WordPress Setup Guide

Step 1: Update and Upgrade the System

1. Log in to your server.
2. Run the following commands to update your system:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

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Step 2: Install Required Packages

Install the necessary software:

sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php php-mysql php-cli php-curl php-xml php-mbstring unzip curl -y

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Step 3: Secure MySQL

1. Secure your MySQL installation:

   sudo mysql_secure_installation

   • Set a strong MySQL root password.
   • Remove anonymous users.
   • Disable remote root login.
   • Remove test databases.
2. Log in to MySQL to create a database and user for WordPress:

   sudo mysql

   Inside the MySQL shell, execute:

   CREATE DATABASE wordpress;
   CREATE USER 'wordpress'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strongpassword';
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress.* TO 'wordpress'@'localhost';
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
   EXIT;

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Step 4: Download and Install WordPress

1. Go to the Apache web root directory:

   cd /var/www/html

2. Download the latest WordPress:

   sudo curl -O https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz

3. Extract the WordPress files:

   sudo tar -xvzf latest.tar.gz
   sudo mv wordpress/* .

4. Clean up:

   sudo rm latest.tar.gz
   sudo rmdir wordpress

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Step 5: Configure WordPress

1. Set proper permissions:

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

2. Copy the sample WordPress configuration:

   sudo mv wp-config-sample.php wp-config.php

3. Edit the wp-config.php file to connect WordPress to your database:

   sudo nano wp-config.php

   Replace the following lines with your database information:

   define( 'DB_NAME', 'wordpress' );
   define( 'DB_USER', 'wordpress' );
   define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'strongpassword' );
   define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );

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Step 6: Configure Apache

1. Create a new virtual host configuration for WordPress:

   sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/wordpress.conf

   Add the following configuration:

   <VirtualHost *:80>
       ServerAdmin admin@example.com
       DocumentRoot /var/www/html
       ServerName yourdomain.com
       ServerAlias www.yourdomain.com
   
       <Directory /var/www/html/>
           Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
           AllowOverride All
           Require all granted
       </Directory>
   
       ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
       CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
   </VirtualHost>

2. Enable the site and mod_rewrite:

   sudo a2ensite wordpress.conf
   sudo a2enmod rewrite

3. Restart Apache:

   sudo systemctl restart apache2

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Step 7: Enable Pretty Permalinks

1. Create or edit the .htaccess file in the WordPress root directory:

   sudo nano /var/www/html/.htaccess

   Add the following rules:

   # BEGIN WordPress
   <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
   RewriteEngine On
   RewriteBase /
   RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
   RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
   </IfModule>
   # END WordPress

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Step 8: Test WordPress

1. Open your browser and navigate to:

   http://your_server_ip/

2. Follow the WordPress setup wizard:
   • Select your language.
   • Enter your site title, admin username, password, and email.

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Step 9: Secure Your WordPress Site

1. Install an SSL certificate (if using a domain):

   sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
   sudo certbot --apache

2. Set up automatic renewal:

   sudo certbot renew --dry-run

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Your WordPress server and database should now be fully operational! Let me know if you need help with further customization or troubleshooting.