Setting Up a Website Using the WordPress Application Image
Scenarios
WordPress is an enterprise-level open-source content management system. It is usually used for enterprise website setup, cross-border e-commerce, and personal blog building. FlexusL provides a WordPress application image running on Ubuntu 24.04 and deployed with Docker. The image comes pre-installed with Nginx, MySQL, phpMyAdmin, and Docker. You can use this application image to quickly set up a website.
If your WordPress application image was purchased before August 28, 2026, see Setting Up a Website Using the WordPress Application Image (Historical Version) for instructions.
Resource Planning and Costs
This practice uses the following resource planning as an example. You can adjust it as required.
| Resource | Configuration | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud server |
| Select appropriate instance specifications based on your service requirements. |
| Image | WordPress | Select the WordPress application image. |
| Network | EIP | By default, a fixed EIP and a fixed private IP address are assigned to a FlexusL instance. |
| Security group | Inbound rule:
|
|
| Domain name | wpwebsite.com |
|
Procedure
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| Purchase a FlexusL instance and select the WordPress application image. | |
| Add inbound security group rules to ensure that the application pre-installed in the image can be accessed. | |
| Step 3: Reset the Password and Log In to the FlexusL Instance | A FlexusL instance does not have an initial password. After creating a FlexusL instance, set a password for the FlexusL instance before logging in to it. |
| Log in to the dashboard, set the username and password, and install WordPress. The image application dashboard needs to be initialized only when you log in for the first time. | |
| On the dashboard, perform the following operations:
|
Step 1: Purchase a FlexusL Instance
- Log in to the FlexusL console and click Buy FlexusL.
- Specify required parameters for the FlexusL instance.
Parameter
Example
Description
Region
CN-Hong Kong
For low network latency and quick resource access, select the region nearest to your target users. After a FlexusL instance is created, the region cannot be changed. Exercise caution when selecting a region.
Application Images
WordPress
Select the WordPress application image.
Instance Specifications
2 vCPUs | 2 GiB of memory and 60 GiB of the system disk
Select instance specifications as needed.
Instance Name
Wordpress-Example
Customize an instance name that is easy to identify, for example, Wordpress-Example.
(Optional) Associated Services
- Data Disk: 10 GiB
- Host Security
- Cloud Backup Vault: 70 GB
You can associate EVS data disks, HSS (basic edition), and cloud backup vaults with your FlexusL instances as needed and set specifications as needed.
Required Duration
1 month
Set the required duration.
FlexusL supports auto-renewal. Once enabled, FlexusL instances automatically renew before they expire. If you do not enable auto-renewal during purchase, you can still enable it after your FlexusL instances are created. For more information about auto-renewal rules, see Auto-Renewal Rules.
Quantity
1
Set the number of FlexusL instances to be purchased.
- Click Next: Confirm.
On the displayed page, confirm the order details, read and select the agreement, and click Submit.
- Select a payment method and complete the payment.
- Go back to the FlexusL console and view the purchased FlexusL instance.
Step 2: Configure Security Groups
Add inbound security group rules to ensure that WordPress can be accessed.
- Log in to the FlexusL console and click the target resource card or instance name to go to the instance details page.
- In the navigation pane on the left, choose Cloud Servers and click the target server name to view its details.

- On the Security Groups tab, click Add Rule to add the rules listed in the following table.
The following only lists common rules. You can add more rules as needed.
Table 1 Security group rules Priority
Action
Type
Protocol & Port
Source
Description
1
Allow
IPv4
TCP: 3306
0.0.0.0/0
Allows access to MySQL databases.
1
Allow
IPv4
TCP: 8081
0.0.0.0/0
Allows access to the phpMyAdmin database management tool.
1
Allow
IPv4
TCP: 8080
0.0.0.0/0
Allows HTTP access to the application dashboard.
Step 3: Reset the Password and Log In to the FlexusL Instance
This section describes how to log in to a FlexusL instance. A FlexusL instance does not have an initial password. After creating a FlexusL instance, set a password for the FlexusL instance before logging in to it.
- In the Image area on the Overview page of the FlexusL console, click Access to go to the application dashboard and check whether the application has been up and running. If yes, go to the next step.
Wait for several minutes until the application is up and running. Then, you can perform operations such as restarting or stopping the instance, or resetting the password. Otherwise, the initial password may become invalid and you cannot log in to the application dashboard.
Figure 1 Access to the application dashboard
After the application is started, the initialization wizard page of the dashboard is displayed.
Figure 2 Initialization wizard page of the WordPress dashboard
If the dashboard is not properly displayed, check the following causes:
- The port for accessing the dashboard is not enabled. Enable it as needed.
- The dashboard is being started. Try again later.
- Locate the resource card and choose
> Reset Password. Alternatively, in the list view, click Reset Password in the Operation column to reset the password for the FlexusL instance. A FlexusL instance does not have an initial password. Set a password for the FlexusL instance before logging in to it. For details, see Resetting the Password for a FlexusL Instance.
Figure 3 Resetting a password
- Locate the resource card and click Remote Login. Alternatively, in the list view, click Remote Login in the Operation column. In the displayed dialog box, click VNC Login and enter the username and password as prompted to log in to the FlexusL instance. For more login methods, see Login Modes.
The username is root, and the password is the one you set in the previous step.

