I Installed My Own VPN and WordPress Website on Ubuntu VPS

I want to share something I just finished doing. I set up my own VPN and WordPress website on a VPS server. I used InterServer.net and chose the cheapest VPS plan they offer. It only costs a few dollars per month, but it works great for my needs.

Why I Did This

My work requires a static IP to access some tools. I can’t connect using the dynamic IP from my ISP. Purchasing a dedicated IP is more expensive than setting up my own VPN. At the same time, I can also use the VPS as a webserver to host my simple blog.

What I Installed

After I got the VPS running (Ubuntu 22.04), I installed these:

• WireGuard VPN – to keep my internet connection secure and private
• LAMP Stack – Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP
• WordPress – my favorite platform for building websites

It took some time to install everything, but I followed tutorials and learned step by step.

Moving My Site

My old website was helloworld.ahabawel.cc. I moved it to the new VPS and changed the domain to helloworld.ahabawel.com. I used the WP-CLI tool and also set the correct database info, file permissions, and domain URL in the config file.

Now the website is running from my own VPS, and it loads faster than before.

What I Learned

I learned how to:

• Use the terminal to install and manage Linux software
• Secure my server using UFW and VPN
• Run a WordPress site without a control panel like cPanel
• Handle DNS, SSL, and database migration

It was not always easy, but I enjoyed the process.

Final Thoughts

If you want more freedom and are okay to learn some commands, a cheap VPS is a good choice. InterServer was simple to use and gave me full control. Now I have a working VPN and a fast WordPress site running on my own server.

Let me know if you want help or tips on how to do it too.