How to Install WordPress on Hostinger (Step by Step)

The fastest way to install WordPress on Hostinger is hPanel’s one-click installer: go to Websites → Add Website → WordPress, enter an admin username, password, and language, and click Install. It takes a few minutes. Then the real work starts: this guide covers the install and the 15-minute post-install checklist that turns a fresh WordPress into a real site. Most tutorials skip it.

Before you start (2 minutes)

You need two things ready:

1. A Hostinger hosting plan. Any shared plan works for a first site.
2. A domain pointed at Hostinger. Bought with the plan or connected via nameservers (see our domain vs hosting guide if you haven’t done this yet).

If your domain was registered in the last few hours, it may not resolve yet. That’s DNS propagation, not a broken install. More on that in troubleshooting.

The 5-click install

Five clicks and a few minutes. That’s the whole install.

1. Log in to hPanel at hpanel.hostinger.com.
2. Click Websites in the top menu, then Add Website.
3. Choose WordPress from the platform options. (On older hPanel layouts this lives under Website → Auto Installer → WordPress. Same installer, different door.)
4. Fill in the installer fields:
   • Admin username. Don’t use “admin”; pick something unique
   • Admin password. Strong and unique; your password manager should generate this
   • Admin email. One you actually read (password resets go here)
   • Language. Your site’s language
   • Site title. You can change this later in WordPress settings
5. Click Install and wait a few minutes. When it’s done, log in at yourdomain.com/wp-admin with the credentials you just created.

hPanel drift caveat: Hostinger rearranges hPanel labels periodically. If a label above doesn’t match what you see, use the search bar at the top of hPanel. Typing “WordPress” or “Auto Installer” will find the installer wherever it currently lives.

The 15-minute post-install checklist

The install is step zero. This checklist makes it a real site.

Every tutorial stops at “WordPress is installed!” Here’s what to do next. In order:

1. Check SSL (2 min): visit https://yourdomain.com. You should see the padlock, no warnings. Hostinger provisions free SSL automatically, but it can take a few hours after install. If WordPress was installed before SSL was ready, go to Settings → General and make sure both URLs start with https://.
2. Delete the defaults (2 min): remove the “Hello world!” post, the “Sample Page”, and the default comment. Dead default content on a live site looks abandoned.
3. Set permalinks (1 min): Settings → Permalinks → Post name. The default “plain” URLs (?p=123) are ugly and worse for SEO.
4. Update everything (3 min): Dashboard → Updates. Run any pending WordPress core, theme, and plugin updates now so you start clean.
5. Set your timezone (1 min): Settings → General → Timezone → your city. Scheduled posts publish wrong otherwise.
6. Turn on backups (3 min): check what your Hostinger plan includes for backups. Confirm they’re running before you go further. An untested backup is the same as no backup.
7. Remove what you don’t need (3 min): deactivate and delete any preinstalled plugins/themes you won’t use. Fewer moving parts, fewer update chores, smaller attack surface.

Troubleshooting: the two problems beginners actually hit

“I installed WordPress but my domain shows nothing (or the Hostinger default page).” This is almost always DNS, not WordPress. If your domain was just registered or its nameservers just changed, propagation can take a few hours (up to 24-48 in slow cases). Check: does yourdomain.com/wp-admin load? If wp-admin loads but the homepage looks wrong, it’s a theme/cache thing. If nothing loads, wait and check your nameservers point at Hostinger.

“I can’t find the installer. My hPanel looks different.” Hostinger reshuffles hPanel. Don’t hunt through menus: use the search bar at the top of hPanel and type “WordPress”. If you bought hosting through the onboarding wizard, you may have already installed WordPress during signup. Check Websites → your domain → Dashboard before installing again (a second install can overwrite the first).

If the site still won’t connect after these checks, verify your DNS is resolving with our DNS record checker, or run our WordPress troubleshooter to diagnose WordPress-side errors.

What to do next

• Understand your panel: cPanel vs hPanel: What’s the Difference?
• Moving an existing site: How to Migrate WordPress to a New Host Without Downtime
• Choosing the host: How to Choose Web Hosting: 7 Factors That Actually Matter
• How we evaluate hosts: our How We Test page

FAQ

How long does it take to install WordPress on Hostinger?
The installer itself takes a few minutes. Budget 20 minutes total including the post-install checklist above.

Do I need technical skills to install WordPress on Hostinger?
No. The one-click installer handles the database, files, and configuration. No coding, no manual uploads.

Is WordPress free on Hostinger?
WordPress itself is free and open-source. You pay for the hosting plan it runs on.

Can I install WordPress manually instead?
Yes. Download from wordpress.org, upload to public_html, create a database, but there’s rarely a reason to; the auto installer does the same thing in minutes.

What if I already installed WordPress during Hostinger’s signup wizard?
Then you’re done with this guide. Skip to the post-install checklist. Check Websites → your domain in hPanel to confirm.

Why does my site show “Not Secure”?
SSL usually provisions automatically within a few hours. If it persists, check hPanel’s SSL section for your domain, then confirm your WordPress URLs use https:// under Settings → General.

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Last updated: October 14, 2026. hPanel labels change over time. Use hPanel search if a label has moved.