to them.
To change a domain to be fully hosted just go to the "Domains > Web" area and click "Edit" for that domain. It should allow you to change it, so long as your plans allow you to add another fully-hosted domain!
Once you've changed it, go back to the WordPress Blog area and it should now be in the select box!
When I go to my new WordPress blog, the site won't load, why?
If this happens, it's actually unrelated to WordPress.. it just means your domain itself isn't set up right!
Double check that the domain is registered at all and that it's nameservers are DreamHost's! You can do this just by doing a whois lookup. The domain should come up as taken and the nameservers should be:ns1.dreamhost.com ns2.dreamhost.com ns3.dreamhost.comIf not, you'll need to either contact your registrar to change your nameservers, or if it's not even registered, register it.
If everything looks okay, you must have just registered the domain or transferred its nameservers to us within the last day. Try giving it another 24 hours and trying again!
If everything looks okay AND your domain was set up more than two days ago, something's weird. In that case, contact support or post in the discussion board!
What version of WordPress do you install?
It's almost always the latest stable version. If you find that we're not running the current one, please feel free to file a support ticket and let us know!
How do I delete a WordPress installation?
Simply delete all the files (via your ftp client) that were placed in the directory you had it installed to (or the directory itself)!
You may also want to delete the MySQL database you were using (unless you were also using it for something else!) from our "Goodies > Mysql" area.
What should I put for "hostname" for my new mysql database?
It doesn't matter.. it just can't be the same thing as any domain you're using already for anything. It shouldn't be something you'd ever want to use again for another purpose either!
All the hostname is is an internal "convenience" name for you to give the DreamHost MySQL server that your database is going to be installed on. Usually people just pick "mysql.domain.com". Remember, it can't be the same as the URL you pick to install WordPress on! It can be "mysql.thatURL" though!
Basically don't worry about it.. just put in whatever you'd like. The same holds true for the database name and username. They just have to be unique across DreamHost.
What is comment spam and how do I stop it?
A relatively new and annoying spammer practice these days is to post comments on as many web logs as they can across the Internet, with links to their web site.
The reason they do this is primarily to attempt to up their search engine ranking by having lots of sites linking to them, and secondarily to possibly get some people visiting them through the links in the comments themselves.
Comment spam can come pretty fast and heavy with any new weblog, so here are some helpful tricks for fighting it:- BEFORE you make your first post with WordPress, consider going to the "Options > Writing" area and deleting the "http://rpc.pingomatic.com" entry under "Update Services". (What the Update Services does is immediately announce to a dozen different "weblog aggregators" that you've made a post. Ostensibly this is to help get the word out about your new post so people you don't even know may read it. In reality, few real people browse new weblogs based on searches in a weblog aggregator, but PLENTY of spammers do. Within a few hours of your first post spammers will be beating down a path to your blog, trying to automatically figure out what comment spam techniques will work on your installation!)
- You can change your comment settings from the "Options > Discussion" area. From there you can require manual approval before any comment shows up, only comments with certain words (not a very effective long-term solution though), or turn off comments altogether.
- If you're a little bit more technical-minded there are lots of anti-spam plugins for WordPress you can try out listed at http://www.tamba2.org.uk/wordpress/spam/.
How do I upgrade / migrate an existing weblog to WordPress?
First off, the most important thing is to make sure you specify a new and different URL for your new WordPress blog. When we install the software, it just goes in and overwrites any files with the same names that exist in that directory.. so don't set it to your live weblog URL for now!
If you're upgrading from an older version of WordPress, you should select the same database you were using before.. but remember, pick a new URL!
If you're switching from a different weblog system, you can choose any database you want (i.e. an old one or make a new one)... but remember, pick a new URL!
Now, click the button! After a few minutes you'll get an email with the URLs to go to depending if this is a new install, an upgrade, or a migration. Just follow the instructions at the appropriate URL carefully and you should be fine! (Note, we don't make any export files for you... it's up to you to export the settings of your old blog and then follow the instructions at the URL you're at to import them!)
Once you've finished those instructions, copy your original weblog directory somewhere safe for a backup. Now, via the options area of your WordPress management, change your WordPress URL to be the final URL you plan on using (there are two places to change it there!), then (make sure you do it after you've updated the WordPress URL in both places of the options area) just move (just via ftp or the shell) your temporary WordPress directory to the final URL's web directory and you're done!
How do I make my WordPress blog show up at the root of my domain?
If your WordPress blog is in a sub-folder (like "myblogfolder") and now you need this blog to show up when someone types in your domain do:
- Create an 'index.php' with contents:
<?php
define('WP_USE_THEMES', true);
require('./myblogfolder/wp-blog-header.php');
?>
- Place it in the root of your domain
- Delete old index.html or index.htm if present.
Your should see your WordPress blog at the root of the website now!
