🚀 Complete WordPress Installation Guide

A comprehensive, beginner-friendly guide to installing WordPress on Ubuntu with Apache web server and free SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt.

📋 Table of Contents

• Overview
• Features
• Prerequisites
• Installation Steps
• SSL Configuration
• Post-Installation
• Troubleshooting
• Security Best Practices
• Contributing
• License
• Support

🌟 Overview

This repository contains a complete, step-by-step tutorial for installing WordPress on an Ubuntu server with Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP stack), and securing it with a free SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt.

Perfect for:

• Bloggers starting their first website
• Developers learning WordPress deployment
• System administrators managing WordPress servers
• Anyone wanting to host WordPress on their own server

✨ Features

• ✅ Complete LAMP Stack Setup - Apache, MySQL, PHP installation
• ✅ Latest WordPress - Direct installation from WordPress.org
• ✅ Free SSL Certificate - Automatic HTTPS with Let's Encrypt
• ✅ Security Hardening - Best practices included
• ✅ Error-Free Installation - Common pitfalls addressed
• ✅ Beginner Friendly - Clear explanations for every step
• ✅ Production Ready - Optimized for real-world deployment

📦 Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

Requirement	Description
Server	Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, 22.04, or 24.04 LTS
Access	Root or sudo privileges
RAM	Minimum 1GB (2GB+ recommended)
Storage	At least 10GB free disk space
Domain	A domain name (for SSL certificate)
Ports	Port 80 and 443 open on firewall

Supported Ubuntu Versions

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat)
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) ⭐ Recommended
• Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa)
• Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver)

🔧 Installation Steps

1️⃣ Update System

sudo apt update

2️⃣ Install Dependencies

Install Apache, MySQL, PHP and required extensions:

sudo apt install apache2 \
                 ghostscript \
                 libapache2-mod-php \
                 mysql-server \
                 php \
                 php-bcmath \
                 php-curl \
                 php-imagick \
                 php-intl \
                 php-json \
                 php-mbstring \
                 php-mysql \
                 php-xml \
                 php-zip

3️⃣ Download WordPress

sudo mkdir -p /srv/www
sudo chown www-data: /srv/www
curl https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz | sudo -u www-data tar zx -C /srv/www

4️⃣ Configure Apache

Create virtual host configuration:

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

Add the following configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName yourwebsite.com
    ServerAlias www.yourwebsite.com
    DocumentRoot /srv/www/wordpress
    
    <Directory /srv/www/wordpress>
        Options FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride Limit Options FileInfo
        DirectoryIndex index.php
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
    
    <Directory /srv/www/wordpress/wp-content>
        Options FollowSymLinks
        Require all granted
    </Directory>
</VirtualHost>

Enable the site:

sudo a2ensite wordpress
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo a2dissite 000-default
sudo service apache2 reload

5️⃣ Setup MySQL Database

sudo mysql -u root

Run these commands in MySQL:

CREATE DATABASE wordpress;
CREATE USER wordpress@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'your_secure_password';
GRANT SELECT,INSERT,UPDATE,DELETE,CREATE,DROP,ALTER ON wordpress.* TO wordpress@localhost;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
quit

6️⃣ Configure WordPress

sudo -u www-data cp /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config-sample.php /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config.php
sudo -u www-data sed -i 's/database_name_here/wordpress/' /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config.php
sudo -u www-data sed -i 's/username_here/wordpress/' /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config.php
sudo -u www-data sed -i 's/password_here/your_secure_password/' /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config.php

Add security keys:

sudo -u www-data nano /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config.php

Replace the salt keys with new ones from: https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/

7️⃣ Complete Web Installation

Visit http://your-server-ip in your browser and follow the WordPress installation wizard.

