One of the most common issues when it comes to a failed WordPress install is that the MySQL database is located on a separate server. If you’re getting database connection errors, and you’re quite sure that both the username and password for the database user are correct, along with the full write capabilities, then this is most likely the case. To fix this, just find this code snippet in wp-config.php (or wp-config-sample.php if you haven’t renamed it yet) and change localhost to your database server:
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');
What the MySQL server may be called depends on your host. It may be mysql67.thesuperhost. com, or something entirely different. Just swap localhost with this, and try and run the install script again.
Naturally, if you can’t find your database server address you should contact your Web host and ask them for details.
You may want to consider some more database options before installing WordPress. (Probably not though, but still, they warrant mention.) First of all, there’s the database character set and collation. This is basically telling WordPress what character language the database is in, and it should just about always be UTF-8. This is also the default setting in wp-config-sample.php, hence you won’t need to fiddle with it unless you have a special need to do so. If you do, however, this is what you’re looking for:
define('DB_CHARSET', 'utf8');
That’s the character set, with UTF-8 (obviously spelled out as utf8 in code) by default. The collation, which is basically the sort order of the character set that WordPress will apply to the MySQL database in the install phase, can be changed in this line:
define('DB_COLLATE', );
It is empty here, which means it will pass the character set in DB_CHARSET as the collation. By default, that is UTF-8, but if you need this to be something specific you can add it like this:
define('DB_COLLATE', 'character_set_of_choice');
Some Web hosts offer installers that will get your WordPress install up and running with just a click from within the Web host admin interface. The most popular one is probably Fantastico. At first, this sounds like a really good idea, since you won’t have to fiddle with config files or anything; it’ll just slap the weblog up there and you can get started.
However, take a moment to do some research before going down this route. The most important aspect to consider is what version of WordPress the installer is actually setting up. Old versions shouldn’t be allowed because they are outdated and, at worst, a security hazard. After all, with every WordPress release a lot of security holes are jammed shut, so it is not all about releasing funky new features for your favorite blogging platform. Installers like Fantastico are great and can save time. However, if they don’t install the latest version of WordPress you really shouldn’t bother with them at all. If they do, then Google it just to make sure other users haven’t reported anything weird going on, and if the coast is clear and you really don’t want to do the five-minute manual install, then by all means go for it.
After having installed WordPress using an installer you should use the built-in upgrade feature, or perform upgrades manually using FTP should your host not support automatic upgrades. Make sure the installer doesn’t do something strange with the install that stops you from doing this: you don’t want to be tied to the installer script for updates.
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