Install WordPress

FiniteHost runs WordPress well, but there is no one-click installer: you install it yourself in four short stages. This guide walks you through each one. You only need a web browser, an SFTP app and a text editor.

Before you start#

• A web plan with a free database slot (every web plan includes at least one).
• The website added in the panel: see Add a website. Ideally connect your domain first, so HTTPS is ready when you run the installer.
• An SFTP app connected to your account: see Connect with SFTP.
• A plain-text editor: Notepad, Notepad++, VS Code or TextEdit (in plain-text mode). Do not use Word.

Stage 1: Create the database#

1. Open Databases. In the panel, choose Databases in the left menu.
2. Name it. In Create a database, type a short name such as wordpress (2 to 16 lowercase letters, digits or _, starting with a letter).
3. Create it. Press Create database.
4. Copy the details. A window shows the Database, User and Password. The database and user are the same, your subscription ID plus the name, for example t3d2ca2b860_wordpress. Copy all three into a safe place now: the password is shown only once.
5. Close the window. Press I have copied it. The database is ready within a minute; its state changes from being set up to Ready.

Stage 2: Download and upload WordPress#

1. Download. On your computer, download the latest WordPress zip from wordpress.org/download.
2. Unzip. Extract it. You get a folder called wordpress containing wp-admin, wp-content, wp-includes and many .php files.
3. Connect with SFTP. Open your SFTP app and go to /sites/acme.in/public.
4. Upload the contents. Open the wordpress folder on your computer, select everything inside it, and upload it into public. When you are done, public should contain wp-admin, wp-content, wp-includes, index.php and wp-config-sample.php directly.

The upload has about 3,000 small files and may take 5 to 15 minutes, depending on your connection.

Stage 3: Create wp-config.php#

1. Copy the sample. In your SFTP app, download wp-config-sample.php, or copy it on your computer from the unzipped folder. Save the copy as wp-config.php.
2. Fill in the database details. Open wp-config.php in your text editor and change these four lines, using the values from Stage 1:

define( 'DB_NAME', 't3d2ca2b860_wordpress' );
define( 'DB_USER', 't3d2ca2b860_wordpress' );
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'paste-the-password-here' );
define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );

3. Add fresh security keys. Open api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/ in your browser. It shows eight lines starting with define(. In wp-config.php, replace the eight lines that say put your unique phrase here with them.
4. Save and upload. Save the file and upload wp-config.php into /sites/acme.in/public, next to wp-config-sample.php.

Stage 4: Run the installer#

1. Open the installer. Visit https://www.acme.in/wp-admin/install.php. If HTTPS is not on yet, use http://acme.in/wp-admin/install.php and change the addresses later (see below).
2. Choose a language. Pick your language and press Continue.
3. Describe the site. Enter the Site Title, an admin Username (not admin), a strong Password and your email address.
4. Install. Press Install WordPress. It takes a few seconds.
5. Log in. Press Log In and sign in at https://www.acme.in/wp-login.php.

Your site is live.

After installing#

1. Set the site address. In Settings → General, set WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) to https://www.acme.in. Using www sends visitors through the CDN; see CDN and caching.
2. Turn on pretty links. In Settings → Permalinks, choose Post name and save. This works without .htaccess: FiniteHost already sends unknown addresses to WordPress.
3. Delete what you do not use. Remove unused themes and plugins under Appearance and Plugins.
4. Keep it updated. WordPress can update itself and its plugins, because PHP runs as your own account user and can write to your files. Turn on automatic updates for plugins you trust.

What works differently here#

• Login protection. wp-login.php and xmlrpc.php accept 6 requests a minute per visitor IP, with a short burst of 4. After that the visitor gets 429 Too Many Requests for a moment. This stops password-guessing bots. If you lock yourself out, wait a minute.
• Sending email. WordPress's default wp_mail() has no mail server to use here. Install an SMTP plugin (such as WP Mail SMTP or FluentSMTP) and point it at your FiniteHost mailbox: host mail.finitehost.com, port 587 with TLS (or 465 with SSL), the full mailbox address as user name and its password. Port 25 and other providers' SMTP servers (Gmail, SendGrid SMTP and so on) are blocked. Step by step: Send email from your website or app.
• Disabled PHP functions. exec, passthru, shell_exec, system, proc_open, popen and pcntl_exec are turned off. A few backup or image plugins need them and will not work; most plugins do not.
• Memory. PHP gets 128 MB on Spark and 256 MB on Starter and above. See PHP settings.
• Uploads through the dashboard. The media library and plugin installer accept files up to 64 MB (PHP's upload_max_filesize and post_max_size and the web server's limit are all 64 MB). Upload anything bigger over SFTP into wp-content/uploads.
• .htaccess rules from security or cache plugins have no effect, because the server is nginx.

Troubleshooting#

• "Error establishing a database connection": check the four values in wp-config.php letter by letter. The name and user both include your subscription ID. DB_HOST must be localhost. Make a new password if unsure.
• 403 Forbidden instead of the installer: index.php is not directly in public; you uploaded the wordpress folder itself. Move its contents up.
• Styles missing after switching to HTTPS: update both addresses in Settings → General to https://www.acme.in.
• "Too many requests" on the login page: wait one minute and try again.
• More help: Database problems and Site shows 404 or 403.

What's next#

• Website security: keep WordPress safe.
• Backups and restore
• Database limits