Install WordPress with Lighttpd on Ubuntu 24.04

This article explains how to install WordPress with Lighttpd support on Ubuntu 24.04.

Lighttpd is a lightweight web server designed for high-performance environments. It is particularly well-known for its efficient handling of many concurrent connections, making it an excellent choice for serving static content and dynamic applications with fast response times.

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) for creating and managing websites, and is suitable for blogs, business websites, e-commerce stores, and much more.

Installing WordPress with Lighttpd on Ubuntu combines the benefits of both: the efficiency of Lighttpd as a web server and the flexibility and functionality of WordPress as a CMS.

Install Lighttpd

Lighttpd packages are available in the default Ubuntu repositories and require no additional installations.

Run the command below to install Lighttpd.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install lighttpd

Once installed, the commands below can be used to start and enable the Lighttpd server services.

sudo systemctl start lighttpd
sudo systemctl enable lighttpd

Now that Lighttpd is installed, continue to install a database server below.

Install MariaDB

You will need a database server to run WordPress. A good open-source database is MariaDB.

Run the command below to install it.

sudo apt install mariadb-server

After installing the MariaDB database server, use the commands below to stop, start, and enable the MariaDB server to start when the server boots automatically.

sudo systemctl stop mariadb
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Run the following commands to validate and test if the MariaDB database server is installed successfully.

sudo mariadb

After executing the commands above, you will be logged into the MariaDB console, and a message similar to the one below will be displayed.

Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with ; or g.
Your MariaDB connection id is 32
Server version: 10.11.2-MariaDB-1 Ubuntu 23.04

Copyright (c) 2000, 2018, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.

Type 'help;' or 'h' for help. Type 'c' to clear the current input statement.

MariaDB [(none)]> 

The message tells you that the server is installed successfully.

Create a WordPress database

Upon successfully installing the MariaDB database server, create a blank database on the server specifically for the WordPress application.

As part of the setup, we will create a database named ‘wordpressdb ‘and a corresponding user account called ‘wordpressdbuser ‘.

Finally, we’ll grant the wordpressdbuser full access to the wordpressdb database.

All the database steps above can be done using the commands below:

But first, log on to the MariaDB database server:

sudo mariadb

Then run the commands below to complete the steps:

CREATE DATABASE wordpressdb CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_general_ci;
CREATE USER wordpressdbuser@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'type_your_password_here';
GRANT ALL ON wordpressdb.* TO wordpressdbuser@localhost WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit

Ensure to replace ‘type_your_password_here‘ with your password.

Install PHP-FPM

The final component required to run WordPress is PHP-FPM. As a PHP application, WordPress supports the latest versions of PHP.

Run the commands below to install PHP-FPM.

sudo apt install php-fpm php-intl php-mysql php-curl php-cli php-zip php-xml php-gd php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-json php-sqlite3 php-soap php-zip

Additional help on installing PHP

How to install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

After installing PHP-FPM, run the command below to enable PHP support for Lighttpd.

sudo lighty-enable-mod fastcgi fastcgi-php-fpm
sudo systemctl restart php8.3-fpm

Next, open the Lighttpd PHP configuration file [/etc/lighttpd/conf-available/15-fastcgi-php-fpm.conf] and edit the PHP block to turn it on.

sudo nano /etc/lighttpd/conf-available/15-fastcgi-php-fpm.conf

Change the highlighted block to turn on PHP support and specify the PHP version [8.3] to use.

## Use PHP-FPM service for PHP via FastCGI
fastcgi.server += ( ".php" =>
        ((
                "socket" => "/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock",
                "broken-scriptfilename" => "enable"
        ))
)

Restart Lighttpd.

sudo systemctl restart lighttpd

Set up WordPress vhost

You are now ready to set up your WordPress virtual host file.

Run the command below to create a virtual host directory and put the WordPress vhost file [wordpress.conf] in it.

sudo mkdir /etc/lighttpd/vhosts.d
sudo nano /etc/lighttpd/vhosts.d/wordpress.conf

Copy and paste the block below into the file. Update the domain name to match yours.

