How To Install WordPress On Ubuntu 20.04

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In this blog post, we will learn how to install WordPress on an Ubuntu 20.04 server. WordPress is a widely used content management system (CMS) that allows you to create and manage websites and blogs without the need for advanced programming knowledge. To run WordPress, you need a web server, a database server, and PHP installed on your system.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with this tutorial, make sure you have the following:

  • An Ubuntu 20.04 server
  • Access to the command line/terminal window
  • A non-root user with sudo privileges
  • Apache, MySQL, and PHP installed on your server

Step 1: Download and Extract WordPress

First, navigate to the /tmp directory:

cd /tmp

Now, download the latest version of WordPress using the wget command:

wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz

Once the download is complete, extract the files using the following command:

tar xzf latest.tar.gz

Step 2: Create a Database and User for WordPress

Log in to the MySQL server:

sudo mysql

Create a new database for your WordPress installation:

CREATE DATABASE wordpress DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci;

Create a new MySQL user and grant privileges to the WordPress database:

GRANT ALL ON wordpress.* TO ‘wordpressuser’@’localhost’ IDENTIFIED BY ‘your_password_here’;

Replace your_password_here with a strong password.

Flush the privileges and exit the MySQL shell:

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 3: Configure WordPress

Copy the sample configuration file provided by WordPress:

cp /tmp/wordpress/wp-config-sample.php /tmp/wordpress/wp-config.php

Edit the configuration file to add your database details:

sudo nano /tmp/wordpress/wp-config.php

Look for the following lines and replace the placeholders with your database details:

define( ‘DB_NAME’, ‘database_name_here’ );
define( ‘DB_USER’, ‘username_here’ );
define( ‘DB_PASSWORD’, ‘password_here’ );
define( ‘DB_HOST’, ‘localhost’ );

Save and close the file.

Step 4: Copy WordPress Files to the Web Server Document Root

Copy the extracted WordPress files to the Apache document root:

sudo cp -R /tmp/wordpress/* /var/www/html/

Change the ownership and permissions of the WordPress files:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/
sudo find /var/www/html/ -type d -exec chmod 750 {} \;
sudo find /var/www/html/ -type f -exec chmod 640 {} \;

Step 5: Complete the WordPress Installation through the Web Interface

Now, open your web browser and navigate to your server’s IP address or domain name. You should see the WordPress installation screen. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Conclusion

You have successfully installed WordPress on your Ubuntu 20.04 server. You can now start building and managing your website or blog using the powerful features offered by WordPress.