Configuring Wordpress Database

Understanding out how to configure the MySql database of a Wordpress blog was the most challenging piece to learn when I started blogging. It seems tricky but in reality, it’s just a step-by-step process that is necessary to get a Wordpress blog online. The process includes both the Web hosting company you have chosen and the Wordpress software that you can download for free from www.Wordpress.org. Here’s an overview:

1. Create a database – Log in to your hosting account and enter the cPanel or control panel. Click on MySql Databases. To create a database, give it a name and click create. Then, you will need to create a user and password.
2. Connect the user with the database – Make certain to assign the user your have created with the MySql database. The steps in a cPanel are fairly straight-forward.
3. Configure Wordpress – Within the Wordpress folder that you downloaded, look for the WP-Config-Sample.php file. Editing it is simple but you will need a text editing program on your computer. I use a Mac and a text editor is standard with any Mac.
4. Open the WP-Config-Sample file in a text editor and look for the line that reads, “define(‘DB_USER’, “putyourdbnamehere’);. Insert the name of your  new MySql database where it reads, “putyourdbnamehere.”
5. Below the database name, insert the username where it reads, “usernamehere” and password where it calls for “yourpasswordhere.”
6. Save and rename the configuration file, “wp-config.php.
7. Upload the configured wp-config file along with the other Wordpress files to your hosting account.
8. You will know it activates when you open a browser and enter the domain name of your blog. If all goes well, it will ask for the blog’s name and your email address.

Good luck!