How to create a database using your hosting provider’s Control Panel

1. Using your webbrowser navigate to your hosting providers website. In this example, we typed “http://www.godaddy.com” in the browsers address bar.
2. Enter your username and password to login

Tip for GoDaddy Hosting users: If, like me, you are frustrated with the proliferation of ways to manage domains and hosting plans in GoDaddy and are looking for a quick way to directly go to your hosting plans, then login directly to the “Hosting Control Center” by going to https://hostingmanager.secureserver.net/ instead of navigating through http://www.godaddy.com

1. Hover your mouse over the “Hosting” sub-menu. This will show a menu of different options you can choose from.
2. Click on the “Hosting Management” option. This will take you to the screen which lists all your hosting plans.

This can vary widely between different hosting providers. This also changes on the GoDaddy site itself over time.

If you are using GoDaddy you will have noticed that there are many different screens and navigation schemes for doing the same thing. (If someone at GoDaddy is listening: Please please make your user interface consistent and have a only one way of doing one thing – the proliferation of all kinds of management screens is exteremely annoying to put it mildly)

1. Click on the Launch button. This will open screen which will allow you to manage your hosted content and databases.

Note to GoDaddy users: As noted earlier, you can access the HOSTING CONTROL CENTER directly by going to: https://hostingmanager.secureserver.net/

1. Click on the Databases tab
2. Click on the MySQL icon to launch the Database Administration screen

If this is the first you are creating a database then the list of databases will be empty as shown above.

1. Click the “Create Database” button. This will take you to a screen where you can specify the parameters for the new database that you wish to create.

1. Enter a description that will help you identify this database in the future. If you create multiple databases then this will help you distinguish one database from the other.
2. Specify a unique identifier for you database name. This identifier is also used as the primary database administrator user.
3. Enter a password for the database. This becomes the password for the primary database administrator user.
4. Click the “OK” button to create your database.

The username and password you specify is the primary administrator username and password for this database. You cannot use underscores in the database/user name.

Make a note of the username and password – you will use this to configure WordPress so that WordPress knows how to connect to your database.

Depending on your hosting provider, the database may get created instantly or it may take a few minutes for the database to get setup and to be ready for use.
On GoDaddy, it takes roughly 10 minutes for the database to be ready. During this time the status of the database says “Pending Setup”.

1. Once the status of the database changes to “Setup” the database is ready for your use.
2. Click on the Pencil icon to manage the database.

Make a note of the database settings.
You will have to configure these values in your WordPress config file (wp-config.php) or if you have a custom web application, then you will need to configure the database connection details in the appropriate place.