Install and Configure WordPress on Debian 12 with Easy Steps

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the process to Install and Configure WordPress on Debian 12. WordPress, a leading free and open-source content management system (CMS) written in PHP, empowers countless websites worldwide. This article provides detailed steps to get your WordPress site up and running smoothly on a Debian 12 server.

This guide is crafted for users of all skill levels. Follow the instructions below to Install and Configure WordPress on Debian 12 using the well-established LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, PHP).

Requirements for WordPress Setup

Before diving into the installation process, ensure you meet the following prerequisites. These steps are essential for a secure and functional WordPress setup on your Debian 12 server.

Server Access: You must have access to your Debian 12 server as a non-root user with sudo privileges. A basic firewall should also be configured. Refer to this guide for initial server setup: Initial Server Setup with Debian 12 Bookworm.
LAMP Stack Installation: A fully functional LAMP Stack is necessary. If you haven’t already, follow this guide to install it: How To Install LAMP Stack on Debian 12.
SSL Certificate: Secure your Apache web server with an SSL certificate using Let’s Encrypt. This provides a secure connection for your website visitors. Follow this guide: Secure Apache with Let’s Encrypt on Debian 12.

Once you’ve fulfilled these requirements, you’re ready to proceed with the steps to Install and Configure WordPress on Debian 12.

Step 1 – Create WordPress Database and User on Debian 12

The first step involves setting up the database that WordPress will use to store its data. This includes creating a database and a dedicated user with appropriate privileges.

sudo mariadb -u root -p

From the MariaDB shell, execute the following command to create a database for WordPress. Choose a descriptive name like wordpressdb:

-- MariaDB [(none)]>
CREATE DATABASE wordpressdb DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8 COLLATE utf8_unicode_ci;

Next, create a database user with a strong password and grant all necessary privileges to this user for the newly created database:

-- MariaDB [(none)]>
GRANT ALL ON wordpressdb.* TO 'wordpressuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';

Replace 'wordpressuser' and 'password' with your desired username and a strong, unique password.

Finally, flush the privileges to apply the changes and exit the MariaDB shell:

-- MariaDB [(none)]>
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
-- MariaDB [(none)]>
EXIT;

Step 2 – Install PHP Extensions for WordPress

WordPress relies on several PHP extensions to function correctly. Install the necessary extensions using the following command:

sudo apt install php-curl php-gd php-mbstring php-xml php-xmlrpc php-soap php-intl php-zip -y

After installing the extensions, restart the Apache web server to activate them:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 3 – Apache Configuration for WordPress on Debian 12

Configure Apache to properly serve your WordPress site. You should already have a virtual host configuration file for your domain in the /etc/apache2/sites-available/ directory.

Open your Apache configuration file using a text editor (e.g., vi, nano):

sudo vi /etc/apache2/sites-available/your-domain.conf

Within the virtual host block (<VirtualHost *:80> or <VirtualHost *:443>), add the following block to allow Apache to override settings defined in the WordPress .htaccess file. Ensure the path matches your website’s document root:

<Directory /var/www/your-domain/>
    AllowOverride All
</Directory>

Save and close the file.

Enable the rewrite module, which is required for WordPress permalinks:

sudo a2enmod rewrite

Test your Apache configuration for syntax errors:

sudo apache2ctl configtest

If the configuration is correct, you should see the following output:

Output
Syntax OK

Finally, restart Apache to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 4 – Download Latest WordPress Package on Debian 12

Download the latest version of WordPress from the official website.

Navigate to the /tmp directory:

cd /tmp

Use curl to download the latest WordPress package:

sudo curl -O https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz

Extract the downloaded archive:

sudo tar xzvf latest.tar.gz

Create a dummy .htaccess file within the extracted WordPress directory:

sudo touch /tmp/wordpress/.htaccess

Copy the sample configuration file to the filename WordPress actually reads:

sudo cp /tmp/wordpress/wp-config-sample.php /tmp/wordpress/wp-config.php

Create an upgrade directory to prevent permission issues during WordPress updates:

sudo mkdir /tmp/wordpress/wp-content/upgrade

Copy all the contents of the extracted WordPress directory to your website’s document root:

sudo cp -a /tmp/wordpress/. /var/www/your-domain

Step 5 – WordPress Configuration on Debian 12

Now that the WordPress files are in place, you need to configure the file ownership and permissions.

