How To Install WordPress On A VPS Hosting Account?

Are you trying to install WordPress on a VPS Server? If that is the case keep reading as we will share with you everything you need to know in order to accomplish this task successfully.

Given its unparalleled flexibility, it's no wonder WordPress dominates over a third of the internet. It is suitable for projects of all shapes and sizes. If you are planning to start a new online business, choose Content Management System (CMS).

What can be a little confusing is the process of installing WordPress on your hosting account. But is it really that difficult?

Why Install WordPress?

WordPress has a stunning 35% market share, making it the most widely used CMS worldwide. That indicates that WordPress is used to create more than one-third of all websites on the Internet. And that number is still increasing.

It's all a result of how customizable and user-friendly the platform is. Unlike other CMS, WordPress allows you to create stunning websites without ever writing a line of code. This makes it the most user-friendly platform for newbies, and more experienced developers adore the customization it offers.

Is VPS hosting suitable for WordPress?

WordPress is far from the most resource-intensive CMS. It can run smoothly on most shared hosting accounts. And if you're on a tight budget, this is probably the best place to start.

However, VPS hosting accounts offer much better performance, security, and reliability.

Unlike a shared server, a VPS reserves all hardware resources for you. You don't have to worry about other hosting accounts hogging your server. No slowdown in the performance of your website.

Moreover, you will also get a dedicated IP address. Since you're the only one using it, you won't be blacklisted for spam. This is because someone else is using it to send you unwanted messages. Also, some experts claim that it can improve your search engine rankings.

However, arguably the biggest advantage of a virtual private server is its scalability. As your site attracts a spike in traffic, you will quickly exhaust your standard shared hosting.

Hosting companies offer shared plans with more bandwidth, disk space, and hardware power. However, the configuration itself has its limitations in providing sufficient performance for popular projects. And all this without compromising the quality of service of other accounts on the server.

On the other hand, if you have reached the limits of your VPS server, you can upgrade its hardware resources. Most VPS providers are able to place their virtual servers on powerful cloud clusters. They provide you with the resources you need, no matter how large your needs are.

All in all, WordPress running on a VPS can be a very solid platform to grow your business. Let's explore the different configuration options.

Installing WordPress on a VPS with Control Panel

When choosing a virtual private server, there are many things to consider. Apart from the hardware resources, the configuration and tools used to manage your VPS are also important.

To save time, make sure your VPS account comes with a web hosting control panel. It is a graphical user interface (GUI) that will help you manage a number of tasks.

It can be used to configure individual accounts for the different projects hosted on the server. For example, uploading and managing files and databases, setting up email accounts, etc.

All managed VPS servers come with a web hosting control panel as standard. You can also install one on a self-managed machine. There are many different control panels, all of which offer a slightly different set of features.

But most of them give you an easy way to set up WordPress in seconds. Often it comes in the form of the Softaculous auto-installer.

Install WordPress with Softaculous

Softaculous is one of the most popular auto installers in the world. You can set up nearly 400 different website builder applications with just one mouse click. You don't have to worry about setting up databases or extracting archives etc. Softaculous can do all of this for you.

You should keep in mind that such a useful function comes at a cost. Some hosts include the Softaculous license fee in the hosting fee. Others, on the other hand, allow you to use Softaculous in exchange for an additional monthly fee. Nevertheless, installing apps with Softaculous is easy to use.

1. Go to your hosting account control panel and look for the Softaculous icon.

Normally, Softaculous can be accessed from the top page of the Control Panel user interface. If you can't find it, please contact your host's support team.

2. Select WordPress from the list of applications.

WordPress tops the list of applications supported by Softaculous. Hover your mouse over it and click Install.

3. Configure your WordPress installation.

On the next page, you can configure a number of things regarding your WordPress installation. First, in the Software Setup section, select the version of WordPress you want to install. We recommend that you choose the latest version. This will ensure you have the latest features and security patches.

Next, select the URL of your installation. In the first drop-down menu, you will see protocol options. You will be able to choose if you want to load the website with www. In front of the domain. Here you can also configure WordPress to redirect all visitors over a secure HTTPS connection. This will also require an SSL certificate, which you can obtain later.

The Domain drop-down menu displays all domains hosted on your account. To install WordPress in a subdirectory (e.g. https://example.com/blog), you will need to enter the folder name in the last field. If you leave it blank, Softaculous will install WP to your domain's document root directory.

In the Site Settings section, you can select a title and description for your website. You can also activate WordPress Multisite. This is a feature to manage multiple websites from a single WordPress dashboard. Disabling the default WordPress cron job is also done in this section.

The next step is to create an administrator account. Fields are provided for username and password to access the WordPress dashboard.

In the next section, Softaculous will let you choose the language for your WordPress dashboard. You can also configure your installation with certain plugins and themes pre-installed and activated.

Advanced options allow you to configure settings related to the MySQL database. And this is to the automatic updating of WordPress and the backup systems.

When you have finished all the settings, click the "Install" button at the bottom of the page. Softaculous will configure WordPress according to your settings. Then you will immediately receive a confirmation email to the admin email you just set up.

Manual installation of WordPress without using the control panel

If you have an auto-installer or a control panel, you can set up WordPress in seconds. However, many VPS plans, especially self-managed ones, do not offer a control panel by default.

