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Duplicator creates a log file that might have some clues in it. If you can’t see the log file in the dashboard, look in the wp-snapshots folder for somethingsomething.log.

Also check your php error log file. Might be a clue there.
To track down the location of your php error log, check your php.ini file for the settings.

Before you do anything, read this WordPress FAQ article and check out the other references it provides.

Many times the hackers are not terribly sophisticated and it is as simple as restoring the index.php in your root folder to recover. Other times you might need to edit the mySQL database. It just depends on the specific situation.

You might find this support thread useful. It is about running WordPress on a Windows Server.

I think what Godaddy might be saying is that your domain name needs to be registered with them if you want to use their WP hosting service.

So if you already have a domain (e.g. wwww.yoursitename.com) that you are currently using, you might have to transfer it to Godaddy from where ever it is currently registered.

Or you could use some other hosting service that doesn’t care where you domain is registered and then just change the Domain Name Server setting to point to the hosting server.

The three things you need to put in the wp-config.php file
The database name, database user, and database password.

Are you sure you’re not confusing the host name with the database name?

Well it looks like you have PHP up and running. Your test.php displays the PHP info page. That indicates PHP is working. I don’t think you have to reinstall it. Just delete that test.php file for security reasons.

I don’t think you have to uninstall the Microsoft Web PI.

Here are some additional notes about PHP settings: https://pastebin.com/LAb8KLfN

On the issue of a sub domain. If you install WordPress into the existing site’s directory, you risk bringing down the existing site, maybe clobbering some of the contents (not sure, depends on how it is structured). If the client doesn’t care that their site is down while you do the wordpress development then you don’t need to worry about setting up “a separate” domain for a development environment. So forget about the index.html. You only need to use that if you setup a new development site in IIS and you want to test that it is working.
I would take steps to backup the current Site directory.

Do not worry about all the extra MySQL components installed. The important ones are installed.

So to create your database, use MySQL administrator on the server. If you installed MySQL then you should know the password to login to the MySQL server. You will need the MySQL Server login details.

Detailed instructions to create a MySQL database can be found at this pastebin : https://pastebin.com/ZVezk7jh

Finally, you have to setup the rewrite rules so that the WordPress permalink structures work.

Here are the two references I used to get that working. It is pretty straightforward. Just be careful to backup the existing web.config file (if indeed one exists) before you make any changes to it.
You should find it in the root folder of the website.

Enabling Pretty Permalinks in IIS and there is a note on this page
https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Using_Permalinks, look for the heading Permalinks without mod_rewrite.

I forgot to mention that you need to install FASTCGI when you install PHP.
And then setting up the web.config file so the rewrite module works.
Let me know if you need more detail about these two items.

I run several wordpress sites on a Windows 2008 R2 IIS7.
So here’s some initial information and if you let me know where you need the detail, I will start posting the detail to a pastebin because I think it is too much to post here.

I assume you want to setup a development environment. I use sub domains (e.g. dev.domainname.com). Whoever is in control of the domain will have to create the subdomain for you…if that isn’t you. Then you add the site in IIS using the IIS Manager. I can tell you step by step how to do this if you need this info.

On MySQL…I see 5.6 is installed. Did you create the database ? Do you need to know how to do this?

I had trouble getting PHP installed correctly. I finally used the Windows Installer for PHP 5.3 and I just installed all of the extensions. Once you have it installed and working it is very easy to upgrade to PHP 5.4.nn or PHP 5.5.nn. There is no Windows installer for later versions of PHP. I will be happy to post more details about this step.

You may have to tweak the php.ini file. I will be happy to post my versions via pastebin (or something). To much to post here.

At this point, you should test that the site is working in IIS, PHP is working and MySQL is working before trying to install WordPress. It will save you a lot of time.

Use a simple index.html…a “hello world” type of thing to test that the development website is in operation (after setting it up in IIS).

Then test that PHP is working by creating a phptest.php file that just contains the following line of code:

<?php phpinfo(); ?>

Then when you visit this URL https://dev.domainname.com/phptest.php you should see the PHP info page. If you don’t, it isn’t working.