$HTTP["host"] =~ "(^|.)wordpress.example.com$" {
    server.document-root = "/var/www/wordpress"
    server.errorlog = "/var/log/lighttpd/wordpress.local-error.log"
    accesslog.filename = "/var/log/lighttpd/wordpress.local-access.log"
}

Save and exit the file.

Next, open the main Lighttpd configuration file.

sudo nano /etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf

Then, add the line below into the file to include all virtual hosts in the vhost directory.

#Include the vhosts directory
include "/etc/lighttpd/vhosts.d/*.conf"

Save and exit the file.

Restart Lighttpd.

sudo systemctl restart lighttpd

Download WordPress

Let’s begin downloading and configuring the WordPress files on Ubuntu Linux.

First, navigate to the /tmp/ directory and download WordPress files. After unzipping the file, move the content into the WordPress folder in the Nginx root directory.

The final step is to change the permissions. This will allow the Nginx web server to safely interact with the files, ensuring a secure environment for your WordPress installation.

cd /tmp/
wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
tar -xvzf latest.tar.gz
sudo mv wordpress /var/www/wordpress
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/wordpress/

After that, open your web browser and browse to the domain name configured above to begin setting up WordPress.

http://wordpress.example.com

A WordPress installation wizard page should appear. Select the installation language and continue to the next page.

Next, click the Let’s go button to begin the installation process.

Type the database name, account name, and password on the next screen. Then, click Submit.

Next, click the “Run the installation” button to install WordPress files.

Next, type in the site title, admin account, email address, and password. Then, click “Install WordPress.”

Your WordPress site should be set up and ready to use.

Set up HTTPS

If you want to use HTTPS for your WordPress site, you can do that using the steps below.

First, go and obtain an SSL certificate for your server. If you don’t already have one, use the post below to learn how to get a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate.

Generate a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate

After obtaining your certificate, open the WordPress virtual host file to edit it.

sudo nano /etc/lighttpd/vhosts.d/wordpress.conf

Then, add the highlighted portion to the file.

$HTTP["scheme"] == "http" {
        $HTTP["host"] == "wordpress.example.com" {
                url.redirect = ("/.*" => "https://wordpress.example.com$0")
        }
}

$SERVER["socket"] == ":443" {
    ssl.engine = "enable"

    ssl.pemfile = "/etc/letsencrypt/live/srv1.example.com/fullchain.pem"
    ssl.privkey = "/etc/letsencrypt/live/srv1.example.com/privkey.pem"

    server.name = "wordpress.example.com"
    server.document-root = "/var/www/wordpress"
    server.errorlog = "/var/log/lighttpd/wordpress.local-error.log"
    accesslog.filename = "/var/log/lighttpd/wordpress.local-access.log"
}

Finally, enable the SSL module and restart Lighttpd.

sudo lighty-enable mod ssl
sudo systemctl restart lighttpd

That should do it!

Conclusion:

In summary, installing WordPress with Lighttpd on Ubuntu 24.04 is a straightforward process that combines the efficiency of a lightweight web server with the flexibility of a robust CMS. Here are the key takeaways:

• Efficiency: Lighttpd handles concurrent connections effectively, making it suitable for high-performance websites.
• Database Setup: MariaDB is a reliable database solution for managing WordPress data.
• Flexible Configuration: Easy configuration of PHP with PHP-FPM allows for optimal performance of WordPress applications.
• Virtual Hosting: Setting up virtual hosts in Lighttpd facilitates managing multiple sites on a single server.
• User-Friendly Installation: The WordPress installation wizard simplifies the setup process for users, guiding them through necessary configurations.
• Customization: WordPress offers extensive themes and plugins for customization, catering to various website needs.

Following the above steps ensures a successful WordPress installation that leverages the strengths of both Lighttpd and Ubuntu. Enjoy building your new website.

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