Complete WordPress Installation Guide: Easy Step-by-Step Setup with MySQL and Nginx on Ubuntu 24.04 GCP Server

Installing WordPress on GCP Prerequisites

• A GCP Ubuntu 24.04 VM instance (e.g., Compute Engine).
• A domain name pointed to your VM’s public IP (optional but recommended).
• SSH access to the VM (via GCP Console or an SSH client).
• Sudo privileges for the user.
• Basic familiarity with Linux terminal commands.

Step 1: Set Up and Secure the Server

1. SSH into Your VM:
   In GCP Console, go to Compute Engine > VM instances, select your instance, and click SSH to open a terminal.
   
2. Update the System:
   
   Bash

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   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

   Important Warning

   Ensure HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443) are allowed in GCP’s firewall

Step 2: Install Nginx

1. Install Nginx:
   
   Bash

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   sudo apt install nginx -y

   
   
2. Start and Enable Nginx:
   
   Bash

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   sudo systemctl start nginx sudo systemctl enable nginx

   
   
3. Verify Nginx:
   
   Bash

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   curl http://localhost

   Or open a browser and navigate to http://. You should see the Nginx welcome page.

Step 3: Install MySQL

1. Install MySQL Server:
   
   Bash

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   sudo apt install mysql-server -y

2. Secure MySQL Installation:
   
   Bash

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   sudo mysql_secure_installation

   Follow prompts:
   – Set a root password (choose a strong one).
   – Remove anonymous users: Y.
   – Disallow root login remotely: Y.
   – Remove test database: Y.
   – Reload privilege tables: Y.
3. Create a WordPress Database and User:
   
   Bash

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   sudo mysql -u root -p

   In the MySQL prompt:
   
   sql

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   CREATE DATABASE wordpress;
   CREATE USER ‘wordpressuser’@’localhost’ IDENTIFIED BY ‘your_strong_password’;
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress.* TO ‘wordpressuser’@’localhost’;
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
   EXIT;

   Replace your_strong_password with a secure password.

Step 4: Install PHP and Required Extensions

1. Install PHP and Extensions: WordPress requires PHP and specific extensions for functionality.
   
   Bash

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   sudo apt install php8.3-fpm php8.3-mysql php8.3-common php8.3-xml php8.3-curl php8.3-gd php8.3-mbstring php8.3-opcache php8.3-zip php8.3-intl -y

   
   
2. Verify PHP:
   
   Bash

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   php –version

   
   
3. Configure PHP for WordPress:

• Edit php.ini to increase upload limits:
  
  Bash

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  sudo nano /etc/php/8.3/fpm/php.ini

  
  Find and set:
  
  Text

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  upload_max_filesize = 64M
  post_max_size = 64M

  
  
• Restart PHP-FPM:
  
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  sudo systemctl restart php8.3-fpm

  
  

Step 5: Install WordPress

1. Download WordPress:
   
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   cd /tmp
   wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
   tar -xvzf latest.tar.gz

2. Move WordPress Files:
   
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   sudo mv wordpress /var/www/html/wordpress
   sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/wordpress
   sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/wordpress

3. Configure WordPress Database Settings:
   
   Bash

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   cd /var/www/html/wordpress
   sudo cp wp-config-sample.php wp-config.php
   sudo nano wp-config.php

   
   Update the following lines with your database details:
   
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   define(‘DB_NAME’, ‘wordpress’);
   define(‘DB_USER’, ‘wordpressuser’);
   define(‘DB_PASSWORD’, ‘your_strong_password’);
   define(‘DB_HOST’, ‘localhost’);

   
   Save and exit.

Step 6: Configure Nginx for WordPress

1. Create an Nginx Server Block:
   
   Bash

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   sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/wordpress

   
   Add the following configuration (replace example.com with your domain or server IP):

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    root /var/www/html/wordpress;
    index index.php index.html index.htm;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;

    client_max_body_size 64M;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}

Save and exit.

2. Enable the Site:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/wordpress /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

3. Test and Reload Nginx:

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 7: Secure with Let’s Encrypt SSL (Optional but Recommended)

1. Install Certbot:
   
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   sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

2. Obtain and Install SSL Certificate:
   
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   sudo certbot –nginx –agree-tos –redirect –hsts –staple-ocsp –email your_email@example.com -d example.com -d www.example.com

   – Replace your_email@example.com and example.com with your email and domain.
   – This automatically configures Nginx for HTTPS and redirects HTTP to HTTPS.
   
3. Verify HTTPS:
   – Visit https://example.com. You should see the WordPress setup wizard.

Step 8: Complete WordPress Installation

Access WordPress:

• Open a browser and navigate to http://<your-server-ip>/wordpress or https://example.com (if SSL is configured).
• Follow the WordPress setup wizard:
  • Select your language.
  • Enter site title, admin username (avoid “admin” for security), password, and email.
  • Click Install WordPress.

Log In:

• Go to http://<your-server-ip>/wordpress/wp-admin or https://example.com/wp-admin.
• Log in with your admin credentials.

Step 9: Post-Installation Steps

1. Set Up DNS (if using a domain):
   – Point your domain’s A record to your GCP VM’s public IP in your DNS provider’s settings.
   – Wait for DNS propagation (may take up to 48 hours).
2. Secure File Permissions:
   
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   sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/wordpress
   sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/wordpress
   sudo chmod 640 /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-config.php

3. Enable Caching (Optional):
   – Install a caching plugin like W3 Total Cache or WP Super Cache via the WordPress dashboard.
   – For advanced caching, configure Nginx FastCGI Cache or Redis (requires additional setup).

Troubleshooting Tips

Nginx Welcome Page Instead of WordPress:

• Ensure the Nginx server block points to /var/www/html/wordpress and is enabled.
• Remove the default Nginx site:

sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Database Connection Error:

• Verify wp-config.php credentials match the MySQL database/user settings.
• Ensure MySQL is running:

sudo systemctl status mysql

Wizard Not Loading:

• Install missing PHP extensions:

sudo apt install php8.3-imagick php8.3-bcmath -y
sudo systemctl restart php8.3-fpm

Permission Issues:

• Double-check ownership (www-data) and permissions (755 for directories, 644 for files, 640 for wp-config.php).

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