Install WordPress on Ubuntu

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This article describes about how to install WordPress on Ubuntu.

WordPress is a Free and Open-Source content management system developed in php with MySQL as back-end with the capability to extent or implement functionality by using plugins and UI modifications via Themes.

Here, we will Install WordPress in a very small Instance of Linux VM. The installation is done through shell.

System Specs:
Processor - 1 vCPU
Memory - 1 Gb
OS Version - Ubuntu 20.04

Note: This is not an ideal specs for installing WordPress, but works fine for blogs and personal websites.

After the installation of Ubuntu, update and upgrade the OS

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y

Once the operating system is updated, follow below steps for installing WordPress

Step-1 : Install Apache Web Server

sudo apt install apache2 -y

Once the installation is completed, check the apache service status

systemctl status apache2

Step-2 : Enable Firewall settings to allow http traffic

sudo iptables -I INPUT 6 -m state --state NEW -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT

To make the changes permanent even after server restart, run the following command

sudo netfilter-persistent save

Test the above by typing the server ip address in the web browser, we will be able to see the apache default page in the web browser.

Step-3 : Install php package

Run below command to install the latest version of php and associated package

sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-soap php-gd php-xml php-intl php-mysql php-cli php php-ldap php-zip php-curl -y

Step-4 : Test php Installation

Create a test php file and browse the page in web browser

sudo vi /var/www/html/testpage.php

in the nano editor, add below snippet and save

<?php
echo "The website is working !!!";
?>

Open web browser and browse http://<ip-address>/testpage.php

Step-5 : Install Database – MariaDB

Execute the below command to install Maria DB

sudo apt install mariadb-server -y

Note: This installation will take some time to finish.

Once the installation is completed, execute below command to do the initial config.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

The shell will prompt for input when the above command is executed. Follow the input given in the screenshot to complete the setup.

Step-6 : Configure Database

Login to mysql as root and create the database for wordpress

sudo mysql -u root

Create database and assign permission using below snippet

CREATE DATABASE wordpress;
GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,CREATE,DROP,ALTER ON wordpress.* TO 'wpuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Step-7 : Download and Install WordPress

Navigate to home directory and download WordPress package

cd /home/ubuntu
wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz

Extract the package and copy to the root web folder

tar xf latest.tar.gz
sudo mv wordpress/ /var/www/html/

Modify WordPress folder permission and ownership

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/wordpress/
sudo chmod 755 -R /var/www/html/wordpress/

Create Upload folder and change ownership

sudo mkdir /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content/uploads
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/

Step-8 : Make WordPress folder as default web path

Edit apache config file and add the following config details under the tag <VirtualHost *:80>

sudo vi /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf

<VirtualHost *:80>
   DocumentRoot /var/www/html/wordpress
   <Directory /var/www/html/wordpress/> 
      Options FollowSymLinks 
      AllowOverride Limit Options FileInfo 
      DirectoryIndex index.php 
      Order allow,deny 
      Allow from all 
   </Directory> 
   <Directory /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content> 
      Options FollowSymLinks 
      Order allow,deny 
      Allow from all 
   </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Restart apache service

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step-9 : Final Settings in Linux

Enable url rewrite feature and restart apache

sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Finally, the linux side configuration is completed.

Step-10 : WordPress Configuration

Let’s go to web browser to configure the rest in WordPress. Open web browser and browse the server IP address

Select language and click on Continue

Click on “Let’s go!” button to configure the database details to complete WordPress configuration

Enter the database details as per we have configured in Step-6

WordPress will proceed to the above page if the DB information entered is correct. Click on “Run the installation”

Enter the required login information in WordPress and click “Install WordPress”

Finally, the installation is completed and WordPress website is ready !!!

To view the website, navigate to http://<ip-address>

To view website admin portal, navigate to http://<ip-address>/wp-admin

Enter the login credential which was set during the installation process and click on “Log In”

Now, its all your. This completes the installation of WordPress in Ubuntu.

Testing the site performance

Browse to url “https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/” and paste the website url. Click on “Analyze” button to get the results

The results are excellent, but this is just a plain website. Once we add more contents, plugins and themes. The analysis rating may go down.

After all, its just 1 CPU and 1GB RAM. Good for blogging and personal websites. As your traffic increases, you can find alternatives which gives more processing power.

Hope you liked the article. Thank you for reading.