WordPress and HostGator can be an awesome combination when you are just starting a new blog/site. WordPress is the best self-hosted blogging platform and HostGator is one of the most popular web hosting companies.

With One Click WordPress Installation, HostGator makes it insanely easy to start a self-hosted WordPress.org blog. You can create a blog in 5 minutes. In this post, I will be sharing a step-by-step guide on how to install WordPress on HostGator.

Signing Up for HostGator

Creating a hosting account on HostGator is extremely easy. Just follow these simple steps.

At first, go to HostGator.com and click on ‘Get Started Now!‘ button.

Then you’ll be landed to the HostGator checkout page. Here you’ll need to do a couple of things.

On the next page, you need to select a plan. HostGator offers 3 plans on its shared hosting – Hatchling, Baby, and Business plan. The basic difference between Hatchling and Baby plan is, Baby plan allows you to host unlimited domain where you can host only one site on Hatchling plan. Business Plan is designed for business and service-oriented site.

If I were you I would select Baby plan.

Once you’ve chosen a plan, click on ‘Sign Up Now!‘ button.

Then you’ll be landed to the HostGator Order Form page.

Now you need to choose a domain name. If you don’t have any domain name, click on ‘Register a New Domain’ tab and enter your desired domain name. If you already own a domain, click on ‘I Already Own This Domain’ tab and enter your domain.

For the sake of this tutorial, I assume that you’re going to register a new domain name with HostGator. Once you’ve entered your domain name, it will show whether the domain is available or not. It will also show the available domains for different extensions.

HostGator offers ‘Domain Privacy Protection’ service which costs $9.95/year. Privacy Protection hides your personal contact information for public view. If it’s not a problem for you, just uncheck the box “Add Domain Privacy Protection” and save $9.95.

Then you need to confirm your hosting package information. Select the Package Type and Billing Cycle (1/3/6/12/24/36 Months). Enter your Username and Security PIN.

Then enter your Email, Name, Address, Phone number & other details. Make sure that you’ve put your correct phone number as they might call you for verification.

Select a payment method from the right side. You have two options – Credit Card or Paypal.

HostGator offers some additional services with some extra cost. You don’t need those services to create your WordPress blog. Uncheck all the Additional Services to save your money.

In the coupon code field, you’ll find a default coupon ‘SNAPPY’ that can give you 20% discount. I’d suggest you to use the coupon RTBHOSTING25 to get 25% discount on your total purchase. However, if you are going to pay only for one month, use the coupon RTB1CENTHOSTING to get your first month hosting only for $0.01! Make sure that you’ve selected ‘1 month’ in Billing Cycle.

Then review your order details and click on ‘Checkout Now‘ button.

Complete your payment and they will send you a confirmation email with your cPanel login details.

2. Install WordPress on HostGator cPanel

Now whenever you try to enter your site, you’ll see something like “Index of” page. That means your site needs a platform to get started. WordPress is the best blogging platform and it powers 22% website in the world.

Getting started with WordPress is quite easy. All you need to do is, install WordPress on your hosting account. There are 3 ways to install WordPress on HostGator cPanel – QuickInstall, Fantastico De Luxe, and Manual. In this post, I will show you QuickInstall method.

Using QuickInstall is the easiest way to create a WordPress Blog. It will require only 5 minutes to start a blog. Even if you are a noob you can do it easily. Just follow these simple steps.

1. At first, login to your cPanel. Most of the time, it is http://yourdomain.com/cpanel. If this doesn’t work for you, go to email address and find out the Email sent by HostGator after you signed up. You will find your cPanel link, Username and Password there.

Once you’ve logged in to cPanel, Scroll down and click on QuickInstall under ‘Software/Services’.

2. Then you’ll be landed on ‘QuickInstall’ page powered by MOJO Marketplace. Click on ‘WordPress‘ under ‘Popular Installs‘ from the left side.

You will get the latest WordPress version to install. Just click on the “Install WordPress” button.

3.  Now fill the form properly to get started with your install. Check the following instructions.

1. Select the domain name where you want to install WordPress. If it is your first blog then you will have only one option.
2. Admin Email: Put your Email there. If you forget your Username or Password, you can get it via this Email.
3. Blog Title: The name of your blog. You can change it later.
4. Admin User: It will be the Username of your WordPress Dashboard. Don’t use “admin” as username.
5. First Name: It will be added to Admin Profile. You can change it anytime after install.
6. Last Name: This is also the part of Admin Profile name. You can change it later.

Click on “Install WordPress” button.

4. Once WordPress is installed, it will show “Your install is complete. Click Here to view your notifications” on header.

5. Now check your mail inbox. You will get an email from HostGator containing your WordPress login details (URL, Admin URL, Username and Password).

Go to Admin URL (http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin), put your username and Password and click on ‘Log in’.

How To Install WordPress On Cloud Hosting

Here’s how to install WordPress on Cloud Hosting.

1. At first, login to Portal.hostgator. com and click on “Hosting” tab.

2.  On the next page, click on “Create Blog”.

3. Then enter your WordPress URL (without any https://, http://, www, or /) and Blog Title. And click on “Add Blog” button.

4. You will get the success notification.

You will also get an email notification with WordPress login link.

3. Installed WordPress…Now What?

Now it’s time to make your WordPress blog AWESOME. Once you’ve installed WordPress on HostGator, here are few important things you need to do.

• Essential Settings to Configure
• Install a New WordPress Theme
• Install WordPress Plugins
• Publish Your First Blog Post

However, if you want to learn more about WordPress, you can read our ‘WordPress Guide for Beginners‘.

If you have any queries about installing WordPress on HostGator cPanel, let me know via comment. HostGator has an awesome live support, you can also take help from their live support. If you find this post useful, consider sharing this post on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.