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Installing WordPress

WordPress™ is a Content Management System (CMS) written in PHP and paired with MySQL. It’s a versatile tool that enables those with minimal technical knowledge to create, manage, and publish complex websites. 

Admittedly, there are many ways to install WordPress™ 6.8 into your OTDI Web Hosted environment. This document is a step-by-step outline of just one preferred way.

Prerequisites

Installation

Install New Server Image

Navigate to your OTDI Web Hosting Dashboard.

Install new server image screenshot with areas highlighted
  • Login with your Ohio State username (lastname.#) credentials
  • Click on the Environment you wish to use: [Dev|Test|Prod]
  • Click on ‘Server Options’ in the Lefthand Menu
  • Change the ‘Image’ to PHP 8.4 – Legacy
  • Allow 30 minutes for the existing environment to get rebuilt with the new image

Create a MySQL Database and Database User for WordPress™:

Continue using your Web Hosting Dashboard. 

Dashboard with areas highlighted to add a database
  • Click on ‘Databases’ in the Lefthand menu & then ‘Add Database’ on the right. (Not Shown)
  • Give your DB a unique name & description, keeping in mind that you could have multiple databases, in multiple environments, under one Web Hosted account.
  • Click ‘Create Database’
Add New User details
  • Once created, click ‘Add New User’
  • Enter a unique Username & Password, keeping in mind that you could have multiple databases, in multiple environments, under one Web Hosted account.
  • Record the database name, username and password you just created for use when configuring WordPress™.
  • Click ‘Add User’.

Download and Install WordPress:

  • Connect to your account with your favorite terminal program and SSH Secure Shell.
  • Change to a temporary directory under your account’s Webroot.
[user@webssh ~]$ cdweb && cd tmp
  • Get the latest ‘Stable’ version of WordPress™
[user@webssh tmp]$ wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
  • Extract the downloaded WordPress™ archive to your account’s Document Root, removing the default ‘wordpress’ installation directory
[user@webssh tmp]$ tar -xzvf latest.tar.gz --directory ../htdocs --strip-components=1
  • Return to the Webroot directory
[user@webssh tmp]$ cdweb
  • Remove existing files from the Document Root (htdocs)
[user@webssh reavertest]$ rm htdocs/index.html htdocs/favicon.ico
[user@webssh reavertest]$ rm -Rf htdocs/index_files/
  • Change the ‘Group’ ownership of the WordPress™ files to our Apache User Group (www)
[user@webssh reavertest]$ chgrp -R www htdocs/
  • Tighten the permissions on publicly accessible files & directories
[user@webssh reavertest]$ find htdocs/ -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
[user@webssh reavertest]$ find htdocs/ -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

Configure WordPress

  • Navigate to your Document Root and copy the sample configuration file.
[user@webssh reavertest]$ cdweb && cd htdocs
[user@webssh htdocs]$ cp wp-config-sample.php wp-config.php
  • Edit the wp-config.php file with VI or Nano. Edit the following ‘Database Settings’ to include the database connection details you created earlier
Terminal window with defined parameters

define( 'DB_NAME', 'MyNewProdDB' );

define( 'DB_USER', 'SomeUser' );

define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'Ahard2GuessPa$$word' );

define( 'DB_HOST', 'webdb1.service.ohio-state.edu' );

  • Save your edits & exit the terminal

Complete the Installation of WordPress™ with your Web Browser:

Server URL
  • Open your favorite web browser and navigate to your Site’s Primary URL. (You can find this URL in your Web Hosting Dashboard, under ‘General’.)
On screen instructions for completing the installation process
  • Follow the on-screen instructions to complete your WordPress™ installation, including setting up the site title, admin username, and a very strong password.

Congratulations! Your basic WordPress™ installation is complete.

Additional Things to Consider

Install These Free Plugins

WordPress™ plugins are software components that extend the functionality of a WordPress™ website. They allow users to add new features, integrate with third-party services, enhance security, improve performance, and customize their site without needing to write or modify core code.  We don’t restrict which plugins you can use, but we do have a few we strongly recommend. Please consider installing the Plugins detailed in this support article. (At least the first 4 anyway)

Keep track of URL settings if using an alternate development location

Unlike other web applications which primarily use relative links, WordPress™ tends to use the site’s FQDN in absolute links.  This means that changing the location of a WordPress™ site (i.e.: From Dev to Production) can be complicated. If you plan to move or copy your site after initial development, you’ll want to write down all settings that require you enter a FQDN. For more information about the differences please see Absolute & Relative links

Load Balancer Awareness

Some features of WordPress should be made aware of the AWS Load Balancer we utilize for increased speed and availability; Especially if you use plugins that leverage Client IPs.  To enable this, edit your wp-config.php file and add the following lines to the top of the file:

if(isset($_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR']))
{ $forwarded_address = explode(',',$_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR']);
$_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] = $forwarded_address[0];
}

Match Your Scripting Language

WordPress is written using PHP as its scripting language, and PHP is constantly being updated & improved. If you find a need to upgrade the version of PHP installed in your environment, you can do it yourself by following this Support Article.