# How to Install WordPress with Lighttpd Web Server on Ubuntu 20.04

> URL: https://www.atlantic.net/dedicated-server-hosting/how-to-install-wordpress-with-lighttpd-web-server-on-ubuntu-20-04/ | Published: 2021-09-02 | Updated: 2024-06-02 | Author: Hitesh Jethva

Lighttpd is a free, open-source, and lightweight web server known for its fast speed. It is simple and easy to install and it provides a web-based interface to control and manage the application.

WordPress is a free and open-source content management system that allows you to create a blog and website from a web-based interface. Installing WordPress with Lighttpd will increase the speed and performance of your website.

In this post, we will show you how to install WordPress with a Lighttpd web server on Ubuntu 20.04.

## Step 1 – Install Lighttpd, MariaDB, and PHP

First, install the Lighttpd, MariaDB, PHP, and other PHP extensions using the following command:

```
apt-get install mysql-server lighttpd php php-fpm php-mysql php-cli php-curl php-xml php-json php-zip php-mbstring php-gd php-intl php-cgi -y
```

The above command will also install the Apache package to your server, so you will need to remove it and stop the Apache service.

```
apt-get remove apache2 -y
systemctl stop apache2
```

Next, start the Lighttpd service and enable it to start at system reboot:

```
systemctl start lighttpd
systemctl enable lighttpd
```

## Step 2 – Configure PHP-FPM to Work with Lighttpd

Next, you will need to configure PHP-FPM to work with Lighttpd. To do so, edit the www.conf file:

```
nano /etc/php/7.4/fpm/pool.d/www.conf
```

Find the following line:

```
listen = /run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock
```

And, replace it with the following line:

```
listen = 127.0.0.1:9000
```

Save and close the file, then edit the 15-fastcgi-php.conf file:

```
nano /etc/lighttpd/conf-available/15-fastcgi-php.conf
```

Find the following lines:

```
"bin-path" => "/usr/bin/php-cgi",
"socket" => "/var/run/lighttpd/php.socket",
```

And, replaced them with the following lines:

```
"host" => "127.0.0.1",
"port" => "9000",
```

Save and close the file, then enable the required modules with the following command:

```
lighty-enable-mod fastcgi
lighty-enable-mod fastcgi-php
```

Next, restart the Lighttpd and PHP-FPM service to apply the changes:

```
systemctl restart lighttpd
systemctl restart php7.4-fpm
```

## Step 3 – Create a Database for WordPress

Next, log in to the MariaDB with the following command:

```
mysql
```

Once you are log in, create a database and user with the following command:

```
CREATE DATABASE wpdb;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES on wpdb.* TO 'wpuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
```

Next, flush the privileges and exit from the MariaDB:

```
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;
```

## Step 4 – Install WordPress

Next, change the directory to the Lighttpd web root directory and download the latest version of WordPress using the following command:

```
cd /var/www/html
wget https://wordpress.org/latest.tar.gz
```

Once the download is completed, extract the downloaded file with the following command:

```
tar -xvzf latest.tar.gz
```

Next, change the directory to WordPress and rename the sample configuration file:

```
cd wordpress
mv wp-config-sample.php wp-config.php
```

Next, edit the configuration file and define your database settings:

```
nano wp-config.php
```

Change the following lines:

```
/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define( 'DB_NAME', 'wpdb' );

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

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

/** MySQL hostname */
define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );

/** Database Charset to use in creating database tables. */
define( 'DB_CHARSET', 'utf8' );
```

Save and close the file, then set proper permissions and ownership with the following command:

```
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/wordpress
chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/wordpress
```

## Step 5 – Configure Lighttpd for WordPress

First, create a directory to store the virtual host configuration file:

```
mkdir -p /etc/lighttpd/vhosts.d/
```

Next, edit the Lighttpd configuration file:

```
nano /etc/lighttpd/lighttpd.conf
```

Add mod_rewrite in the following block:

```
server.modules = (
        "mod_access",
        "mod_alias",
        "mod_compress",
        "mod_redirect",
        "mod_rewrite",
)
```

And define the path of your virtual host configuration directory:

```
include_shell "cat /etc/lighttpd/vhosts.d/*.conf"
```

Save and close the file. Then, create a new virtual host configuration file for WordPress:

```
nano /etc/lighttpd/vhosts.d/wordpress.conf
```

Add the following lines:

```
$HTTP["host"] =~ "(^|.)wordpress.example.com$" {
server.document-root = "/var/www/html/wordpress"
server.errorlog = "/var/log/lighttpd/wordpress-error.log"

}
```

Save and close the file, then restart the Lighttpd service to apply the changes:

```
systemctl restart lighttpd
```

## Step 6 – Access WordPress Dashboard

Now, open your web browser and access the WordPress installation wizard using the URL **http://wordpress.example.com**. You should see the following page:
 ![WordPress Welcome Page](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/p2-2-1024x652.png)
 Select your language and click on the **Continue** button. You should see the following page:
 ![WordPress Site Information Page](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/p3-2.png)
 Provide your site information and click on the **Start the installation** button. Once the installation is completed, you should see the following screen:
 ![WordPress Installation Finished Page](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/p4-2.png)
 Click on the **Login** button. You should see the WordPress login page;
 ![WordPress Login Page](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/p5.png)
 Provide your admin username and password and click on the **Login** button. You should see the WordPress admin dashboard on the following screen:
 ![WordPress Dashboard Page](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/p6-1-1024x535.png)

## Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed WordPress with Lighttpd on Ubuntu 20.04. You can now create a high-performance website or blog from the WordPress dashboard on your [dedicated server](https://www.atlantic.net/dedicated-server-hosting/) from Atlantic.Net.