Every Fast Hive shared hosting plan includes cPanel with WordPress Management (WP Toolkit), so a working WordPress site takes a couple of minutes. This guide covers the WP Toolkit route, the manual route for when you want full control, and the configuration steps most tutorials skip - the ones that decide whether your site is fast and secure or slow and compromised.
Before you start
- An active shared hosting service and access to cPanel.
- Your domain added to the account and pointing at Fast Hive nameservers (
ns1.fasthive.comandns2.fasthive.com). - Two to three minutes.
Method 1 - Install with WP Toolkit (recommended)
- Log in to cPanel from My Products & Services.
- In the Domains section, open WordPress Management. This is WP Toolkit.
- Click Install WordPress. (If you already have a WordPress site on the account that WP Toolkit does not list, click Scan to detect it instead.)
- Fill in the installation settings:
- Choose Protocol - select
https://. Your free SSL is issued automatically, so start on HTTPS and avoid a migration later. - Choose Domain - the domain or subdomain to install on.
- In Directory - leave this box empty to install at the root of your domain. If you leave the default
wpin place, your site will live atyourdomain.com/wp. - Site Name and Site Description - changeable later.
- Admin Username - not
admin. That is the first username every bot tries. - Admin Password - use the generator, and save it in a password manager.
- Admin Email - a real address you check. Password resets go here.
- Choose Protocol - select
- Click Install. When it completes you are given the site URL and the admin URL, normally
https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin.
Method 2 - Manual install
Use this when you want a specific version, a custom database prefix, or you are restoring an existing site.
Step 1: Create the database
- In cPanel open Databases → MySQL Database Wizard.
- Enter a database name and click Next Step.
- Create a database user with a generated password. Write both down now.
- On the privileges screen tick ALL PRIVILEGES, then Next Step.
cPanel prefixes database and user names with your account name, so if you type
wpdb the real name is something like youracct_wpdb. Use the full prefixed name in your configuration, or the connection will fail.
Step 2: Upload WordPress
- Download the latest release from wordpress.org.
- Upload the ZIP into
public_htmlusing File Manager, then click Extract. - The archive extracts into a folder called
wordpress. Open it, select all files, and use Move to relocate them up intopublic_html. Delete the now-empty folder and the ZIP.
Step 3: Run the installer
- Visit
https://yourdomain.com. - Choose your language, then enter the database name, user and password from Step 1. Leave Database Host as
localhost. - Change the Table Prefix from
wp_to something unique such ashv7x_. - Set your site title, a non-obvious admin username, a strong password and a real email address. Click Install WordPress.
Do these five things immediately after installing
- Confirm HTTPS. In Settings → General, make sure both the WordPress Address and Site Address begin with
https://. - Set permalinks. Go to Settings → Permalinks and choose Post name. Do this before you publish anything, so URLs never have to change.
- Delete what you are not using. Remove unused themes and plugins entirely rather than deactivating them. Dormant code still gets exploited.
- Turn on automatic updates. Under Plugins, enable auto-updates for anything you are not actively developing. Out-of-date plugins are the single most common cause of compromised sites.
- Tighten file permissions. Directories 755, files 644, and
wp-config.phpat 600. Never 777.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| "Error establishing a database connection" | The credentials in wp-config.php are wrong, or you omitted the cPanel prefix from the database or user name. Also confirm the user is assigned to the database with ALL PRIVILEGES. |
Site is at yourdomain.com/wp |
You left the "In Directory" field populated. Either reinstall with it empty, or update the Site Address and move the files up a level. |
| Homepage works, every other page is a 404 | Permalink rewrite rules were not written. Go to Settings → Permalinks and click Save Changes without changing anything. If it persists, check that .htaccess exists in public_html and is writable. |
| White screen with no error | A PHP fatal error, almost always a plugin or theme. Rename the wp-content/plugins folder in File Manager to disable them all, then reload. If the site returns, rename it back and re-enable plugins one at a time. |
| "Allowed memory size exhausted" | Raise the PHP memory limit in cPanel under MultiPHP INI Editor, and add define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M'); to wp-config.php. |
| Mixed content warnings after enabling HTTPS | Old http:// URLs are stored in the database. See the Fast Hive SSL article on fixing mixed content. |
| Locked out of wp-admin | Reset the password directly in the database: open phpMyAdmin, edit your row in the users table, set user_pass to a new value and choose MD5 from the function dropdown. |
| WordPress asks for FTP details when updating | File ownership is wrong after a manual upload. Open a ticket with Technical Support and we will correct ownership on the account. |
Frequently asked questions
Can I install WordPress on a subdomain or a second domain?
Yes. Add the domain or subdomain in cPanel first, then choose it in the installer's Choose Domain dropdown. Every plan above Starter supports multiple sites, and the Ultimate plan is unlimited.
Do I need to install an SSL certificate separately?
No. A free SSL certificate is included and issued automatically once your domain points at Fast Hive. Just select https:// during installation.
Will the installer overwrite my existing site?
It can, if you install into a folder that already contains one. Always check the target directory, and take a backup first.
Can Fast Hive move my existing WordPress site here?
Yes, migration is free. Open a ticket with Technical Support with your current host's details and we will handle it, including the database and mailboxes.
Which caching plugin should I use?
Any of the mainstream ones work well on our NVMe infrastructure. Pick one and only one - running two caching plugins together causes far more problems than it solves.
Need help? Open a ticket with Technical Support from My Support Tickets. Include the domain, the install path and any error text shown on screen.
