Steps to Set Up Virtual Host and MySQL for WordPress Development on Linux

Simple guide for setting up a virtual host and MySQL for WordPress development. This is tailored for Ubuntu/Debian-based distributions.

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Steps to Set Up Virtual Host and MySQL for WordPress Development on Linux

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1. Install Required Software

1. Update your system:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

1. Install Apache, MySQL, and PHP:

   sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql

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2. Set Up MySQL Database

1. Secure MySQL installation:

   sudo mysql_secure_installation

• Set a root password (if prompted).
• Answer Y (yes) to all security questions.

1. Log in to MySQL:

   sudo mysql -u root -p

1. Create a database for WordPress:

   CREATE DATABASE wordpress_db;

1. Create a MySQL user and grant privileges:

   CREATE USER 'wordpress_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress_db.* TO 'wordpress_user'@'localhost';
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
   EXIT;

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3. Configure Virtual Host

1. Create a directory for your WordPress site:

   sudo mkdir -p /var/www/yourdomain.com

1. Set permissions:

   sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/yourdomain.com

1. Create a virtual host configuration file:

   sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/yourdomain.com.conf

1. Add the following content:

   <VirtualHost *:80>
       ServerName yourdomain.com
       DocumentRoot /var/www/yourdomain.com

       <Directory /var/www/yourdomain.com>
           AllowOverride All
       </Directory>

       ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
       CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
   </VirtualHost>

1. Enable the site and reload Apache:

   sudo a2ensite yourdomain.com.conf
   sudo systemctl reload apache2

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4. Install WordPress

1. Download WordPress:

   cd /tmp && wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz

1. Extract WordPress to your site directory:

   sudo tar -xvzf latest.tar.gz -C /var/www/yourdomain.com --strip-components=1

1. Set permissions:

   sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/yourdomain.com

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5. Configure WordPress

1. Open your browser and go to http://yourdomain.com.
2. Follow the WordPress setup wizard:
   • Database Name: wordpress_db
   • Username: wordpress_user
   • Password: your_password
   • Database Host: localhost
   • Table Prefix: wp_ (default)
3. Complete the installation.

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6. Test Your Setup

• Visit http://yourdomain.com to see your WordPress site.
• Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard at http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin.

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Optional: Local Domain Setup

If you’re working locally, edit your /etc/hosts file to map yourdomain.com to 127.0.0.1:

1. Open the hosts file:

   sudo nano /etc/hosts

1. Add this line:

   127.0.0.1   yourdomain.com

1. Save and exit.

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Summary

• Installed Apache, MySQL, and PHP on Linux.
• Created a MySQL database and user.
• Set up a virtual host for your domain.
• Installed and configured WordPress.

You’re now ready for WordPress development on Linux! 🚀