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Long gone are the days when you needed to manually install MySQL server, Apache web server, PHP module, download the latest WordPress zipped version, unzip it, and then, well, many other steps.
It’s been more than 15 years since WordPress first launch, and today in 2019 we have many different options to install.
The following steps are the fastest way I know without losing control of the server (i.e., without creating an account in WordPress.com.)
Step 1: Create a server
In Digital Ocean’s Marketplace, there is a droplet image that has pre-installed LAMP (Linux Ubuntu, Apache, MySQL, PHP) and WordPress. Click on the “Create WordPress Droplet,” and it will take you the server creation page. Choose the options that suit better for you. It will take less than 5 minutes.
Step 2: Point your domain
While you wait, it is an excellent time to point your domain to Digital Ocean. Go to the website where you registered the domain (Namecheap, for example) and point your domain to Digital Ocean’s DNSs. Here is an explanation on how to do this based on your domain registrator.
Then, go to Digital Ocean, Networking section, and add the domain. Click on the domain, and create a new A record, with Hostname: @, pointed to your recently created droplet.
Step 3: Server setup
At this point, you can access your server via ssh. Open a new console, and type “ssh root@yourdomain.com” If you added an ssh key you don’t need to do anything; otherwise, you will have to type the root password that Digital Ocean sent you via email. Once you are in, go through the configuration wizard (default options are fine.)
Step 4: WordPress setup
Now the fun part. Type your domain in the browser. The WordPress Installation wizard will show up. Go through each step, and you will be redirected to the WordPress login screen. Once you are logged in, you can customize the website as you wish.
You are done! The process takes around half of hour or less. That’s all it takes to set up a WordPress in 2019 (without losing server control.)
