Installing WordPress on a Network Solutions Hosted Site
Below is a step-by-step description of how to install WordPress on a website you have hosted on Network Solutions. While the act of installing WordPress is rather easy (as WP calls it, their “5-minute installation“), navigating around specific hosting vendors can sometimes be tricky. I was certainly unsure the first time I needed to do this on Network Solutions, but now I’ve installed WordPress 4 separate times on a NS-hosted site and thought I would share the experience for anyone else needing to do this.
A few notes before we begin:
- All instructions and images are based on a Windows Vista operating system
- This assumes that you setup a Unix-based server when you purchased the Network Solutions hosting
- The versions and look-and-feel of some of the images may change after this posting (companies often change their navigation)
1. Download WordPress at http://wordpress.org/download/ — Simply click the blue Download button and save it in a place on your computer where you will easily retrieve it in the next step (i.e. the Desktop)
2. Locate and Unzip the WordPress file you just downloaded – use Winzip or the Windows unzip tool, whatever is available. In the shot below, I used the Windows option for Extract All…, but you can use whatever you are comfortable with. Again, keep track of where you unzip the files to facilitate the process later on.
3. Access the Network Solutions Hosting Page for your site. This will require logging into Network Solutions, clicking on Manage Account, and navigating through the left tree to nsHosting. If you have multiple sites hosted with Network Solutions, then you will need to choose which one you are dealing with in this exercise.
Below is the screen when you have arrived at the hosting page for your site, once here click Manage Databases (right side, in light-screen font)
4. Click Add Database when you arrive at the Manage Databases page
5. Populate the fields on the Create MySQL Database form. You will need to create your own Username, Password, and Database name. Obviously, try to make the password a strong one and then use an easy name for the database. I usually leave the other fields alone.
6. Once you create the database, you will arrive at a page with additional details. I’ve blacked out my details for this tutorial, but you should take note of all the values, particularly Database Name, Server Name, Username, Password. All of these will be needed in the next few steps.
7. Back in the Unzipped WordPress folders, locate the file wp-config-sample.php and open it with a text viewer (i.e. NotePad).
8. In the wp-config-sample.php file you will now update a few lines with the information from the Network Solutions Database page from Step 6.
Notes:
- For DB_NAME put the database name from the first column above (you created this name). Quick note, you should be typing within the second set of single quotes, where it reads putyourdbnamehere – you need to keep the single quotes as-is!
- For Username and Password, just insert those in the second set of single quotes for the corresponding line.
- For MySQL hostname, you will also find this in the database confirmation page in Step 6. It will probably be something like mysqlv10 for Network Solutions.
Once done updating, Click File > Save As… and edit the name to be wp-config.php. This will be the official configuration file for your WordPress installation (once you upload it in the next few steps).
9. Obtain your FTP Information (Address, Username, Password) from the Network Solutions Hosting Page (I’ve blacked mine out for this exercise)
10. Utilizing an FTP client, access your Network Solutions FTP site. I use FileZilla because it’s free and easy.
Once you have access, copy all of the files and folders from the unzipped WordPress folder (this will include the wp-config.php file you edited) and move them into the htdocs folder on the Network Solutions FTP site.
This transfer might take a while as there are a lot of files.
11. Type your site’s URL in your browser followed by /wp-admin/
12. You will now arrive at the WordPress Installation Page and the rest is pretty easy. Just follow the instructions for naming your blog, setting your admin password, etc.
Additional Sources:
- WordPress Guide for Installing: http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress
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You are a genius! I wasted a lot of time trying to blend a blogger blog and a network solutions site until I found this. Thank you so much for your help.
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Wow! I called NS many times over the last 24 hours. This worked perfectly. The NS folks should read it! Thank you!
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You’re brilliant! I don’t have to explain how valuable this is, so thanks! Btw, we have the same theme.
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One more comment! I just tried this procedure (worked great) but I have an edit. In the wp-config file, using localhost as the db_host won’t work. I even tried the IP address as some previously suggested – no dice. What did work was using the mysql server name (in my case it started with mysql). FYI.
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Thanks! Worked as described as of this date (and using alias of mysqlv__)
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Thanks, a little unsure on the exact fields for the wp-config file, especially the MySQL hostname, and your guide really helped.
Is it possible to FTP the files to /htdocs/{blog folder name} instead of just to htdocs, and then run the blog alongside a website?
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Works perfectly. Thanks!
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Thank you very much. Nowhere could I find that the host was other than ‘localhost’.
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Thanks for this! It was comforting to have a step-by-step tutorial to follow, so I didn’t miss anything and totally ruin our presence on the web.
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Great article, thanks. This was exactly what I needed.
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Hi, Thank you for posting this. How do we upgrade in the future with new versions of WordPress?
THX
J
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Many thanks! This was just what the doctor/shrink ordered.
Travis
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Help! This worked, but it replaced my site instead of adding a blog to my existing site. I was able to recover my site and republish it, but not sure what I did wrong.
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@Betsy It sounds like you uploaded the WordPress files into the root directory of your site, which would cause a conflict with your HTML pages you have in there now.
What you should do is create a folder within the root directory (the root directory is the one with your home page in it – index.html – probably called “htdocs”) and call it something like “blog”. Then upload all of the wordpress files into this blog folder and try the install command from there (http://merrymancommunications.com/blog/wp-admin/).
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Has anyone tried to move a WordPress Network (previously called multi-site) from localhost to a Network Solutions hosted site? I purchased 3 domains and 3 hosting packages and have been trying to figure this out for days. NS support I have spoken with so far say they have never done it. I am running 3.1.2 and my Network was running perfect locally as I was developing the three sites. Now I am ready to go live with this and I don’t know what the problem is.I have followed all the info I can have to prep my db and my config file.
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Perfect!!! Thank you so much!!!!
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I had a lot of trouble getting Filezilla to upload the wordpress files. NS help finally told me that they recommend not installing in htdocs, but in htdocs/WordPress. This seems to have solved the problem.
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Excellent review. NS has changed some things up since you have written this article, but with just a little reading and not depending upon the screen shots I got this resolved for a client quite quickly.
Thanks!
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I installed on ns for a customer that bought their hosting plan. I tried to upload into htdocs but it keeps timing out, They require you to install into a folder in htdocs with the 5 minute install. Now my navigation is broken unless I use their dns name – when I change the wordpress settings to use my domain name, I get 404 errors. Tech support was terrible. I bought the paid support only to be told they are only available Mon – Fri from 8-5 – unbelievable.
Do you have any suggestions to fix the dns problem? I am almost afraid to change anything and have the site not work at all but things aren’t right
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I cannot believe how amazing this step guide was. Not even Network Solutions knows how to explain this properly! Thank you so so so so much!
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This was a trillion times better than working with Network Solutions! I have been on the phone with them for weeks because their “simple one-step installation” just did not work for me at all. Especially with the annoying feature that you can’t install on the root domain.
This just relieved so much stress in my life! Thanks!
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OMG!!!
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for this step by step guide!!!! NS’s “WordPress install” option failed miserably (I couldn’t set up the blog after they’re app thingie said it was installed)… resorted to installing WP by myself and struggled. Thank you once again for your guide!
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Great tutorial. If I already have one WP install at the root of my domain (htdocs), How do I avoid confusion when installing a second WP for another domain name? It sounds like the easiest answer would be to create a folder and install within it but I want to avoid having a url of http://www.mydomain.com/FOLDERNAME.
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