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Launch and Configure a WordPress Instance with Amazon Lightsail

TUTORIAL

Overview

Amazon Lightsail is one of the easiest ways to get started with AWS. It offers virtual servers, storage, databases, and networking, plus a cost-effective, monthly plan.

This tutorial shows you how to launch and configure a WordPress instance on Lightsail. It includes steps to connect to your instance by using SSH, sign in to your WordPress website, create a static IP and attach it to your instance, create a DNS zone, and map it to your instance.

When you're done with this tutorial, you will have the fundamentals to get your WordPress website up and running on Amazon Lightsail.

Get started with Lightsail for free.

AWS experience

Beginner

Time to complete

10 minutes

Cost to complete

Free Tier eligible

Requires

AWS account
Recommended browser: The latest version of Chrome or Firefox

[**]Accounts created within the past 24 hours might not yet have access to the services required for this tutorial.

Last updated

August 4, 2022

Step 1: Create an Amazon Lightsail account

a. This tutorial is free tier eligible.

Sign-up for AWS

Already have an account? Sign-in

Step 2: Create a WordPress instance in Lightsail

Complete the following steps to get your WordPress instance up and running on Lightsail.

Note: For more information about creating an instance in Lightsail, see Create an Amazon Lightsail instance in the Lightsail documentation.

a. Sign in to the Lightsail console.

b. On the Instances tab of the Lightsail home page, choose Create instance.

c. An AWS Region and Availability Zone is selected for you. Choose Change AWS Region and Availability Zone if you want to create your instance in another location.

d. Choose your instance image.

Choose Linux/Unix as the platform.
Choose WordPress as the blueprint.

e. Choose an instance plan.

A plan includes a machine configuration (RAM, SSD, vCPU) at a low, predictable cost, and data transfer allowance. You can try the $3.50 USD Lightsail plan without charge for three months (up to 750 hours). AWS credits the first three months to your account.

f. Enter a name for your instance and choose Create instance.

Resource name guidelines:

Must be unique within each AWS Region in your Lightsail account.
Must contain 2 to 255 characters.
Must start and end with an alphanumeric character or number.
Can include alphanumeric characters, numbers, periods, dashes, and underscores.

Step 3: Connect to your instance via SSH and get the password for your WordPress website

The default password to sign in to the administration dashboard of your WordPress website is stored on the instance.

Complete the following steps to connect to your instance using the browser-based SSH client in the Lightsail console, and get the password for the administration dashboard.

Note: For more information, see Getting the application user name and password for your Bitnami instance in Amazon Lightsail.

a. On the Instances tab of the Lightsail home page, choose the SSH quick-connect icon for your WordPress instance.

b. After the browser-based SSH client window opens, enter the following command to retrieve the default application password:

cat $HOME/bitnami_application_password

c. Make note of the password displayed on the screen. You use it later to sign in to the administration dashboard of your WordPress website.

Step 4: Sign in to the administration dashboard of your WordPress website

Now that you have the password for the administration dashboard of your WordPress website, you can sign in. In the administration dashboard, you can change your user password, install plugins, change the theme of your website, and more.

Complete the following steps to sign in to the administration dashboard of your WordPress website.

Note: For more information, see Getting the application user name and password for your Bitnami instance in Amazon Lightsail.

a. In a browser, go to:

http://PublicIpAddress/wp-login.php

In the address, replace PublicIpAddress with the public IP address of your WordPress instance. You can get your instance's public IP address from the Lightsail console as shown in the image at the right.

b. Log in to your instance.

In the Username or Email Address box, enter user.
In the Password box, enter the default password obtained earlier in this tutorial.
Choose Log in.

c. You are now signed in to the administration dashboard of your WordPress website where you can perform administrative actions. For more information about administering your WordPress website, see the WordPress Codex in the WordPress documentation.

Step 5: Create a Lightsail static IP address and attach it to your WordPress instance

The default public IP for your WordPress instance changes if you stop and start your instance. A static IP address, attached to an instance, stays the same even if you stop and start your instance.

Complete the following steps to create a static IP address and attach it to your WordPress instance.

Note: For more information, see Create a static IP and attach it to an instance in Amazon Lightsail.

a. On the Instances tab of the Lightsail home page, choose your running WordPress instance.

b. Choose the Networking tab, then choose Create static IP.

c. The static IP location is preselected based on the instance zone that you chose earlier. Select the created WordPress instance from the Attach to an instance dropdown.

d. Name your static IP, then choose Create.

Step 6: Create a Lightsail DNS zone and map a domain to your WordPress instance

Transfer management of your domain's DNS records to Lightsail. This allows you to more easily map a domain to your WordPress instance, and manage more of your website’s resources using the Lightsail console.

Complete the following steps to create a Lightsail DNS zone and map a domain to your WordPress instance.

Note: For more information, see Creating a DNS zone to manage your domain’s DNS records in Amazon Lightsail.

a. On the Networking tab of the Lightsail home page, choose Create DNS zone.

b. Enter your domain, then choose Create DNS zone.

c. Make note of the name server address listed on the page.

You add these name server addresses to your domain name’s registrar to transfer management of your domain’s DNS records to Lightsail.

d. After management of your domain’s DNS records are transferred to Lightsail, add an A record to point the apex of your domain to your WordPress instance, as follows:

You add these name server addresses to your domain name’s registrar to transfer management of your domain’s DNS records to Lightsail.

1. In the DNS zone for your domain, choose Add record.

e. Continue adding the following details to complete pointing the apex of your domain to your WordPress instance:

1. In the Subdomain box, enter an @ symbol to map the apex of your domain (such as example.com) to your instance. The @ symbol explicitly symbolizes that you’re adding an apex record. It is not added as a subdomain.

2. In the Resolves to box, choose the static IP that you attached to the WordPress instance in the previous step of this tutorial.

3. Choose the green save icon.

Allow time for the change to propagate through the internet's DNS before your domain begins routing traffic to your WordPress instance.

Step 7: Clean up

a. On the Instances tab of the Lightsail home page, choose the ellipsis (⋮) icon next to the WordPress instance you just created and choose Delete.