How to Install WordPress on Ubuntu 22.04

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

• You’ll need access to an Ubuntu 20.04 server.
• You have installed a LEMP stack.
  • WordPress will need a web server, a database, and PHP to function correctly. Setting up a LEMP (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, and PHP) stack fulfills all of these requirements. Follow the following tutorials to install and configure a LEMP stack.
    • How to install Nginx with HTTPS on Ubuntu 20.04
    • How to install MySQL on Ubuntu 20.04
    • How to install PHP 8.1 for Nginx on Ubuntu 20.04

Once you have finished the setup, log in to your server as the sudo user to proceed.

How to Install WordPress on Ubuntu 22.04?

Step 1: Install Required PHP Extensions

1. WordPress needs certain PHP extensions to work properly. Run the following command:

sudo apt install php-curl php-gd php-intl php-mbstring php-soap php-xml php-xmlrpc php-zip

2. Restart PHP-FPM so the changes take effect:

sudo systemctl restart php8.0-fpm

Now your server is ready to support WordPress installation on Linux.

Step 2: Configure Nginx for WordPress

1. Open your WordPress Nginx config file:

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

2. Update your server block with these rules:

server {
    ...
    location = /favicon.ico { log_not_found off; access_log off; }
    location = /robots.txt { log_not_found off; access_log off; allow all; }
    location ~* \.(css|gif|ico|jpeg|jpg|js|png)$ {
        expires max;
        log_not_found off;
    }
    location / {
        #try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php$is_args$args;
    }
    ...
}

3. Check syntax and reload Nginx:

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

Step 3: Download WordPress

1. Get the latest WordPress download package from the official site:

cd /tmp
curl -LO https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
tar xzvf latest.tar.gz

2. Copy files to your web root:

sudo cp -a /tmp/wordpress/. /var/www/wordpress
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/wordpress

Now WordPress files are ready in your server’s document root.

Step 4: Configure WordPress Settings

1. Copy the sample config file:

cp /var/www/wordpress/wp-config-sample.php /var/www/wordpress/wp-config.php

2. Edit the configuration:

sudo nano /var/www/wordpress/wp-config.php

3. Update with your database name, username, and password:

define( 'DB_NAME', 'wordpress' );
define( 'DB_USER', 'wpuser' );
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'password' );

4. Generate secure keys:

curl -s https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/

Replace the dummy values in your wp-config.php file.

5. Add this line so WordPress can update without FTP:

define( 'FS_METHOD', 'direct' );

Save and exit.

Step 5: Complete WordPress Setup in Browser

Now, go to your domain or server IP in a browser:

http://yourdomain.com/wordpress

1. Select your language.
   
2. Enter site title, username, password, and email.
   
3. (Optional) Disable search engine indexing if it’s a test site.
4. Log in with your admin credentials.
   
   You’ll land on the WordPress dashboard, where you can manage your site.
   
5. Right-click on Visit Site, and select Open in new tab. Your site will open in a new tab.
   
6. The default home page of the latest version 5.9.3 of WordPress looks like the following.
   

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve completed the WordPress install on Ubuntu 22.04.
Now that WordPress is installed, you can:

• Choose a theme
• Install essential plugins
• Add content
• Customize your site

This WordPress installation guide helps you set up your website quickly, whether it’s for a blog, business, or e-commerce.