📝 How to Install WordPress on VPS: Step-by-Step Guide

WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world. Installing it on your own VPS gives you full control over performance and configuration. In this guide, you’ll learn how to manually install WordPress on a VPS with Ubuntu using the LAMP or LEMP stack. Some basic Linux and console knowledge is required.

📦 Step 1. Prepare the Server

Make sure you have a VPS with Ubuntu 20.04+ and SSH access. Then update the system:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
  

⚙️ Step 2. Install LAMP or LEMP Stack

For LAMP (Apache):

sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php php-mysql libapache2-mod-php php-cli php-curl php-xml php-mbstring unzip -y
  

For LEMP (Nginx):

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

🗄 Step 3. Create the Database

Log in to MySQL and create the database:

sudo mysql -u root -p

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

📥 Step 4. Download and Unpack WordPress

cd /var/www/
sudo wget https://wordpress.org/latest.zip
sudo unzip latest.zip
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data wordpress
sudo chmod -R 755 wordpress
  

🌐 Step 5. Configure the Virtual Host

Apache:

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

Add the following content:

  ServerName yourdomain.com
  DocumentRoot /var/www/wordpress
  
    AllowOverride All
  

  

Enable the site and restart Apache:

sudo a2ensite wordpress
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2
  

🧪 Step 6. Launch the Installer in Browser

Open http://yourdomain.com or your server's IP in a browser. Follow the WordPress installation wizard:

• 📝 Set site title
• 👤 Enter admin login and password
• 📧 Provide your email
• ✅ Click “Install WordPress”

📌 Bit.Hosting Recommendations

• 🔐 Set up an SSL certificate via Let’s Encrypt
• 📦 Regularly update plugins and WordPress core
• ⚡ Use caching (e.g., WP Super Cache)
• 🔒 Secure /wp-admin with Fail2Ban or IP restriction
• 🛠 Use a control panel (e.g., ISPmanager) for easier setup