Wordpress install on subdomain

#1

Without having good access to tech support, I find I am nervous about the Wordpress install that I need to do on Dreamhost.

I have a client who hosts here, and I DO NOT want to wipe out her current website while the new Wordpress site is built.

There seems to be no clear set of instructions so I have created a folder called stage and was going to install the Wordpress on www.clientwebsitename.com adding /stage in the text box beside the domain selection tool. Is that correct or should I use /stage/ ??? sigh

Thanks
Moira

#2

So basically, you are asking about the difference between

http://example.com/stage

and

http://example.com/stage/

Either one will work. In the former example, a web server will go to example.com and look for a file named “stage”. If it can’t find that file, it will look for a directory with that name, and look for an index file.

In the latter example, the server will automatically go the directory named “stage” and look for an index file. It saves a bit of overhead on the server, which is important if you have a lot of traffic.

I’m not quite sure what you mean by “the domain selection tool”. If you are talking about a one-click install, “stage” alone will suffice.

#3

And if you’re really interested in a sub-domain as the title of your post indicates you’re not there. The name /stage/ is no more than installing in a folder, a sub-domain would be http://stage.example.com