Setting Up a Website Using the WordPress Application Image

Application Scenario

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. Supported By FlexusL, the WordPress application image uses Ubuntu 22.04 and is deployed using Docker. The Nginx, MySQL, phpMyAdmin, and Docker have been preconfigured in the image. You can use this application image to quickly set up a website.

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	vCPUs: 2 Memory: 2 GiB	Select appropriate instance specifications based on your service requirements.
Image	WordPress	Select the WordPress application image.
Security group	Inbound rule: Protocol: TCP Ports: 443, 80, 9000, 9001, and 3306 Source: 0.0.0.0/0	443: Allows HTTPS traffic to a website. 3306: Allows access to MySQL databases. 80: Specifies the internal forwarding port of application images. 9000: Allows external access to the dashboard of the application preinstalled in the image. 9001: Allows external access to the application management page.
Domain name	wpwebsite.com	If the website is only used for personal development or testing, there is no need to add a domain name. If the website is open to the public, add and resolve a domain name for the cloud server.

Process

Procedure	Description
Step 1: Purchase a FlexusL Instance	Purchase a FlexusL instance and select the WordPress application image.
Step 2: Configure a Security Group	Add inbound security group rules to ensure that the application preinstalled in the image can be accessed.
Step 3: Initialize WordPress	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.
Step 4: Set up WordPress	On the dashboard, perform the following operations: Configuring Domain Names Installing an SSL Certificate for Your Website Managing Appearance Managing Plugins Configuring SMTP Resetting a Password

Step 1: Purchase a FlexusL Instance

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 memory and 60 GiB 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 GiB	You can bundle any of the services to your FlexusL instances as needed: EVS, HSS (basic edition), and CBR and set specifications as needed.
Required Duration	1 month	The minimum duration of a purchase is one month and the maximum duration is three years. Auto-renew is enabled by default, which means the purchased FlexusL instances will be automatically renewed before they expire. If you do not enable auto-renew during the purchase process, you can still enable it later after the 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 Buy Now and complete the payment as prompted.
Go back to the FlexusL console and view the purchased FlexusL instance.

After a FlexusL instance is created using an application image, wait until the image with the pre-installed application is up and running. Then, you can perform operations such as restarting or stopping the instance, or resetting the password. Otherwise, the installation may fail and you cannot log in to the image application dashboard.

Step 2: Configure a Security Group

Add inbound security group rules to ensure that the application preinstalled in the image can be accessed.

Log in to the FlexusL console and click a resource card to go to the instance details page.
In the navigation pane on the left, choose Cloud Servers. Locate the server and click its name.

On the Security Groups tab, click Add Rule. In the displayed dialog box, add rules displayed in the following figure and click OK.

The following figure only displays 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: 80	0.0.0.0/0	Specifies the internal forwarding port of application images
1	Allow	IPv4	TCP: 443	0.0.0.0/0	Allows HTTPS access to the application dashboard.
1	Allow	IPv4	TCP: 9000	0.0.0.0/0	Allows external access to the dashboard of the application preinstalled in the image.
1	Allow	IPv4	TCP: 9001	0.0.0.0/0	Allows external access to the application dashboard.

Step 3: Initialize WordPress

The image application dashboard needs to be initialized only when you log in for the first time.

On the Overview page, click Access in the Dashboard field in the Image area.

If the dashboard of WordPress cannot be accessed, it may be because the port for accessing the dashboard is not allowed or the application has not been up and running. To solve this problem, see Why Can't I Open the Dashboard of the Application Pre-installed in the Application Image?
Select the WordPress language and click Continue.
Set the website title, WordPress administrator username, password, and email, and click Install WordPress.
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 administrator username and password and click Log In.

Then, you have obtained a WordPress hosting server. You can begin to set up a website.

Step 4: Set up WordPress

This section describes common WordPress operations. For more information, see WordPress Documentation.

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 hosted 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 to Huawei Cloud DNS for Domain Name Resolution.
Add the domain name on the application O&M dashboard.
1. In the address bar of a local browser, enter http://EIP:9000 to log in to the application O&M dashboard.
  The username and password for logging in to the dashboard are the root user and password of the FlexusL instance. A FlexusL instance does not have an initial password. Reset the password and use it to log in to the dashboard.
2. Choose My Apps and click the App icon.
3. Choose Access and click Add Domain.
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 the website is only used for personal development or testing, you can apply for a free SSL certificate (provided by Let's Encrypt) whose validity period is 90 days. If your website is for commercial use, you are advised to install a commercial SSL certificate. After an SSL certificate is installed, HTTPS is used when you access the website using the domain name. The following describes the two methods for installing an SSL certificate for your website.

Preparations

Before installing an SSL certificate, initialize the application on the management page and configure the domain name on the application O&M dashboard.

Procedure

Apply for a free SSL certificate on the application O&M dashboard.
1. In the address bar of a local browser, enter http://EIP:9000 to log in to the application O&M dashboard.
  The username and password for logging in to the dashboard are the root user and password of the FlexusL instance. A FlexusL instance does not have an initial password. Reset the password and use it to log in to the dashboard.
2. Choose Gateway > Hosts > Proxy Hosts, click the icon next to the domain name, and click Edit.
3. Select SSL, configure the parameters as instructed in the following figure, and click Save.
Install a commercial SSL certificate.
If you have purchased and issued an SSL certificate, perform the following steps to install the certificate for the website. If you have not purchased and issued an SSL certificate, purchase and issue one on Huawei Cloud by referring to About SCM and SSL Certificate Usage, and then perform the following steps to install a certificate for the website.
1. In the address bar of a local browser, enter http://EIP:9000 to log in to the application O&M dashboard.
  The username and password for logging in to the dashboard are the root user and password of the FlexusL instance. A FlexusL instance does not have an initial password. Reset the password and use it to log in to the dashboard.
2. Choose Gateway > SSL Certificates, click Add SSL Certificate, and select Custom.
3. Enter a name for the certificate, upload the certificate key and certificate, and click Save.

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 the 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.
1. On the WordPress dashboard, choose Plugins > Add New Plugin.
2. 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 the 163 mailbox as an example to show how to configure a mailbox. If you use another mailbox, specify corresponding parameters.

Parameter	Description
From Email	The email address that emails are sent from, which is the email address that you specify during WordPress installation by default. In this example, the value is example@163.com. You can change the value as needed. NOTE: SMTP must be configured for the email address.
From Name	The name that emails are sent from, which can be your website name. The default value is the website title that you specify during WordPress installation. In this example, the value is WordPress-example. You can change the value 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.
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
1. On the WordPress login page, click Lost your password.
2. Enter the username or email address and click Get New Password.
  Then a new password will be sent to your email.
3. On the dashboard, choose Users > Profile.On the displayed page, set a new password and click Update Profile.