How to Perform VPS Hosting for WordPress Website?

Introduction 

When you're running a WordPress website, performance and reliability cannot be negotiated especially if your site is growing or handles high traffic. That’s where VPS hosting for WordPress comes into picture. VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting gives you dedicated resources and better control, which directly impacts site speed, uptime, and user experience in compared with shared hosting. 

Switching to a managed WordPress VPS hosting environment can offer noticeable benefits such as faster load times, higher security, and more freedom to customize server settings no matter whether you’re a blogger, small business owner, or developer. For anyone serious about scaling their site, VPS hosting is often the logical next step. 

The good news is, you don’t need to be a server expert to get started. The setup process has become more user-friendly With the best VPS for WordPress, and many providers offer pre-configured environments built specifically for WordPress. Still, understanding the steps and what to look out for makes a big difference. 

At ThemeIgnite, we focus on building themes that are fast, SEO-ready, and optimized for modern WordPress environments , including VPS setups. In this blog , we’ll walk you through how to perform VPS hosting for your WordPress website, what it actually means, and how to get started the right way. 

What a VPS Is?

A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is a type of web hosting where your website gets its own portion of a server’s resources like RAM, CPU, and storage without sharing them with other websites. It's like owning a modest private flat inside a bigger building rather than merely leasing a shared room. Comparatively to shared hosting, this provides you more control, improved performance, and stronger security. 

Under VPS hosting for WordPress, you can set your environment depending on the particular requirements of your site. VPS hosting provides the stability and power to manage sudden traffic spikes, running sophisticated plugins, or implementing custom software. 

You should consider upgrading to VPS if: 

When shared hosting starts holding your WordPress site back, it’s a clear sign that moving to managed WordPress VPS hosting is the right move. With more resources and freedom, your site can perform better and scale with ease. 

How to Install WordPress on a VPS Using Your Hosting Control Panel ?

Once you’ve signed up for VPS hosting for WordPress, the next step is installing WordPress itself. Thankfully, most modern VPS providers offer a control panel (like cPanel, Plesk, or a custom dashboard) that simplifies the setup-no deep tech skills required. 

Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough for installing WordPress using your hosting control panel: 

1. Log Into Your VPS Control Panel: 

Use the credentials provided by your hosting service. Navigate to the dashboard whether it’s cPanel, CyberPanel, or any other interface. 

2. Locate the WordPress Installer (Softaculous or One-Click Install): 

Most panels have a one-click app installer. Look for something like Softaculous, WordPress Manager, or "Install WordPress" under the CMS section. 

3. Fill in Basic Site Details: 

You’ll be asked to enter your site’s name, admin username, password, and email. Choose your domain (linked to your VPS), and make sure the installation directory is empty (usually left blank for root installation). 

4. Choose Your Settings: 

Select HTTPS if your SSL is already installed. You can also select a starter theme or choose to keep it clean and install one later . 

5. Click Install: 

The process usually takes less than a minute. Once done, you’ll get the admin URL (typically yourdomain.com/wp-admin) where you can log in and start customizing your site. 

Using a VPS doesn’t mean you need to install everything manually via the command line—unless you want to. With managed WordPress VPS hosting, many providers pre-configure your server with WordPress, or at least give you tools that make installation easy. 

How to Install WordPress on a VPS Manually (In 4 Steps)?

For those who prefer a hands-on approach or are working with a VPS without a control panel, manually installing WordPress offers greater control and understanding of your server environment. Here's how to do it: 

Step 1: Connect to Your VPS via SSH 

Begin by establishing a secure connection to your VPS: 

ssh root@your_server_ip 

Replace your_server_ip with your actual server IP address. 

Once connected, you're ready to set up the necessary components for WordPress. 

Step 2: Install the Required Software 

WordPress relies on a LAMP stack: Linux, Apache, MariaDB (or MySQL), and PHP. Here's how to install them: 

sudo apt update 

sudo apt install apache2 

sudo apt install mariadb-server 

sudo mysql_secure_installation 

sudo apt install php php-mysql libapache2-mod-php php-cli 

Ensure all services are running: 

sudo systemctl start apache2 

sudo systemctl start mariadb 

Step 3: Configure MariaDB and Create a WordPress Database 

Set up a database for WordPress: 

sudo mysql -u root -p 

CREATE DATABASE wordpress; 

CREATE USER 'wpuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password'; 

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress.* TO 'wpuser'@'localhost'; 

FLUSH PRIVILEGES; 

EXIT; 

Replace 'your_password' with a strong password. 

Step 4: Install and Configure WordPress 

cd /var/www/html 

sudo wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz 

sudo tar -xvzf latest.tar.gz 

sudo mv wordpress/* . 

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html 

sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html 

sudo cp wp-config-sample.php wp-config.php 

sudo nano wp-config.php 

Update the following lines with your database details: 

define( 'DB_NAME', 'wordpress' ); 

define( 'DB_USER', 'wpuser' ); 

define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'your_password' ); 

define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' ); 

Save and exit the editor. 

By following these steps, you've successfully installed WordPress on your VPS manually. This approach provides a deeper understanding of your server environment and offers greater flexibility for customization. To learn how to setup a WordPress website, go through our previous article.

Conclusion 

Although initially technical, setting up VPS hosting for WordPress is quite easy and totally worth it once you break it down either by manual install or a control panel. Better performance, more security, and more freedom than shared hosting let VPS hosting equip your WordPress site the tools it needs to expand. 

Both routes lead to a faster, more dependable website experience, whether your goal is managed wordpress VPS hosting to streamline things or going hand-crafted for complete control. And once you're all set up, don't forget that the design of your site also counts pair your new VPS environment with a responsive, optimal theme from ThemeIgnite to produce a user experience that looks great and runs even better.