Step 1: Update Your System

Before starting, ensure your Ubuntu 22.04 system is up-to-date by running the following commands:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Keeping your system updated is critical, whether you are using a local server or a UK Windows VPS.

Step 2: Install Nginx, PHP, and MySQL

WordPress requires a web server (Nginx), PHP, and a database server (MySQL) to function. To install these components, run the following command:

sudo apt install nginx mysql-server php-fpm php-mysql php-cli php-curl php-xml php-mbstring

Once the installation is complete, start and enable Nginx and MySQL:

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl start mysql
sudo systemctl enable mysql
            

This setup works well whether you are hosting on a local machine or on a Windows Virtual Private Server hosting environment.

Step 3: Configure MySQL for WordPress

You will need to create a database and user for your WordPress installation. Log in to MySQL:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, create the database and user:

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

With the MySQL database set up, you are ready to install WordPress, whether on Ubuntu or on a VPS Windows Servers setup.

Step 4: Install WP-CLI

WP-CLI is a command-line interface for WordPress, allowing you to manage your WordPress site from the terminal. To install WP-CLI, run the following commands:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar
php wp-cli.phar --info
sudo chmod +x wp-cli.phar
sudo mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp
            

Now, you can use the wp command to manage WordPress. For example, run wp --info to check if WP-CLI is working correctly.

Step 5: Download and Install WordPress Using WP-CLI

Navigate to your web server’s root directory:

cd /var/www/html

Use WP-CLI to download and set up WordPress:

wp core download

Next, configure the WordPress database:

wp config create --dbname=wordpress --dbuser=wordpressuser --dbpass=yourpassword --dbhost=localhost --path=/var/www/html
            

After creating the configuration file, install WordPress:

wp core install --url="http://your-domain.com" --title="Your Site Title" --admin_user="admin" --admin_password="adminpassword" --admin_email="admin@example.com"
            

With WordPress installed, it’s ready to be configured via the web interface or using WP-CLI. This setup is suitable for local servers or on UK VPS Windows.

Step 6: Configure Nginx for WordPress

Create a new Nginx server block for your WordPress site:

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

Add the following configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com;
    root /var/www/html;
    
    index index.php index.html index.htm;
    
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
    }
    
    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }
    
    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}
            

Enable the new site and restart Nginx:

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

You can now access your WordPress site by navigating to your domain in a web browser. This configuration works whether you're hosting locally or on a Windows VPS hosting UK platform.

Step 7: Manage WordPress with WP-CLI

WP-CLI provides a variety of commands to manage your WordPress installation efficiently. For example, you can update WordPress, install plugins, and manage themes from the terminal:

wp plugin install jetpack --activate
wp theme install twentytwentyone --activate
wp core update
            

WP-CLI simplifies many tasks, especially for users managing multiple sites on environments like Windows Virtual Dedicated Server Hosting.