You have two options

Install WordPress via FTP

The first option is to manually upload the WordPress files to your virtual server and perform the installation yourself. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Download WordPress from https://WordPress.org.

As you know, WordPress is open-source and free to use. You can download it from here as a ZIP or TAR.GZ archive.

2. Extract WordPress files and upload them to your server.

First, you need to extract the WordPress files from the archive. Then connect to your virtual server via FTP. There are many FTP clients, but the one most people use is filezilla.

The main advantage of filezilla is that you can drop files into the installation folder on the remote server.

Note: Be sure to check that you have chosen the correct installation folder. To set up a WP project on your main domain, you will need to install it in your document root directory. That is the HTML public folder.

3. Create your database and users

Before continuing with the installation, you will need to create a database so that WordPress can access it. How to do this depends on your virtual server configuration.

Even if you don't have a web hosting control panel, your VPS may contain database management. And this is based on a GUI, such as PHPMyAdmin.

You can also SSH into the server and create the user and database yourself using the command line interface. You will first need to log in to MySQL with the root user password. Next, create a new user and give him permission to create the database.

You will then need to log out and log back in as the user you just created. The command to configure a new database is CREATE DATABASE. You will find more information on how to manage your MySQL database from the command line.

Note: Be sure to save the database name, user, and password. Because you will need it immediately.

4. Run the installation wizard.

The last step in the installation process is to run the WordPress installation wizard. Open a browser window and navigate to the location where you positioned your WordPress installation. You can use your computer's host file to make sure your installation appears there.

You will first be asked to select the interface language.
On the next page, you will be informed that you are configuring WordPress to work with the database. You will also be notified if there is a problem. And you can solve them by modifying the wp-config-sample.php file in your installation folder.

By clicking on the "Let's go" button, you access you must enter the details of your database. There are five fields in total. For a standard installation, you will only need to enter the database name, user name, and password.
Once WordPress has successfully communicated with your database, you can proceed to the next step.

It's time to set up your new WordPress website. First, you'll need to enter a title for your site. Also, be sure to enter a username and password to access your WordPress dashboard. 

This is where you will also configure your administrator email address. If you don't have access to your administrator email address, you may have trouble completing some of the important tasks. So check before continuing.
The last checkbox prevents search engines from crawling and indexing your website. You can enable this checkbox if you are still developing your website.

  
If you're happy with your settings, click Install WordPress to start the installation. After a few moments, you can start working on your website.
As you can see, installing WordPress by FTP is not very complicated. However, this involves a number of steps. You will need to allow more time if you decide to go this route.

If you're used to working in a terminal, there's a faster way to install WordPress. And this, using a tool called WP-CLI.

Installing WordPress using the WP-CLI

WP-CLI is a command line interface for WordPress. It allows you to install and uninstall themes and plugins. It is also possible to change passwords and basic settings. Not to mention posting pages and posts. This is all done from the terminal.

It is also possible to install WordPress using the WP-CLI. If you're used to a command-line interface, this might be the best solution. All you need to do before you start is create a database and users. Either using a terminal or using a database management application provided by your host.

You will also need to make sure you have WP-CLI installed. WP-CLI is available on many virtual servers, especially if you have chosen a managed plan. On a self-managed VPS, however, you may need to install it yourself. Fortunately, the WP-CLI site explains in detail what you need to do.

Once you have configured your database, you can use the following command. And this is to download the WordPress files remotely on your virtual server.

Note: Be sure to navigate to your installation directory first. If you are using WordPress for your main website, you will need to install it in your document root folder.

Next, you need to connect WordPress to your database.

The command is as follows:

Wp core config -dbhost=[database host (usually enter localhost)] -dbname=[database name] -dbuser=[the database user] -dbpass=[the password database password].

When you press Enter, the WP-CLI generates a new wp-config.php file and automatically fills in the relevant information. It's time to set up your website and the admin account you'll be using.

Here is the command:

Wp core install -url=[domain name] -title=”[site title]” -admin_name=[admin account username] admin_password=[admin password] -admin_email=[admin email].

After a few seconds, WP-CLI will inform you that the installation was successful. This will allow you to log in to your WordPress dashboard and start working on your website.

Conclusion

One of the reasons WordPress has become so popular is its ease of use. The dashboard is very easy to use. The range of add-ons and themes means you don't need any coding skills.

But before that, you need to install a CMS. This process is, on the surface at least, quite complicated. Fortunately, the tools and systems that help you configure WordPress have evolved over the years. Now they are accessible and usable by even the most inexperienced website administrator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a VPS suitable for WordPress?

A less powerful shared account will work just fine. However, your new WordPress hosting on a virtual server will give you the opportunity to grow your business more efficiently. Infinite scalability means VPS hosting is suitable for websites of all shapes and sizes. It will support your project even when traffic levels increase.

Is it difficult to install WordPress on a virtual server?

In most cases, you will have a web hosting control panel and an automatic installer. This will allow you to set up WordPress on your VPS in seconds. Contrary, there are still several ways to manually install the world's most popular content management system. There are several ways to install it manually, but if you take your time, you'll be able to do it the first time.

Can I install WordPress manually without Control Panel?

Yes, you can. On the one hand, by uploading the WordPress files to your server. On the other side, use the WP-CLI to configure your WordPress website through the CLI. You can also use the WP-CLI to configure your WordPress website through a command line interface.