How to create a WordPress website from scratch with WordPress InstaCreator

WordPress InstaCreator is a template designed by Azion to enable the automated creation of a WordPress project from scratch.

This template sets up an edge application and its domain, along with a pre-configured set of common cache rules, cache rules for static files and images, and bypass routes. These configurations optimize your website’s performance.

By employing WordPress and Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure, you can implement a new project in the Azion Edge Platform and manage and run it on the edge.

Requirements

The WordPress InstaCreator template employs Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure to work. To successfully create a project from scratch, you must have an AWS account to generate or retrieve your AWS Access Key ID and AWS Secret Access Key.

These credentials should be temporary and used solely for the purpose of running this template. You must also have the necessary permissions to create an EC2 instance and execute a CloudFormation script on the AWS platform.

For more details on AWS access keys, visit AWS Account and Access Keys documentation.

You must also activate:

Deploying the template

You can obtain and configure your template through the Azion Console. To easily deploy it at the edge, click the button below.

Setting up the template

In the configuration form, you must provide the information to configure your Azion application. Fill in the presented fields.

Fields identified with an asterisk are mandatory.

• Application Name *: the name of your edge application. It’s used to identify and manage your application within Azion’s platform.
  • Use a unique and easy-to-remember name. If the name has already been used, the platform returns an error message.
• MySQL username *: the username for your WordPress database.
  • This field only accepts alphanumeric values, including uppercase and lowercase letters.
• MySQL user password *: the password associated with your WordPress database user.
  • This field only accepts alphanumeric values, including uppercase and lowercase letters.
• MySQL Root password *: the root password for your WordPress database.
  • This field only accepts alphanumeric values, including uppercase and lowercase letters.
• AWS Access Key ID *: the unique identifier that associates your AWS account with your credentials.
  • You need to generate or retrieve this information on your AWS Account.
• AWS Secret Access Key *: the secret key associated with your AWS Access Key ID.
  • You need to generate or retrieve this information on your AWS Account.

After completing all the information, click the Deploy button, located in the bottom-right corner. This will start the deployment process.

During the deployment, you’ll be able to follow the process through a window showing off the logs. When it’s complete, the page shows information about the application and some options to continue your journey.

Key configurations

This template creates a new Azion edge application and its domain, as well as defines some key configurations, including common cache rules, image file cache rules, static file cache rules, and bypass routes to optimize your WordPress website’s performance.

Deploying the WordPress InstaCreator template also involves automatically:

• Creating an EC2 instance in your AWS account.
• Executing a CloudFormation script.
• Setting up your project in WordPress.

To know more on how to edit and customize your project’s settings, go to the Managing your project on Azion section.

Managing your project on Azion

Considering that this initial setup may not be optimal for your specific edge application, all settings can be customized any time you need by using Azion Console.

To manage and edit your edge application’s settings, follow these steps:

1. Access Console.
2. On the upper-left corner, select Products menu > Edge Application.

• You’ll be redirected to the Edge Application page. It lists all the edge applications you’ve created.

3. Find the edge application related to your WordPress website and select it.

• The list is organized alphabetically. You can also use the search bar located in the upper-left corner of the list; currently, it filters only by Application Name.

After selecting the edge application you’ll work on, you’re directed to a page containing all the settings you can configure.

Once the template is deployed, you also have full control over customizing your website’s design, content, and functionality using the WordPress admin panel.

Adding a custom domain

The edge application created during the deployment has an assigned Azion domain to make it accessible through the browser. The domain has the following format: xxxxxxxxxx.map.azionedge.net/. However, you can add a custom domain for users to access your edge application through it.