Preparing: hosting, domain and https

Module 2: Installing and setting up · Reading time: 8 minutes

Learning objective: After this lesson, you can check whether your hosting, domain and certificate are ready before you install WordPress, and you know which choices to make in advance.

Key concepts: system requirements, PHP version, MariaDB/MySQL, A and AAAA record, certificate, bare domain or www, root directory, subdirectory, subdomain, testing before the DNS switch

Why preparing pays off

An installation takes a few minutes. But if you install while the domain still points to another server, or without a certificate, you'll run into annoying problems later: a website set up on http:// that then shows "not secure", an installation on a temporary address that all your links point to, or an old homepage that takes priority over WordPress. Ten minutes of preparation saves hours of fixing things afterwards.

The system requirements

WordPress runs on almost any hosting with PHP and a database. wordpress.org recommends (as of November 2026):

WordPress still works on older PHP versions (the minimum version is lower), but an old PHP version no longer receives security updates and is slower. So for a new website, choose the newest PHP version your host offers that your plugins also support (lesson 8.4).

Also check the limits of your package: storage space (uploads and backups grow over time), memory for PHP (memory_limit, for most websites 256 MB is plenty) and the maximum upload size (upload_max_filesize). With many hosts you can set these yourself; in DirectAdmin this is under Select PHP version.

The domain must point to your hosting

A browser finds your website through DNS: the A record (IPv4) and, if applicable, the AAAA record (IPv6) of your domain must point to the IP address of your hosting server. The DNS course (lesson 3.1) explains how that works.

What to check:

• Bare domain and www: make sure both example.com and www.example.com point to the same server (www is often set up with a CNAME pointing to the bare domain).
• No old AAAA record: if the A record points to the new server but an old AAAA record still points elsewhere, visitors using IPv6 will end up on the old server.
• Waiting time: a DNS change isn't visible everywhere immediately (TTL, DNS course lesson 6.1). Plan for that.

Does your domain still point to another provider (for example because your old website is still running there)? Then you can still install and test. Two ways:

1. The hosts file on your own computer: this makes only your computer send the domain to the new IP address. The rest of the world still sees the old website.
2. A test address or preview service from your host, which lets you view the website on the new server under the real domain. At WebOké this is called "Test your website before migrating"; other hosts have similar previews.

Don't install on a temporary server address, such as https://server.example.net/~user/. WordPress writes the address you install on into the database (siteurl and home, lesson 1.3) and into all the links in your content. You'd then have to convert all of that afterwards.

The certificate first

Request a certificate before you install. That way you can select the address with https:// straight away in the installer, and everything is set up correctly from day one. Most hosts arrange a free Let's Encrypt certificate with one click or automatically.

Let's Encrypt checks whether the domain really points to your server. If the DNS still points to the old server, the request will fail. So the order is:

1. DNS pointing to the new server (or wait until it does).
2. Request the certificate, for both the bare domain and www.
3. Install WordPress on https://.

Do you need to install before the DNS switches over? Then still install on the real address with https://. As soon as the DNS has switched, request the certificate; until then, only you (via the hosts file or the test address) will see a warning.

Where should WordPress go?

Three options:

Two pitfalls with the root directory:

• Old files: if there's still an index.html (for example a default "your website will appear here" page), the web server may give that priority over WordPress. Remove old files first, or move them aside.
• An old website you want to keep: make a backup first and install WordPress on a subdomain instead to test it. Only move it to the root directory once the new website is ready (lesson 9.5 on migrating).

Bare domain or www?

Decide in advance whether your website will be on example.com or www.example.com. Either is fine; what matters is that you choose. You redirect the other variant later (lesson 3.2). If you choose https://www.example.com in the installer, WordPress writes that everywhere; you can switch later, but it takes a find-and-replace pass through the database.

What to have ready

Have this ready before you open the installer:

• an email address for the administrator that you actually read (this is where password links and notifications from WordPress go);
• a username for the administrator that isn't admin and isn't your public name;
• a password manager to store the long password in;
• the name and a short description of your website (you can change these later);
• the language of the website.

In practice: what it looks like in a panel

We'll use DirectAdmin as an example. cPanel and Plesk have the same components under different names (SSL/TLS, PHP Selector or PHP Settings).

1. Under DNS Management (or with your registrar), check that the A record and www point to the IP address of your package.
2. Under SSL Certificates, request a Let's Encrypt certificate for example.com and www.example.com.
3. Under Select PHP version, choose the newest PHP version you want to use.
4. Check in File Manager that public_html is empty, apart from any files placed there by your host.

Summary

• wordpress.org recommends PHP 8.3 or higher and MariaDB 10.11+ or MySQL 8.0+, plus HTTPS.
• The domain (bare domain and www) must point to your hosting; clean up old AAAA records.
• Request the certificate before installing and install straight away on https://.
• Don't install on a temporary server address; test before the DNS switch using the hosts file or a test address.
• Decide in advance on the location (root directory, subdirectory, subdomain) and bare domain or www, and remove old placeholder files.

Quiz

Exercise

Exercise A2.1: Is your domain ready for WordPress? Enter the domain on which you want to install WordPress (or have already installed it). The tool checks whether the bare domain and www point to a public IP address, whether A and AAAA appear to point to the same server, and whether there's a valid certificate on port 443 that covers both names. Also indicate which of the two you want as your main address.

Further reading

These articles describe the steps in WebOké's panels; in other panels they work in a similar way.

• DirectAdmin guide 13.2: Installing WordPress
• DirectAdmin guide 6.2: Requesting a free Let's Encrypt certificate
• DirectAdmin guide 18.8: Testing my website before the domain has moved
• WebOké manual 14.2: Testing your website before a move
• Free DNS course 3.1: A and AAAA records
• WordPress system requirements (wordpress.org, English): https://wordpress.org/about/requirements/