Install and Configure WordPress on AlmaLinux 9 Easy Steps

This guide is designed to walk you through the process to Install and Configure WordPress on AlmaLinux 9. A WordPress website is fundamentally any website that utilizes WordPress as its content management system (CMS). WordPress manages both the backend of your site (the interface where you log in to manage content and settings) and the frontend (the publicly visible portion of your website that visitors interact with).

Let’s proceed with the step-by-step instructions to set up WordPress on AlmaLinux 9.

To successfully Install and Configure WordPress on AlmaLinux 9, ensure you have the following prerequisites in place.

1. Requirements for WordPress AlmaLinux 9

You should be logged into your AlmaLinux 9 server as a non-root user with sudo privileges and have a basic firewall configured. Refer to our guide on Initial Server Setup with AlmaLinux 9 for detailed instructions on setting this up.

Furthermore, you need a fully functional LAMP (Linux, Apache, MariaDB/MySQL, PHP) stack installed on your server. Our article on Installing LAMP Stack on AlmaLinux 9 will guide you through the LAMP stack installation process.

2. Install Additional PHP Modules on AlmaLinux 9

Assuming you’ve completed the prerequisites, the next step is to install necessary PHP extensions. These extensions are crucial for WordPress to function correctly. Execute the following command:

sudo dnf install php-{bz2,mysqli,curl,gd,intl,common,mbstring,xml}

After installing the PHP extensions, restart the Apache web server to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

3. Create a WordPress Database and User

WordPress requires a dedicated database and user to store its data. Log in to your MariaDB shell as the root user:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Inside the MariaDB shell, create a new database for WordPress. In this example, we’ll name it wordpressdb:

MariaDB [(none)]> CREATE DATABASE wordpressdb;

Next, create a new user specifically for WordPress and grant them all necessary privileges on the wordpressdb database. Replace <password> with a strong, secure password:

MariaDB [(none)]> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpressdb.* TO 'wordpress_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';

Finally, flush the privilege tables to ensure the changes are applied, and exit the MariaDB shell:

MariaDB [(none)]> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
MariaDB [(none)]> EXIT;

4. Set up WordPress on AlmaLinux 9

Now, download the latest WordPress package from the official WordPress website using the wget command:

sudo wget http://WordPress.org/latest.tar.gz

Once the download is complete, extract the archive:

sudo tar -xzvf latest.tar.gz

Move the extracted WordPress files to your web server’s document root directory (typically /var/www/html/):

sudo mv wordpress/* /var/www/html/

Set the appropriate ownership and permissions for the WordPress files:

sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/html/

Configure Firewall for WordPress

To allow access to your WordPress site, you need to open ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) in your AlmaLinux 9 firewall. Run the following commands:

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-service=https

Reload the firewall to activate the new rules:

sudo systemctl reload firewalld

At this stage, you can proceed with the WordPress installation and configuration through the web interface.

5. Access WordPress Web Interface

Open your web browser and enter your server’s IP address or domain name:

http://<server-ip-address>

You’ll be redirected to the WordPress language selection screen. Choose your preferred language and click Continue.

The next screen presents a welcome message. Click Let’s Go! to continue.

Enter the database information you created earlier (database name, username, password, and hostname) and click Submit.

Click Run the installation and provide the necessary information, such as your site title, desired username, password, and email address. Then click Install WordPress.

After the installation is complete, you will see the WordPress login screen. Enter the username and password you created in the previous step and click Sign In.

You will now be logged into your WordPress dashboard.

Congratulations! You’ve successfully completed the WordPress installation on AlmaLinux 9.

Conclusion

In this guide, you learned how to Install and Configure WordPress on AlmaLinux 9. You began with installing the LAMP Stack, then followed the detailed steps to successfully access and configure WordPress on your AlmaLinux 9 server.

Enjoy your new WordPress site! You might also find these articles helpful:

Install and Use Podman on AlmaLinux 9

Install Nessus Scanner on AlmaLinux 9

Fix semanage command Not Found Error in AlmaLinux

Check Disk Space on AlmaLinux

Remove Old Linux Kernels on AlmaLinux

Configure Rsyslog in AlmaLinux

Alternative Solutions for Installing WordPress on AlmaLinux 9

While the method outlined above is a standard approach, here are two alternative ways to Install and Configure WordPress on AlmaLinux 9:

1. Using Docker Compose

Docker Compose provides a more containerized and isolated approach to deploying WordPress, simplifying management and ensuring consistency across different environments.

Explanation:

Docker Compose utilizes a docker-compose.yml file to define and manage multi-container Docker applications. We’ll create a Compose file that defines two services: a MariaDB container for the database and a WordPress container. This isolates WordPress and its dependencies, making it easier to update, scale, and maintain.

Steps:

Install Docker and Docker Compose: If you haven’t already, install Docker and Docker Compose on your AlmaLinux 9 server. Refer to the official Docker documentation for instructions.
Create a docker-compose.yml file: Create a new directory for your WordPress project and create a docker-compose.yml file within it:

mkdir wordpress-docker
cd wordpress-docker
nano docker-compose.yml

Populate the docker-compose.yml file: Paste the following content into the docker-compose.yml file. Replace <your-db-password>, <your-wp-admin-user>, and <your-wp-admin-password> with your desired values.

version: "3.8"

services:
  db:
    image: mariadb:10.6
    restart: always
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: <your-db-password>
      MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress
      MYSQL_USER: wordpress
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: <your-db-password>
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql

  wordpress:
    depends_on:
      - db
    image: wordpress:latest
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    restart: always
    environment:
      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db
      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wordpress
      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: <your-db-password>
      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpress
      WORDPRESS_ADMIN_USER: <your-wp-admin-user>
      WORDPRESS_ADMIN_PASSWORD: <your-wp-admin-password>
    volumes:
      - wordpress_data:/var/www/html

volumes:
  db_data:
  wordpress_data:

Start the containers: Run the following command in the same directory as your docker-compose.yml file:

docker-compose up -d

This command will download the necessary images and start the MariaDB and WordPress containers in detached mode.

Access WordPress: Open your web browser and navigate to your server’s IP address. You should be able to access your WordPress installation. You can log in to the admin panel using the username and password you specified in the docker-compose.yml file.

2. Using a Web Hosting Control Panel (e.g., cPanel, Plesk)

If you’re using a web hosting control panel, you can leverage its built-in tools to Install and Configure WordPress on AlmaLinux 9.

Explanation:

Web hosting control panels like cPanel or Plesk provide a graphical interface for managing your server, including installing applications like WordPress. They typically offer one-click installers or similar tools that automate the installation process.