Automate WordPress Setup with Ansible on Ubuntu VPS

If you’re new to Ansible and want to avoid setting up WordPress manually every time — this guide is for you.

We’ll go step by step:
From installing Ansible → to writing a playbook → to deploying a full WordPress website with NGINX, Apache, MariaDB, SSL, and a custom user.

Why Use Ansible?

Ansible lets you automate server setup so you don’t have to repeat the same commands again and again. One playbook = one-click deployment.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: VPS Requirements

• A fresh Ubuntu 22.04 VPS (e.g. from Contabo)
• Root SSH access
• Domain name pointed to the server IP (for SSL)

Step 2: Install Ansible (on your local PC or another server)

If you’re using Ubuntu:

sudo apt update<br>sudo apt install ansible -y

Step 3: Create Your Ansible Project

Make a project folder:

mkdir wordpress-ansible && cd wordpress-ansible

Create a file called hosts and add:

[webservers]
your_server_ip ansible_user=root

Replace your_server_ip with your VPS IP.

Step 4: Create the Playbook

Create a file named wordpress_setup.yml

Paste this [shortened version for beginners] playbook:

- name: Setup WordPress on Ubuntu VPS
  hosts: webservers
  become: true
  vars:
    site_user: sohail
    domain: example.com
    mysql_root_password: rootpass
    db_name: wp_db
    db_user: wp_user
    db_user_password: wp_pass

  tasks:
    - name: Add system user
      user:
        name: "{{ site_user }}"
        shell: /bin/bash
        create_home: yes

    - name: Install base packages
      apt:
        name:
          - nginx
          - apache2
          - mariadb-server
          - php
          - php-mysql
          - unzip
          - curl
          - certbot
          - python3-certbot-nginx
        update_cache: yes
        state: present

    - name: Start MariaDB and set root password
      mysql_user:
        name: root
        password: "{{ mysql_root_password }}"
        login_unix_socket: /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
        state: present

    - name: Create WordPress DB and user
      mysql_db:
        name: "{{ db_name }}"
        state: present

    - name: Create DB user
      mysql_user:
        name: "{{ db_user }}"
        password: "{{ db_user_password }}"
        priv: "{{ db_name }}.*:ALL"
        state: present

    - name: Download WordPress
      get_url:
        url: https://wordpress.org/latest.zip
        dest: /tmp/wordpress.zip

    - name: Extract WordPress
      unarchive:
        src: /tmp/wordpress.zip
        dest: "/var/www/{{ domain }}"
        remote_src: yes
        extra_opts: [--strip-components=1]

    - name: Set permissions
      file:
        path: "/var/www/{{ domain }}"
        owner: www-data
        group: www-data
        recurse: yes

    - name: Setup Apache on port 8080
      copy:
        dest: "/etc/apache2/sites-available/{{ domain }}.conf"
        content: |
          <VirtualHost *:8080>
            DocumentRoot /var/www/{{ domain }}
            <Directory /var/www/{{ domain }}>
              AllowOverride All
              Require all granted
            </Directory>
          </VirtualHost>

    - name: Enable site and modules
      shell: |
        a2enmod rewrite
        a2ensite {{ domain }}
        systemctl reload apache2

    - name: Configure NGINX reverse proxy
      copy:
        dest: "/etc/nginx/sites-available/{{ domain }}"
        content: |
          server {
            listen 80;
            server_name {{ domain }};
            location / {
              proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
              proxy_set_header Host $host;
              proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
            }
          }

    - name: Enable NGINX site
      file:
        src: "/etc/nginx/sites-available/{{ domain }}"
        dest: "/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/{{ domain }}"
        state: link

    - name: Reload NGINX
      shell: nginx -t && systemctl reload nginx

    - name: Install SSL with Certbot
      shell: certbot --nginx --non-interactive --agree-tos -m [email protected] -d {{ domain }}

Step 5: Run Your Playbook

ansible-playbook -i hosts wordpress_setup.yml

This will:

• Install all software
• Set up database
• Deploy WordPress
• Set up Apache on port 8080
• Configure NGINX as a reverse proxy
• Enable free SSL from Let’s Encrypt

Done!

You’ve just automated your first WordPress setup using Ansible — a real-world use case even beginners can understand.