🔒 SSL Configuration

Install Certbot

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache

Get SSL Certificate

Replace yourwebsite.com with your actual domain:

sudo certbot --apache -d yourwebsite.com -d www.yourwebsite.com

Follow the prompts:

1. Enter your email address
2. Agree to terms of service
3. Choose to redirect HTTP to HTTPS (option 2)

Test Auto-Renewal

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Update WordPress URLs

After SSL installation:

1. Go to https://yourwebsite.com/wp-admin
2. Navigate to Settings → General
3. Update both URLs to use https://
4. Save changes

🎯 Post-Installation

Essential Tasks

• Install a security plugin (Wordfence, Sucuri)
• Install a backup plugin (UpdraftPlus, BackWPup)
• Set up caching (WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache)
• Install Yoast SEO or Rank Math
• Configure permalinks (Settings → Permalinks → Post name)
• Create essential pages (About, Contact, Privacy Policy)
• Choose and install a theme
• Remove unused themes and plugins

Recommended Plugins

Plugin	Purpose	Free
Wordfence Security	Security & Firewall	✅
UpdraftPlus	Backup & Restore	✅
Yoast SEO	SEO Optimization	✅
WP Super Cache	Performance	✅
Contact Form 7	Contact Forms	✅
Akismet	Spam Protection	✅

🐛 Troubleshooting

Error: "Error establishing a database connection"

Solution:

# Check database credentials in wp-config.php
sudo nano /srv/www/wordpress/wp-config.php

# Verify MySQL is running
sudo systemctl status mysql

# Restart MySQL
sudo systemctl restart mysql

Error: "403 Forbidden"

Solution:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /srv/www/wordpress
sudo chmod -R 755 /srv/www/wordpress

Error: "The uploaded file could not be moved"

Solution:

sudo mkdir -p /srv/www/wordpress/wp-content/uploads
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /srv/www/wordpress/wp-content/uploads
sudo chmod -R 755 /srv/www/wordpress/wp-content/uploads

SSL Certificate Issues

Solution:

# Check firewall
sudo ufw status
sudo ufw allow 80
sudo ufw allow 443

# Verify DNS
dig yourwebsite.com

# Check Apache configuration
sudo apache2ctl configtest

🔐 Security Best Practices

1. Keep Everything Updated

# Update WordPress core, plugins, and themes regularly
# Enable automatic updates in wp-config.php

Add to wp-config.php:

define('WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE', true);

2. Disable File Editing

Add to wp-config.php:

define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true);

3. Change Database Prefix

Edit wp-config.php and change:

$table_prefix = 'wp_';

To something unique:

$table_prefix = 'xyz_';

4. Limit Login Attempts

Install a plugin like:

• Limit Login Attempts Reloaded
• WPS Limit Login

5. Use Strong Passwords

• Minimum 12 characters
• Mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols
• Use a password manager

6. Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Install plugins like:

• Two Factor Authentication
• Google Authenticator

7. Regular Backups

# Automate backups with UpdraftPlus or similar
# Store backups off-site (Google Drive, Dropbox, S3)

8. Monitor Security

• Install Wordfence and Solid WP
• Enable email notifications
• Review security logs weekly

📚 Useful Resources

• WordPress Official Documentation
• WordPress Codex
• WordPress Support Forums
• Let's Encrypt Documentation
• Apache Documentation

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Areas Where You Can Contribute

• 📝 Improve documentation
• 🐛 Report bugs
• 💡 Suggest new features
• 🌐 Add translations
• 🎨 Improve formatting
• ✅ Add more troubleshooting tips

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

💬 Support

Need help? Here's how to get support:

• 📧 Email: khanhkharis1@gmail.com

⭐ Show Your Support

If this guide helped you, please consider:

• ⭐ Starring this repository
• 🐦 Sharing on social media
• 📝 Writing a blog post about your experience

👨‍💻 Author

Muhammad Haris

• Website: aws.codebyharris.com
• GitHub: @Muhammadg
• Twitter: @HARISKHANHK9
• LinkedIn: Muhammad Haris

🙏 Acknowledgments

• WordPress.org for the amazing CMS
• Let's Encrypt for free SSL certificates
• Ubuntu and Apache communities
• All contributors who helped improve this guide

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Made with ❤️ by Muhammad Haris

_{⭐ Star this repository if you found it helpful!}