Simple Application Server:Build a WordPress blog

Step 1: Create a simple application server

1. Log on to the Simple Application Server console.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Servers.
3. In the upper-right corner of the Servers page, click Create Server.

4. On the Simple Application Server page, configure the server.

   The following table describes the parameters.

   Parameter	Examples	Description
   Region	China (Hong Kong)	Select a region based on the geographical location of your business. The region cannot be changed after the server is created. Proceed with caution. Important Simple application servers deployed in regions outside the Chinese mainland such as the China (Hong Kong) and Singapore (Singapore) regions use international bandwidth. High network latency may occur when you access these servers from regions inside the Chinese mainland. We recommend that you select a region that is closest to the geographical location of your end users for higher access speeds of your users. For more information, see Regions and network connectivity.
   Image	Type: Apps Image Application: WordPress Version:5.8	Select a tab and then select an image. Apps Image: shows application images. Application images contain application environments and allow you to deploy development environments or build websites with ease. OS Image: shows OS images. OS images contain only base OS. You can install applications on the OS based on your business requirements. Custom Images: shows custom images. Custom images are created based on snapshots of simple application servers. You can use a custom image to create simple application servers that have the same configurations. For more information, see Overview of custom images.
   Instance Plan	$3.5/month	Select a plan based on your business requirements. You are charged additional fees for outbound data transfers to the Internet beyond the plan. For more information about billing, see Overview.
   Data Disk	0GB	Optional. To have more storage space on the simple application server, you can create a data disk of the specified size and attach the data disk to the server.
   Subscription Time	1 Month	Select a subscription time for the simple application server. You can select Auto-renewal to enable the auto-renewal feature.
   Quantity	1	Specify the number of simple application servers that you want to create. The default value is 1. You can create up to 20 simple application servers.

5. Click Buy Now.

6. On the Confirm Order page, verify the order information.

7. In the Terms of Service section, read the General Terms and End User License and select I have read and agree to General Terms, End User License.

8. Click Pay and follow the on-screen instructions to make a payment.

   After the payment is made, go back to the Simple Application Server console. On the Servers page, find the server that you created. After the status of the simple application server changes from Initializing to Running, click the server card to view the server details.

Step 2: Configure the application

1. On the Servers page, find the created WordPress server and click the server card.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Applications > Application Details.

3. In the WordPress Information section, click the URL next to Home Address.

   

4. Select an installation language and click Continue.

5. On the welcome page, set Site Title, Username, Password, and Your Email, and then click Install WordPress to initialize WordPress.

   

6. On the page that appears, click Log In.

7. Enter the username and password on the logon page, and then click Log In.

   After you log on to WordPress, the following page is displayed.

Step 3: (Optional) Bind and resolve a domain name

The security of your server is compromised if you use the public IP address of the server to access the WordPress blog site deployed on the server. To ensure server security, we recommend that you access the blog site by using a domain name. If you have registered or want to register a domain name for the blog site, perform the following procedure to bind and resolve a domain name.

1. Register a domain name.

   For more information, see Register a domain name on Alibaba Cloud How to register a domain name on Alibaba Cloud. If you have registered a domain name, skip this step.

   For example, the domain name that you registered is example.com.

2. If the website to which the domain name points is hosted on a server deployed in the Chinese mainland, you must apply for an Internet Content Provider (ICP) filing for the domain name.

3. Optional: Resolve the domain name and make it point to the public IP address of the server.

   • If your domain name is registered with Alibaba Cloud, skip this step. After the domain name is bound to the server, the system automatically resolves the domain name.

   • If your domain name is not registered with Alibaba Cloud or resolved by Alibaba Cloud DNS, you can add the domain name in the Alibaba Cloud DNS console to resolve the domain name. For more information, see Domain Management. You can also contact the domain name service provider, create an A record for the domain name that points to the IP address of the WordPress server, and then bind the domain name.

4. Go back to the details page of the WordPress server. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Site Settings > Domain Name.

5. Click Add Domain Name in the upper-right corner of the page.

6. Enter the domain name of the WordPress blog site and click OK.

   After the domain name is bound to the server, the system checks whether the domain name is resolved.

   • If the domain name is registered with Alibaba Cloud or resolved by Alibaba Cloud DNS, click OK. The domain name is bound.

   • If the domain name is not registered with Alibaba Cloud or resolved by Alibaba Cloud DNS, the domain name remains in the Unresolved state after it is bound. You can have the domain name resolved based on the on-screen instructions in the Simple Application Server console.

Step 4: Access the WordPress blog site by using the bound domain name

1. Optional: Configure the domain name on WordPress.

   If you have bound a domain name of the WordPress blog site to the WordPress server and resolved the domain name, you must configure the domain name on WordPress. If you have not bound a domain name to the WordPress server, you can skip this step and use the public IP address of the server to access the WordPress blog site.

   1. Log on to WordPress.

   2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Settings > General.

   3. In the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) fields, enter the domain name that you have bound and resolved. In this example, enter http://example.com.

      You can also enable HTTPS access to the domain name and use encrypted transmission and identity authentication to ensure security of data transmission. For more information, see Enable HTTPS access. After secure HTTPS access is enabled, you must change http in the URL of the WordPress blog site to https.

   4. Click Save Changes.

2. Use one of the following methods to check whether the WordPress blog site can be accessed:

   • Use the domain name of the WordPress blog site. Enter the domain name that you have bound and resolved in the browser. In this example, enter http://example.com.

   • Use the public IP address of the WordPress blog site.

     1. Go back to the Simple Application Server console.

     2. On the Servers page, click the WordPress server card to go to the Overview page.

     3. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Applications > Application Details.

     4. In the WordPress Information section of the Application Details page, view and copy the Home Address.

     5. Enter the home address of the WordPress blog site in the browser. In this example, enter http://121.41.XX.XX.

        Important

        Security risks may occur if you use the public IP address of a WordPress blog site to visit the site. We recommend that you use a domain name of the WordPress blog site to visit the site, and enable HTTPS access to the domain name.

   If the blog site cannot be accessed, troubleshoot the issue by using the following methods:

   • Check whether the status of the domain name is normal and whether the domain name resolved by DNS points to the IP address of the WordPress server. If the status of the domain name is abnormal or the domain name resolved by DNS does not point to the IP address of the WordPress server, contact the service provider of the domain name or the DNS service provider to troubleshoot the issue.

   • Check whether the WordPress application runs as expected. If the WordPress application does not run as expected, reset the simple application server. For more information, see Reset a simple application server.

Step 5: (Optional) Build a mobile blog based on WordPress

After you build a WordPress blog by using a WordPress application image or a different image, you can use the WPtouch Mobile Plugin for WordPress to build a mobile WordPress blog.

1. Install WPtouch.

   1. Log on to WordPress. In the left-side navigation pane, click Plugins. On the Plugins page, click Add New.

   2. In the upper-right corner of the Add Plugins page, enter WPtouch in the search box.

   3. In the search results, click Install Now in the WPtouch section to install WPtouch.

   4. After WPtouch is installed, go back to the Plugins page, find WPtouch, and then click Enable.

2. Access your WordPress blog from your mobile phone.

   Open the <Public IP address of the simple application server> on your mobile phone. The Mobile and Desktop buttons appear.