Virtual Machine Setup and WordPress Installation Documentation

1. Launching a Virtual Machine Instance

Step 1: Log in to your Cloud Provider Console

• Go to your chosen cloud service dashboard.
• Select Create Instance or Launch Instance.

Step 2: Choose an OS Image

• Select Ubuntu 22.04 or a similar version as the operating system.

Step 3: Configure the Instance

• Choose the instance type (e.g., t2.micro for free-tier on AWS).
• Select Storage (minimum 10GB).
• Set Security Groups: Allow HTTP (port 80), HTTPS (port 443), and SSH (port 22).

Step 4: Launch Instance

• After launching the instance, download the private key file for SSH access.

2. Accessing the Virtual Machine via SSH

Open your terminal or SSH client and connect to your instance with:

ssh -i path/to/your-key.pem ubuntu@<your-instance-public-ip>

3. Installing WordPress

Install Prerequisites
Run the following commands to install Apache, MySQL, PHP, and required PHP modules:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php php-mysql libapache2-mod-php unzip wget -y

Secure MySQL Installation

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Follow the prompts to secure MySQL.

Create WordPress Database

sudo mysql -u root -p

Inside the MySQL prompt, create a database for WordPress:

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

Download WordPress

wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
tar -xvzf latest.tar.gz
sudo mv wordpress /var/www/html/

Set Permissions for WordPress

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

Configure Apache to Serve WordPress
Update Apache configuration:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf

Change DocumentRoot /var/www/html to:

DocumentRoot /var/www/html/wordpress

Disable the Default Apache Site:

sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf

Enable Rewrite Module:

sudo a2enmod rewrite

Restart Apache:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Complete WordPress Setup
Open your browser and navigate to http://<your-instance-public-ip>.
Follow the WordPress installation wizard.

4. Troubleshooting Steps

Issue 1: Apache Default Welcome Page Still Showing

• Move WordPress Files to the Correct Directory Ensure the WordPress files are in /var/www/html/wordpress:

  sudo ls /var/www/html/wordpress

If the directory is empty, re-download WordPress:

  cd /tmp
  wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
  tar -xvzf latest.tar.gz
  sudo mv wordpress /var/www/html/

• Set WordPress as the Default Site Edit the Apache configuration to serve WordPress:

  sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf

Change DocumentRoot /var/www/html to:

  DocumentRoot /var/www/html/wordpress

• Disable Apache’s Default Welcome Page Disable the default welcome page to prevent it from overriding WordPress:

  sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf

• Enable Rewrite Module

  sudo a2enmod rewrite

• Restart Apache

  sudo systemctl restart apache2

• Check Permissions Make sure WordPress files have the correct permissions:

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

• Access WordPress Setup Navigate to http://<your-instance-public-ip> in your browser and continue the WordPress installation.

Issue 2: Database Issues

• Check if the database exists:

  SHOW DATABASES;

• Grant privileges on WordPress database:

  GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress.* TO 'wordpressuser'@'localhost';
  FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Conclusion

You should now have a fully functional WordPress installation. If issues persist, refer to the troubleshooting steps provided to resolve common problems related to Apache configuration, WordPress file permissions, and database connections.

Tips:

• Ensure your SSH key is correctly set up and you’re using the right permissions for secure access.
• Regularly back up your WordPress site and database to avoid data loss.