Now that you have signed up for hosting with Bluehost (see my step by step guide here ), the next step is to create your website.
The easiest way to create a website is by using a website builder tool like WordPress. But how do I install WordPress on Bluehost?
WordPress is by far the most popular option. WordPress is free, easy to learn and use, and well supported.
Let’s learn how to install WordPress on Bluehost! For this guide I will be focusing entirely on WordPress, but Weebly, Joomla and Drupal are also popular alternatives to WordPress.
Thankfully the process for installing any of them is pretty similar, so this how to install WordPress on Bluehost guide should be helpful no matter which software you choose.
Step 1. Go to my.bluehost.com
When you go to my.bluehost.com and log in, you will be sent to your control panel (cPanel).
Look for the section that says “website” and click on the WordPress icon. You will be redirected to a place called “Mojo Marketplace.”
Interlude – What is Mojo Marketplace?
Before continuing further, I am going to quickly explain what Mojo Marketplace is, because it may very confusing to anyone new to website building.
mojomarketplace.com is a site that has brought together popular website applications in one place so that they, e.g. WordPress, can be easily installed with the click of a button.
On Mojo Marketplace you will find applications that deal with topics such as:
- Blog and website building tools, like WordPress (this is what we will want)
- Themes for websites
- Forums
- Online encyclopedias (wikis)
- Classified ads
- ecommerce software
- And much more
Most of these applications are free but not very easy to install (you need to upload software, edit configuration files, create databases etc. etc.).
Mojo Marketplace does everything for you.
You can quickly and easily install all of these applications and use them for your website without touching any code.
So, now that you have an idea about what Mojo Marketplace is, let’s continue.
Step 2. Install WordPress on Bluehost
When we last left off, you had just clicked the WordPress icon on Bluehost.com.
This will take you to Mojo Marketplace, where you will then click the big button saying “install new scripts”.
Step 3. Choose your domain name
After clicking install WordPress, you will be taken to a screen where you will be asked to enter the domain name you wish to install WordPress on.
Enter your domain name. But, before you click the button that says “check domain,” you may see a small box with a backslash [/] (this icon) beside it.
Here you have to decide in which directory WordPress should be installed:
- If you leave the field blank (and that is the recommended action), then WordPress will be installed on your root domain (e.g. domain.com)
- If you put a word in the field, for example “wordpress”, then WordPress will be installed into that directory (e.g. domain.com/wordpress)
Once you are satisfied with everything, click the “check domain” button.
You may get a message that says “it looks like files already exist in this location,” but you can ignore this message and click “continue.”
Step 4. Write down your WordPress login information
It will take a few minutes for WordPress to install. Once the installation processing is done, you will get redirected to a page where you will be given your WordPress login credentials:
- Your website URL
- Your website’s admin (login) URL
- Your username
- Your password
This is important information, so make sure you write everything down and keep it somewhere safe and easily accessible.
You will also receive a confirmation email with all the information.
If you do not see your WordPress powered site right away, don’t panic, it can take quite a few hours (up to around 12h) before your new site appears.
Step 5. That’s it – You have successfully installed WordPress!
You did it! You now have a pristine (vanilla) installation of WordPress on your Bluehost hosting account.
You can now login to WordPress and begin editing themes, uploading plugins, and adding content to your brand new WordPress website.
If you haven’t already, go to bluehost.com and sign up right now.
But if you need more information, you should check out our Bluehost reviews first.