Update the ownership of the WordPress files to the www-data user and group:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/your-domain

Set the appropriate permissions for directories and files:

sudo find /var/www/your-domain/ -type d -exec chmod 750 {} ;
sudo find /var/www/your-domain/ -type f -exec chmod 640 {} ;

Retrieve secure, unique values from the WordPress secret key generator:

sudo curl -s https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/

Important: Each time you run the command above, you should receive a different set of values. Do not reuse the example values provided in the original article.

Open the wp-config.php file using a text editor:

sudo vi /var/www/your-domain/wp-config.php

Locate the section with the dummy values for the authentication keys and salts:

. . .
define('AUTH_KEY',         'put your unique phrase here');
define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY',  'put your unique phrase here');
define('LOGGED_IN_KEY',    'put your unique phrase here');
define('NONCE_KEY',        'put your unique phrase here');
define('AUTH_SALT',        'put your unique phrase here');
define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here');
define('LOGGED_IN_SALT',   'put your unique phrase here');
define('NONCE_SALT',       'put your unique phrase here');
. . .

Replace the dummy values with the unique values you obtained from the WordPress secret key generator.

Next, configure the database connection settings at the top of the wp-config.php file:

. . .
define('DB_NAME', 'wordpressdb');

/** MySQL database username */
define('DB_USER', 'wordpressuser');

/** MySQL database password */
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password');
. . .

Enter the database name, username, and password you created in Step 1.

Finally, add the following line to the file to enable direct file modification (required for some themes and plugins):

define('FS_METHOD', 'direct');

Save and close the wp-config.php file.

Step 6 – Access WordPress Web Interface

Complete the WordPress installation through the web interface.

Open your web browser and navigate to your domain name or server’s IP address:

https://server_domain_or_IP

Select your preferred language and click "Continue."

On the next page, enter the following information:

Site The name of your WordPress site.
Username: A username for the WordPress administrator account (avoid using "admin").
Password: A strong password for the administrator account.
Your Email: Your email address.
Search Engine Visibility: Choose whether to discourage search engines from indexing your site.

Click "Install WordPress."

Once the installation is complete, you will be redirected to the login page. Enter your username and password to access your WordPress dashboard.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured WordPress on Debian 12.

Conclusion

This guide has provided a step-by-step walkthrough to Install and Configure WordPress on Debian 12 using the LAMP stack. You also secured your installation using Let’s Encrypt and accessed your WordPress dashboard via a web browser.

You can now start building and customizing your WordPress website.

Alternative Solutions

While the LAMP stack provides a traditional and reliable approach, alternative solutions exist for deploying WordPress on Debian 12. Here are two alternative approaches:

1. Using Docker Compose

Docker allows you to containerize your application and its dependencies, making deployment more consistent and portable. Docker Compose simplifies the process of defining and managing multi-container Docker applications.

Explanation:

This method packages WordPress, MariaDB, and related services into separate Docker containers. Docker Compose then orchestrates these containers, handling networking and dependencies automatically. This simplifies setup and ensures consistent behavior across different environments.

Example docker-compose.yml file:

version: "3.8"
services:
  db:
    image: mariadb:10.6
    restart: always
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: your_root_password
      MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpressdb
      MYSQL_USER: wordpressuser
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: your_wordpress_password
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql

  wordpress:
    depends_on:
      - db
    image: wordpress:latest
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    environment:
      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db
      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wordpressuser
      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: your_wordpress_password
      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpressdb
    volumes:
      - wordpress_data:/var/www/html

volumes:
  db_data:
  wordpress_data:

Steps:

Install Docker and Docker Compose on your Debian 12 system.
Create a docker-compose.yml file with the above content, replacing placeholders with your actual passwords.
Run docker-compose up -d in the directory containing the docker-compose.yml file.

This will start the WordPress and MariaDB containers in detached mode. Access your WordPress site by navigating to http://localhost in your web browser.

2. Using a Managed WordPress Hosting Provider

Managed WordPress hosting providers handle all the technical aspects of running a WordPress site, including server setup, security, updates, and backups.