Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide to Launching an AWS EC2 Ubuntu Server and Installing WordPress with Apache

WordPress powers over 40% of the internet, and hosting it on Amazon Web Services (AWS) gives you the flexibility, security, and scalability you need. This guide will walk you through creating an AWS EC2 instance, installing Ubuntu, setting up Apache, and deploying WordPress from scratch.

Step 1: Create an AWS EC2 Instance with Ubuntu

1. Log in to AWS Management Console
   Go to https://aws.amazon.com/console/ and sign in.

2. Launch a New EC2 Instance

   • Navigate to EC2 Dashboard → Launch Instance.

   • Enter Instance Name (e.g., wordpress-server).

3. Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

   • Select Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS (Free tier eligible).

4. Choose Instance Type

   • Select t2.micro (Free Tier) or larger if needed.

5. Key Pair for SSH

   • Create a new key pair (e.g., wordpress-key.pem).

   • Download it immediately — you cannot download it again later.

6. Configure Network Settings

   • Allow HTTP (80), HTTPS (443), and SSH (22) from 0.0.0.0/0.

7. Launch Instance

   • Click Launch Instance and wait until the status is Running.

Step 2: Connect to the Server

From your local machine terminal:

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chmod 400 wordpress-key.pem
ssh -i "wordpress-key.pem" ubuntu@<Public-IP-of-EC2>

Step 3: Update Ubuntu Packages

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sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 4: Install Apache Web Server

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sudo apt install apache2 -y
sudo systemctl enable apache2
sudo systemctl start apache2

Check Apache:
Visit http://<EC2-Public-IP> → You should see the Apache default page.

Step 5: Install PHP and Required Extensions

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

Step 6: Install and Configure MySQL

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sudo apt install mysql-server -y
sudo mysql_secure_installation

Create a WordPress database and user:

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sudo mysql -u root -p
CREATE DATABASE wordpress;
CREATE USER 'wpuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'StrongPassword123!';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress.* TO 'wpuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 7: Download and Configure WordPress

1. Download WordPress

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

2. Move Files to Web Directory

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sudo mkdir -p /var/www/wordpress
sudo rsync -av wordpress/ /var/www/wordpress/

3. Set Permissions

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

Step 8: Configure Apache Virtual Host

Create a new site config:

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

Paste:

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<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin admin@example.com
    ServerName example.com
    ServerAlias www.example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/wordpress

    <Directory /var/www/wordpress>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/wordpress_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/wordpress_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable site & rewrite module:

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sudo a2ensite wordpress.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 9: Configure WordPress

1. Go to:

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http://<EC2-Public-IP>/

or your domain name.

2. Enter database details:

   • Database Name: wordpress

   • Username: wpuser

   • Password: StrongPassword123!

   • Host: localhost

3. Complete the installation.

Step 10: Secure Your Setup

• Enable UFW firewall:

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sudo ufw allow 'Apache Full'
sudo ufw enable

• Regularly update:

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sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

• Consider enabling SSL via Let’s Encrypt:

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sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
sudo certbot --apache

Conclusion

You now have a fully functional WordPress site hosted on AWS EC2 with Ubuntu and Apache. This setup offers full control, scalability, and the power of cloud hosting.