Most website software, including WordPress, stores its content in a MySQL database. If you install WordPress with Softaculous, the database is created for you. Follow these steps if you're installing software yourself or moving a website from another host.

Creating a database

1. Log in to DirectAdmin.
2. Go to Account Manager and click MySQL Management.
3. Click Create New Database.
4. Enter a name for the database and a database username. You can use the same name for both.
5. Enter a strong password or generate one, then create the database.

DirectAdmin adds your DirectAdmin username to the start of both names, for example yourusername_shop. Copy the full database name, username and password somewhere safe.

Connecting your website

Use these details in your website's configuration file, such as wp-config.php for WordPress:

Managing databases

From MySQL Management you can:

• add another user to a database or change a user's password
• see how much space each database uses
• open phpMyAdmin to view or edit the contents. See Managing databases with phpMyAdmin.

Deleting a database deletes everything in it permanently, so export a copy first.