How to Install WordPress With A2 Hosting

The first step is to log in to your A2 Hosting client area. You can log in at https://my.a2hosting.com/clientarea.php.

Under the cPanel Quick Login section, click “cPanel Login” to navigate to your web hosting control panel.

If you signed up for a free domain with A2 Hosting, this step is already done for you.

If your domain is at another registrar, full instructions, including links to relevant tutorials, are contained in your welcome email.

In summary, though, you should do one of the following:

• Update your nameservers to:
  • ns1.a2hosting.com
  • ns2.a2hosting.com
• Set an A record for the www and non-www versions of your domain name (plus any other subdomains) from your registrar to your server’s IP address (which can be found within your cPanel control panel).

It can take up to 24 hours for these settings to take effect.

With A2 Hosting, SSL Certificates are automatically installed when you add a domain to your cPanel account. There should be nothing for you to do; however, there is sometimes a delay in the system running the “AutoSSL” script.

You can trigger this yourself by going to the “SSL/TLS Status” option within the Security section of cPanel, and clicking “Run AutoSSL”.

If you have an issue with your SSL certificate, we recommend opening a support ticket. They are more than happy to resolve any problems for you.

You should note that A2 Hosting no longer uses Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates. They use an alternative, direct from cPanel, called AutoSSL, which is just as good.

Click Softaculous Apps Installer Scripts to access all the installation scripts, including the A2 Optimized version of WordPress.

A2 Hosting has several pre-configured A2 Optimized scripts. The basic A2 Optimized features include:

• Page caching
• Database caching
• CSS/JS/HTML minification
• reCAPTCHA on comment and login forms
• Move the login page
• Image compression
• Compress pages with gzip

The differences between installations relate to the plugins that are preinstalled, which are as follows:

• WordPress - A2 Optimized: Base install with A2 Optimized features, including A2 Optmized plugin, and LiteSpeed Cache plugin.
• WooCommerce: Also includes WooCommerce.
• WP Toastmasters: Also includes WP Toastmasters Plugin.
• WPBeginner: Also includes Google Analytics for WordPress, WPForms Lite, and Envira Gallery Lite.
• WordPress + Elementor: Also includes Elementor page builder plugin.
• WordPress + Unsplashed: Also includes Unsplash photo plugin.
• WordPress + Weglot: Also includes Weglot translation plugin.

Some of these plugins require a paid subscription.

Once you have chosen your preferred WordPress version, click “Install”. This tutorial will install the base “WordPress - A2 Optimized” version.

Here you need to choose your installation URL. Make sure the https:// protocol is selected, and decide whether you want to use the “www” prefix.

The default settings put WordPress in the root domain folder. If you want the installation in a subdirectory, such as “blog”, you can add it here.

For the “Site Settings,” enter your site name and description.

For the “Admin Account” settings, you should make your Admin Username unique to help against brute force hacking. Ensure the Admin password is strong and you have a valid admin password.

Ensure you have your chosen preference for the WordPress language setting.

Enter an email where the Installation details are to be sent. Then click the “Install” button.

The image says it can take 3-4 minutes, but in reality, it only takes about 30 seconds.

The installation is complete. Take note of your installation details, including your admin URL.