Finally, test that you can connect to your database. Put the following code in a php file (e.g. testsql.php) and update it with the connection details for your database. Then visit the URL https://dev.domainname.com/testsql.php. The output will tell you if you’ve successfully connected to the database.

<?php
echo "okey dokey <br>";
// hostname or ip of server (for local testing, localhost should work)
$dbServer='localhost';
echo "okey dokey <br>";
// username and password to log onto db server
$dbUser='mysqlusernamegoeshere';
$dbPass='passwordgoeshere';   //
echo "okey dokey again <br>";
// name of database
$dbName='databasenamegoeshere';

    $link = mysql_connect("$dbServer", "$dbUser", "$dbPass") or die("Could not connect");
    print "Connected successfully<br>";
    mysql_select_db("$dbName") or die("Could not select database");
    print "Database selected successfully<br>";

// close connection
mysql_close($link);
?>

Once you’ve got those three elements working you are ready to do the 5 minute WordPress install and it really is only 5 minutes! Okay. Maybe 15 by the time you update your wp-config.php file.

Let me know where you are stuck or what further detail you need.

Wherever your domain is registered, that’s where you need to enter the DNS settings. Godaddy is the registrar for https://seleville.co.zw. So if that is your domain, call Godaddy for help or log into your Godaddy account and look for domain management.

If you know how to use FTP, you can manually upgrade your site to 3.9 following these instructions.

Read all of the instructions before you start.

Just be careful to backup your wp-config.php file before you start so you don’t accidentally delete it. It contains the connection to your database. Not a nice situation if you lose that.

If you need notes about using FTP do this upgrade manually, let me know and I will write some for you.

Your domain needs to point to wherever you are now hosting your domain.
That is, update the Domain Name Server (DNS) setting in the registrar account (e.g. Godaddy, Name Cheap, WordPress.com(?)) or wherever your domain is registered).

You need to get the DNS settings from your hosting service. That is, what is the name or IP address of the server where you domain now lives. Your registrar service and hosting service need not be the same company (e.g. I use Godaddy for domain registration but I use other hosting services).

Before changing the DNS for your domain, you need to export (from the old location) any existing content that you want to move to the new hosting location.

If you have content on WordPress.com the export function will

export all of your posts, pages, comments, custom fields, terms, navigation menus and custom posts.

The export option is in your Dashboard under the Tools menu. You can then import it into your new installation once you can get to the “new” Dashboard.

Make sure you also take note of whichever theme you have selected on WordPress.com so you can then install and select that same theme in your new installation.

After getting you site setup at the new location, you need to consider whether you have to change Permalink options (to define post/page slugs and ultimately the format of URL’s) and you may need to do 301 redirects…depending on whether the permalinks from your content have changed.

And any links to your own content that you have embedded in posts might have to be converted. There are plugins that will do this.

I will expand on these details as you wish and as you progress.

I’m using Windows 2008 and IIS7. I’ve never found any documentation on www.ads-software.com about Windows securities settings. It is an ongoing mystery involving trial and error.

The following old Dreamweaver article on the adobe site gave me the most insight into security settings for WordPress.

Understanding Anonymous Authentication and the IUSR account.

As a general rule, when there is a problem with WordPress related security settings on a Windows server, I find the security settings for the IUSR user on a folder is either missing completely or incorrect (missing the “write” permission and/or the “modify” permission).

Google uses the page title (a meta tag that exists for every page) for the hyperlink. The description that appears under the hyperlink is either the “description” meta tag for the page or you can force google to use the first so and so many characters of the page content for the description.

If your theme doesn’t handle these meta tags, you can install a plugin to let you manage these SEO meta tags for every page or post in your site.

A plugin such as: WordPress SEO by Yoast or All in One SEO Pack.

They might break. WordPress itself should not be a problem. What you have to worry about are themes and plugins breaking.

Just search this site for PHP 5.4 and review some of the issues that come up. Enter the following in google:

site:www.ads-software.com “php 5.4”

Seletine, you should probably start a new support post for your question.
If you do, I’ll give you a preparation checklist.