Checklist for setting up WordPress from scratch on a Debian or Ubuntu virtual machine.

  1. Install OS, or choose the appropriately sized EC2 or GCE system.

  2. Update current OS packages:

    sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade && sudo apt-get autoclean && sudo apt-get autoremove
  3. Install the following packages:
    1. apache2
    2. mysql-server
      1. Record the root password to an encrypted file.
    3. php5 php5-mysql
  4. Apache Setup
    1. sudo a2enmod rewrite
  5. cd /var/www
  6. sudo wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
  7. sudo tar -xzvf latest.tar.gz
  8. sudo rm -rf html
  9. sudo mv wordpress html
  10. sudo chown -R www-data: html/
  11. sudo rm latest.tar.gz
  12. Setup a MySQL user with access to only the WordPress database.
    1. Change the default name of the wordpress database during setup.
    2. Use a MySQL username that is distinct from the administrator’s login.
    3. Use a MySQL password that is distinct from the administrator’s password.
  13. Open a browser to http://YUR.SER.VER.ADD <- Not literally, put in your new system’s IP address.