Although it’s easy to think of Amazon Web Services as a solution for hosting virtual machines, allocating cloud storage, and other IaaS-related tasks Amazon Web Services can also be used for Web applications hosting. AWS makes it easy to create your WordPress site.
Log into AWS and click on the Elastic Compute Cloud option to get started. Click on the big blue Launch Instance button shown in Figure 1.
[Click on the image to see a larger version.] Figure 1: Click on the Launch Instance button. AWS will now display a list with all the instances you can create. There will be options such as Red Hat, Red Hat SUSE Linux, Windows, and Amazon Linux. Instead of choosing one of these example templates, click on AWS Marketplace tab on the left side. This will open AWS’ marketplace. Figure 2 shows the marketplace. It contains software that can be used in AWS’ cloud. Although there are some options that are free, most marketplace items require payment.
[Click on the image to see a larger view.] Figure 2: AWS Marketplace includes software that can be run on AWS. It was once possible to browse the marketplace and find WordPress. The AWS Marketplace has thousands of items today, so scrolling through them is not practical. To search for WordPress, you can use the search box. You can install a variety of WordPress instances, as you can see in this figure. Scroll through the list until you find the WordPress instance you are looking for.
[Click on the image to see a larger version.] Figure 3: There are many WordPress instances that you can choose from. Pay attention to the pricing structure as you make your choice. Figure 3 shows the prices for the WordPress instances. They are $0.00 This price does not include the WordPress software. Even though WordPress is free, AWS usage fees will still apply to you if you create a WordPress instance.
After making your selection, you’ll be taken to a price list. The pricing list will tell you whether the instance is eligible for free-tier eligibility. It also shows hourly fees according to instance type. For example, the WordPress instance in Figure 4 has no fees for the WordPress software regardless of its instance size. However, EC2 fees still apply. T2 Micro instances cost $0.012 an hour, while Quadruple Extra Large instances cost $2.76 an hour.
Storage costs might also be involved. Storage costs will be listed at bottom of the form if applicable. Keep in mind that rates can vary from one case to the next.
[Click on the image to see a larger view.] Figure 4: AWS provides hourly pricing estimates for the instance. After reviewing the available instance options, click on Continue to proceed to Step 2, where you can choose an instance type. Click Next: Configure Instance Details to make your selection.
The screen for Configure Instance Details is identical to the screen you see when creating another type of instance. It allows you to specify the network configuration for the instance and the shutdown behavior. Once you are done, click Next to Add Storage.
The Add Storage screen allows you to associate an Elastic Block Store volume (EBS), with the instance you are creating. If you are creating a small WordPress website, you can accept the defaults from this screen. You can also change the volume type or storage size. Once you’re done, click Next to Add Tags.
Instances do not require tags. Tags can be used to classify and identify an instance.
