This tutorial is going to show students and new users how to install WordPress and enable the WooCommerce plugin to create an online store to sell your products or services. The installation process should be fairly simple and should take only a few minutes to complete even for students and new users. You will learn how to install WordPress with Apache2, MariaDB, and PHP 7.2, enable WooCommerce Plugin and start selling your products. To get started with installing WordPress and WooCommerce, continue with the steps below:

Install Apache2 HTTP Server on Ubuntu

Apache2 HTTP Server is the most popular web server in use. so install it, since WordPress CMS needs it. To install Apache2 HTTP on the Ubuntu server, run the commands below. After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots. To test the Apache2 setup, open your browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address and you should see the Apache2 default test page as shown below. When you see that, then Apache2 is working as expected.

Install MariaDB Database Server

MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking at open-source database servers to use with Magento. To install MariaDB run the commands below. After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots. Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Run these on Ubuntu 17.10 and 18.04 LTS After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access. When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter Set root password? [Y/n]: Y New password: Enter password Re-enter new password: Repeat password Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

Restart MariaDB server To test if MariaDB is installed, type the commands below to logon into the MariaDB server Then type the password you created above to sign on. if successful, you should see MariaDB welcome message

PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories. to install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories. Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.2 Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2 Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules. After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default config file for Apache2. Then make the changes on the following lines below in the file and save. The value below is a great setting to apply in your environments. After making the change above, save the file and close it. After installing PHP and related modules, all you have to do is restart Apache2 to reload PHP configurations. To restart Apache2, run the commands below To test PHP 7.2 settings with Apache2, create a phpinfo.php file in the Apache2 root directory by running the commands below Then type the content below and save the file. Save the file. then browse to your server hostname followed by /phpinfo.php You should see the PHP default test page.

Create WordPress Database

At this point, all the required WordPress packages and servers are installed. The new server is now ready to host WordPress… On the new server, create a blank WordPress database. Run the commands below to log on to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above. Then create a blank database called wp_database. Create a database user called wp_user with a new password. Then grant the user full access to the database. Finally, save your changes and exit.

Configure WordPress Site

Next, configure the WordPress site configuration file on the server. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called WordPress.conf Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace example.com with your domain name. Save the file and exit.

Enable WordPress Apache2 Site

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

Download WordPress Content

Next, visit the WordPress site and download the latest…. or run the commands below to do that for you. Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for the WordPress root directory.

Configure WordPress

Next, run the commands below to create a WordPress wp-config.php file. This is the default configuration file for WordPress. Then run the commands below to open the WordPress configuration file. sudo nano /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-config.php Enter the highlighted text below that you created for your database and save. Save the file and you’re done. Now all is configured… run the commands below to reload the Apache2 web server settings. After that, open your browser and browse to the server IP address or domain name to continue with the WordPress setup. If everything is set up correctly, you’ll see the WordPress setup wizard and continue with the setup. Follow the on-screen instruction to complete the wizard. you’ll have to create the site administrator account with a password. then use it to log on to the WordPress dashboard to manage WordPress. When you log in to the WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins –> Add New   Then search for WooCommerce and click Install Now After installing, Activate. After activating, the plugin should automatically start the setup wizard. follow the on-screen instruction Continue until the setup is complete. After that, you can begin setting up your products to sell online Enjoy! This is how to get the WooCommerce plugin set up with WordPress support. You may also like the post below: