Purchased domain & hosting – how can I start using WP?

  • Hello everyone!

    I’ve purchased my domain name and I’ve purchased some webhosting. I currently use WordPress at work, which my coworker has taught me how to make posts and design our company’s website. I’m a little familiar with how to design once the site is going.

    That’s the problem though. She switched over our company’s website to WordPress and I am not sure how she did it. Now that I want to start running my own small website / blog I actually don’t know how to make it.

    I recall prior to launching the website for work, the domain was something like ourcompanyname.wordpress.com. And then once we had it where we liked it, she got ourcompanyname.com changed over with the template we worked on.

    I tried using the “Map Now” button when I followed WordPress’s suggestion for how to set up what I’m wanting to set up. But nothing happens when I hit that button. I tried it in both Chrome and Firefox.

    I hope I’m making sense in what I’m asking. Basically I have my domain name and webhosting paid for, I’m ready to start looking at WordPress templates and start creating my website. I just can’t figure out how to connect the two.

    Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)

  • I suspect your confusion stems from the likelihood that your friend at work is using wordpress.com and simply pointing a domain name at it. If that is what you want to do, you don’t need web hosting, and you should go to wordpress.com for help.

    If you truly want to install your own WordPress software on your own web hosting, then you can either “do it yourself” or, quite likely, use a script that your web hosting company provides to its customers.

    Do it yourself is best started by reading here: https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Installing_WordPress

    After that, you may want to start here: https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Getting_Started_with_WordPress

    If you indeed bought a name and leased a server. You will need to first point your new name at your server. This is done by asking your Server Customer service.
    IGE:Network solutions is NS51.worldnic.com

    You will then have your name pointed at your server.
    Then in your server you will login and in your file manager there will be a folder named htdocs/ in there is where you will upload your WP 4.0 site after unzipping it.
    If you get that far let me know…

    Thread Starter Lauramars

    (@lauramars)

    I do recall my coworker uploading the WorldPress to our work’s FTP site.

    I guess that’s where I’m getting a little lost.

    I have Filezilla downloaded and used it once before, but probably almost 8 years ago. I’m not sure where to go or what information to use to connect to my webhosting server. I purchased my domain from 1&1.com. Once I log in there, will there be a web address that I plug into FileZilla to access the area I need to put WordPress into? I’m not sure where you found the information “NS51.worldnic.com”.

    If I’m not making sense I apologize. This is all a little above my head. Not so much that I can’t understand anything, but since I have not sat down and seen this process done I just can’t really envision it.

    @jonradio: I thought that if you don’t have your own domain that you purchased and you just use WordPress.com, your website will be something like: Lauramarswebsite.wordpress.com? I definitely would like to keep my website’s domain name without wordpress in the URL in the end.

    Thank you for the replies. I appreciate it!

    WordPress.com does allow you to use your own domain name. That is explained here:
    https://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/

    Yes Lauramars,
    You are going to have to get to googling, or maybe have your internet person who did the site at your work do a Saturday job? Should not be more then a phone call to your registrar unless you know to login and what the 2 server addresses are like the NS51worldnic for me.
    Then you will upload the wordpress site to your server usually in a folder named htdocs/
    where you will use filezilla by logging in with your creds to your server to then create that htdocs folder (if it does not exist)
    Probably a 100.00 to your net person will iron out the 2 hours of hassling with customers service of your Registrar and your host. Unless they are one in the same, who BTW MAY walk you thru it??

    You should have the latest FIlezilla downloaded already before calling as you should have the WordPress 4.0 un zipped and ready to go.
    Because C.S is going to have to set up a Database where you will be creating a user name, password and mysqlv?? (It will make sense once you have been there done that) This was my first time doing an install of a 2nd WP site on my server, so I am sorry to not be able to jot down the steps clearly and simply for you.
    Best,
    Netcom
    P.s but if you need motion graphics, that I can do! IGE: Website commercial
    P.S.S~ WP.com is for a subdomain and limits, you are correct!

    Thread Starter Lauramars

    (@lauramars)

    @jonradio – Thank you, I will look into this.

    @netcom – I started off by Googling, but since a lot of it was just not making sense I came here. I keep thinking that this can’t possibly be that complicated considering how many people get a website with their own domain name set up within hours. It’s just new to me so this first time is kind of slow.

    I’d prefer not to ask my coworker simply because this is kind of a personal site for now. The second part you mentioned about uploading WordPress to the htdocs I do sort of understand and I’m confident I can get that part. It sounds like I just need to contact 1&1.com first and ask them for the addresses. If I just ask them for the two server addresses they should understand right? Maybe if I explain to them what I’m trying to do they’d understand better?

    Thanks again. I’m hoping by the end of the weekend I can have WordPress connected to my domain I purchased and start designing the website!

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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