If you are launching a brand new blog, you may be wondering how to install WordPress on a DigitalOcean server using RunCloud. I’ve been using DigitalOcean for more than two years and I’m very happy with this web hosting solution for bloggers. DigitalOcean provides an affordable way for bloggers to host their blogs on virtual private servers without paying a bloated cost for unnecessary support.
RunCloud offers affordable backend server management for those of us who are non-techy and don’t know how to manage a server like a sysadmin! Keep in mind installing RunCloud on your server will take up ~6GB of disk space.
Read my DigitalOcean review to learn all my thoughts on this amazing hosting platform for bloggers.
Install WordPress on DigitalOcean
You must sign up for DigitalOcean and RunCloud before following this tutorial.
Log in to your RunCloud account.
Click the Server you want to add your site to.
Point Domain Name to Your Server IP
First, we need to change your domain’s DNS records and point them to DigitalOcean.
You do this through your Domain registrar (Namecheap in my case) or Cloudflare if you use that program.
Create an A record with Host “@” and Value: (your server IP)
Create a second A record with Host “www” and Value: (your server IP)
Add a New System User
Click Create.
Choose a Username (I use the name of my blog with no spaces)
Generate a password.
Write down the information.
Create Web App
Click “Web Application” on the left panel.
Click “Create Web App” on the top right button.
Choose “1 Click WordPress.”
Name Your Web App: I use the name of the domain before the dot.
Choose “Use my own domain / subdomain”
Put in your domain.
Check the box that says “Use existing system user”
Choose the Php version you want. 7.4 is currently the latest.
Important! For Web Application Stack, choose the first option which says: You will be able to use .htaccess
Input your desired WordPress user admin credentials.
For the Database section, leave it as is.
Click “Add Web Application” at the bottom.
You’ll get a Web Application Summary when the installation is complete!
In my experience, it’s fairly immediate.
Set up SSL
If you’re still on the “Web Application Summary” screen, click SSL/TLS on the left hand panel.
(Otherwise, click Web Applications > your new site > SSL/TLS)
Leave the default settings which should be:
- HSTS & Server Side Redirection
- Authorization Method: http-01
- SSL Protocol(s): TLSv1.2 TLSv1.3
At the bottom, you’ll see an option for “Let’s Encrypt Environment”
Choose Live.
Click Submit.
You will be notified by email or Telegram, according to your notification settings that the site has been secured! This also happens very quickly (under 3 minutes) in my experience.
Log In to Your New Site
There you have it!
You can now go to https://yoursite.com/wp-admin/ to log in to your new WordPress website.
You should immediately go to your site settings and adjust the URL to “https” here: https://yoursite.com/wp-admin/options-general.php
Edit WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) to include the s in “https” too!
That’s how to install WordPress on DigitalOcean using Runcloud!