Host WordPress on VeloxaHost

The one-click install sets up Apache, MySQL and PHP on Ubuntu 24.04, downloads the latest WordPress into /var/www/html and writes wp-config.php with a database named wordpress and a user wpuser. You finish by choosing the site title and admin account in the browser.

Install it yourself

1. Install Apache, MariaDB and the PHP modules WordPress uses.

   apt install -y apache2 mariadb-server libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-curl php-gd php-xml \
     php-mbstring php-zip php-intl
   

2. Create the database and its user. Pick your own password.

   mysql -e "CREATE DATABASE wordpress; CREATE USER 'wpuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'DB_PASSWORD'; \
     GRANT ALL ON wordpress.* TO 'wpuser'@'localhost'; FLUSH PRIVILEGES;"
   

3. Download WordPress into the web root, replacing Apache's default page.

   rm /var/www/html/index.html
   wget -q https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz -O /tmp/wp.tar.gz
   tar xzf /tmp/wp.tar.gz -C /var/www/html --strip-components=1
   

4. Create wp-config.php from the sample and fill in the database name, user and password. Replace the placeholder keys with fresh ones from https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/.

   cp /var/www/html/wp-config-sample.php /var/www/html/wp-config.php && nano /var/www/html/wp-config.php
   

5. Hand the files to the web server and enable pretty permalinks. Set AllowOverride All for /var/www/html in your Apache site config.

   chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html
   a2enmod rewrite && systemctl restart apache2
   

6. Point your domain at an address where ports 80 and 443 reach the server (a dedicated IPv4 address, a paid add-on with limited availability; IPv6 is not available in US East yet), then get a certificate.

   apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-apache && certbot --apache -d example.com -d www.example.com
   

7. Open the site in a browser and complete the installer: site title, admin user and password.

FAQ

What license is WordPress under?

WordPress is free software under the GNU General Public License, version 2 or later. You can use, modify and redistribute it, and themes and plugins are available under the same terms or compatible ones.

What does the one-click install set up?

Apache, MySQL and PHP on Ubuntu 24.04, with WordPress in /var/www/html and a database wordpress owned by wpuser. The database password is generated at deploy time instead of a fixed default; organization owners and admins can reveal it on the server's page. The WordPress admin account is the one you create in the browser installer.

Should I use this app or VeloxaHost's managed hosting?

Pick the app if you want root on your own server and to manage the stack yourself. If you would rather VeloxaHost run the server, the managed hosting plans include one-click WordPress and backups on the schedule you choose, from $9.99 a month on the Launch plan for up to 3 websites.

How are WordPress updates handled?

WordPress installs minor and security releases automatically by default, and major versions, themes and plugins update from the dashboard. Ubuntu packages such as PHP and Apache update with apt upgrade. Take a snapshot in the VeloxaHost console before a major update so you can restore it if a plugin breaks.

How do I back up the site?

Back up the files in /var/www/html and the MySQL database together. On VeloxaHost you can schedule backups of the whole server every 6 or 12 hours, daily or weekly, keeping the last 1 to 10, and restore a backup to a new server.

Which VeloxaHost size fits WordPress?

The recommended 1 vCPU and 2 GB of RAM is a Veloxa 1: 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM and 50 GB of disk for $10 a month, billed at $0.02 an hour and capped at the monthly price. A busy shop or a site with heavy plugins may need more CPU and memory, which you can raise on a running container from the console.