WordPress is a free Content Management System that runs more than 40% of the websites in the world.
It can be used for anything from single-page sites to blogs to full eCommerce stores.
By default, WordPress runs on a server and connects to a database. Due to this, you cannot install WordPress on IPFS however it is possible to convert a WordPress site to a static HTML site that will run on IPFS.
It is not necessary to run WordPress on a server. You can in fact run it locally on your machine and develop your site without the need for web hosting.localwpis a free program that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux and it will let you develop your site in readiness for exporting it to a static HTML site and uploading to IPFS.
The first step to getting WordPress running locally is to head tolocalwpand click Download at the top of the page.
You will then select your operating system.
Now enter your email address (this is the only field required) and click Get It Now.
After the download, install the application following your operating system's normal procedures.
Once in localwp click Create a new site.
Now give your site a name and click Continue.
On the next screen, press Continue again, the default options are suitable.
Enter an admin username and password and then press Add Site.
localwp will now create your site. You may need to agree a system prompt to allow the program to run a virtual server on your machine.
Once the site has been created click on WP Admin.
This will take you to the WordPress login screen. Enter your username and password you set earlier and press Log In.
You will now be taken to the WordPress dashboard. This can look a bit overwhelming but you will not need most of the functions here.
You will now need to install a plugin that will export your site to a static HTML site that will run on IPFS. Hover over Plugins on the left-hand menu and then click on Add New.
In the search box in the top right-hand corner enter search “static HTML”.
You now want to click Install Now on the plugin Export WP Page to Static HTML/CSS.
This will take a few seconds to install and once it is done click on Activate.
Now you are all set to create your site. The below resources will help you with this:
Please note that IPFS will not support any elements that need to connect to a database. This means you cannot run an eCommerce site on a site with user accounts.
Once you have created your site head over to the plugin from the left-hand menu.
This will take you to the plugin menu.
Under Select a Page choose Homepage. This plugin will let you export three pages on the free tier. If you are creating a large multi-page site you can consider moving to the paid pro tier. If you wish to do this there is a link on the right-hand side of the page. Before purchasing the pro version please export your site to check it is working for you.
Now press Export HTML.
The plugin will now export your site to a static HTML site. Once this is done click Download the file.
Once the file is downloaded you will need to unzip it on your machine. You can go into the unzipped folder and open the index.html file to check the site is displaying correctly.
When you are happy please follow our guidehereon uploading the folder to Filebase.
You can then follow our guidehereon adding the IPFS hash to your domain.
Please note it can take some time for your site to display correctly on IPFS. This is because it takes time for all your website files to be distributed across the network. To speed this process up you can refresh the page a few times.
If you would like to make changes to your site you can log back into WordPress by starting localwp up again. Once in WordPress, you can make any changes you would like and export a new folder through the plugin. You will then upload your new files topinata.cloudand change your IPFS hash to reflect the new one.