Step 4: Initialize WordPress
Application images use code-based Ubuntu. They provide graphical user interfaces to make your operations easier. You need to initialize the application dashboard upon the first login. Then you can directly log in to the dashboard from the FlexusL console afterwards.
- On the Overview page, click Access in the Dashboard field in the Image area.

If the dashboard is not properly displayed, check the following causes:
- The port for accessing the dashboard is not enabled. Enable it as needed.
- The dashboard is being started. Try again later.
- Select the WordPress language and click Continue.

- Set the website title, WordPress username, password, and email, and click Install WordPress.
WordPress does not have an initial username or password. You can customize the username and password during initialization. Keep your website administrator username, password, and email secure. If you forgot the password, you can use this email to reset the password.

- Enter the username and password and click Log In.

After WordPress is initialized, you can operate the website on the application dashboard.
Add and resolve a domain name for the website so that users can use the domain name to access the website.
- If the domain name is not registered with Huawei Cloud or not resolved on Huawei Cloud DNS, the domain name cannot be resolved. Use either of the following methods to resolve the issue:
- Contact the DNS service provider to add an A record that maps the domain name to the EIP of the FlexusL instance.
- Use Huawei Cloud DNS servers to resolve the domain name. For details, see Migrating DNS Settings to Huawei Cloud DNS.
- Configure the domain name on the application dashboard.
If you add a domain name to a cloud server, or if you remove the original domain name and add a new one, you must update the domain name to WordPress so that the new domain name can be used to access the WordPress website.
- On the Overview page, click Access in the Dashboard field in the Image area.

If the dashboard is not properly displayed, check the following causes:
- The port for accessing the dashboard is not enabled. Enable it as needed.
- The dashboard is being started. Try again later.
- Choose Settings > General Settings, update WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) to the new domain name, and click Save Changes.

- On the Overview page, click Access in the Dashboard field in the Image area.
- Apply for ICP licensing for the domain name.
To successfully access the server using a domain name, you must license the domain name. Domain name licensing provided by the ICP License Service is free of charge. For details, see ICP Filing Process.
After the domain name is licensed, you can use it to visit the website.
If your website requires HTTPS access, install an SSL certificate on your FlexusL instance. Once installed, domain access will automatically use HTTPS. For details about how to apply for and install an SSL certificate on a FlexusL instance, see SSL Certificate Usage Process.
WordPress provides a wide range of themes. You can select an appropriate one for your WordPress website. You can change the WordPress theme of your website without changing the website content and structure.
- Choose Appearance > Themes on the WordPress dashboard. You can use the default and active themes, or add new themes.
- Select a theme from the theme collection provided by WordPress.
- Click Upload Theme and upload third-party themes.

- After installing a theme, click Activate.
- Choose Pages > Add New Page and use the fusion builder provided by the theme to flexibly set up a web page.
WordPress provides many plugins that add more capabilities, choices, and options to your WordPress website.
- Choose Plugins > Installed Plugins.
You can view all the plugins that have been installed and their details, such as the developer and functions.
- Choose Plugins > Add New Plugin and add plugins.
- In the upper right corner, select a filter and search for plugins from the WordPress plugin library.
- Click Upload Plugin and select a third-party plugin for installation.

The following uses 163 Email as an example to show how to use the WP Mail SMTP plugin to configure SMTP.
- Choose Settings > General and set the administration email address.

- Install the WP Mail SMTP plugin.
- On the WordPress dashboard, choose Plugins > Add New Plugin.
- Search for the keyword WP Mail SMTP. In the displayed result, click Install Now. After the installation is complete, click Activate.

- Go back to the dashboard, configure SMTP, and click Save Settings.
The following uses 163 Email as an example to show how to configure a mailbox. If you use another mailbox, specify corresponding parameters.
Parameter
Description
From Email
The sender email address. It defaults to the email address entered during WordPress installation (example@163.com in this example) and can be modified as needed.
NOTE:SMTP must be configured for the email address.
From Name
The sender name displayed in emails, which can be your website name. It defaults to the site title entered during WordPress installation (WordPress-example in this example) and can be modified as needed.
Mailer
Select Other SMTP.
SMTP Host
SMTP host IP address. Enter smtp.163.com in this example.
Encryption
Select SSL.
SMTP Port
Enter 465 in this example.
Auto TLS
Enable this function.
Authentication
Enable this function.
SMTP Username
Keep it the same as the From Email parameter value (example@163.com in this example).
SMTP Password
Enter the authorization code obtained when configuring SMTP for the email example@163.com. This is not the password of the email example@163.com.
If you forgot the WordPress administrator password, you can reset the password via email (SMTP must have been configured for WordPress).
- Resetting a password via email
- On the WordPress login page, click Lost your password.

- Enter the username or email address and click Get New Password.
Then a new password will be sent to your email.

- On the dashboard, choose Users > Profile, set a new password, and click Update Profile.

- On the WordPress login page, click Lost your password.
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