Amazon Lightsail is an easy and quick way to get started on AWS, it allows you to launch instances that are already pre-configured and ready to go. Supported software and operating systems include WordPress, Ubuntu, Ghost and more.
In this piece, we will launch and configure a WordPress instance on Amazon Lightsail and go through how to get started quickly. If you have a start-up, personal website, blog or any similar ideas, you can use this tutorial to quickly get started on your website.
From the AWS Management Console, go to your Lightsail Console from the Services tab. You should see the page below. Click on “Create Instance”.
For instance location, you can pick the AWS Region and Availability Zone you desire. As for me, I have chosen Singapore. Under “Select a Blueprint”, you want to select “App+OS” and click on WordPress, make sure you DO NOT click on the multisite option.
Scroll down until you reach the Instance Plan section. Select the one you would like to use. Since this is a tutorial, I will be using the $5USD/month plan for demonstration purposes. From my own experience, that plan should be sufficient at least until your website generates a large amount of traffic. You can also sort the plans by various factors, like price per month which is the default, memory, processing, and more.
Now all you need to do is identify your instance with a name and put in tags if you wish to. Once completed, click on Create Instance.
If successful, you will be redirected to the home screen with the Instances tab, and you will see the Lightsail instance you have just created.
For the next step, we will focus on how to use SSH to connect to your instance and how to log into your WordPress website.
Click into your instance, and go under the Connect tab. Click on “Connect using SSH” under “Use your browser”. If he button is greyed out, wait for awhile for the instance to start running fully.
Now, you can definitely use your own SSH client like PuTTy or Linux but this is the most convenient way for me and I feel that it is best to use since it does not require any technical knowledge. You will see a console window pop up from your browser as seen below.
