The official guide to Installing WordPress has all the information you need, but many WordPress fans have created video walkthroughs to make installation that much easier. Here are four that I liked:
- WordPress Quickstart Screencast Tutorial – This is the longest, most detailed screencast I’ve found; it covers everything you need to install WordPress, as well as the basics of using WordPress. The screencaster Rachele Cunliffe has a cool accent, too.
Important note: according to this page on WordPress Permissions, you should never set permissions to more than 644 for files and 755 for directories. This screencast sets the permissions to 666 and 777, which isn’t advisable.
- Installing WordPress: An Audio Visual Presentation – Probably my favorite, this screencast is just a few minutes long, but it’s also detailed enough for a complete newbie to follow.
- Installing WordPress – This screencast is also short, but it’s not as detailed as the first two and it doesn’t have any sound. Perfect for those who just want the essentials.
- Install a WordPress Blog – This is a short video from CNET explaining the basics.
After taking a look at all of the videos, I ended up using the official guide from the WordPress Codex while I did the installation. It really was as easy as it looked!
If you’re running on shared hosting where any scripts run as your user ID, then I’d use 711 (you: everything, group + other = execute only) for any directories.
I don’t know if it’ll be useful to you at this point, but eventually you’ll want to explore the nuances of the Apache .htaccess file. This is a master configuration file that, while arcane, gives you powerful control over who can browse what and how.
For example, to disable directory browsing:
IndexIgnore *
To allow a different set of default suffixes:
DirectoryIndex index.php index.shtml index.pl
To block entire IP ranges (useful for the robot machines):
deny from 80.58
here are some of the basics to get you started.
Thanks! That looks very, very useful! I especially like that trick to prevent people from linking to your images.
I’ve made a screencast on the installation of WordPress on a windows machine.
http://www.sridhareena.com/2006/04/28/installation-of-wordpress-on-a-windows-machine-screencast/
Thanks for awesome video .