WooCommerce - Getting Started Guide

Step 1 - Verify Your Store Works

Your server's IP address and root password are shown on the Server Details page in your client panel. The store is already accessible by IP address - open http://your.server.ip in a browser to verify it works. You should see the default WooCommerce storefront.

The admin panel is available at http://your.server.ip/wp-admin. Log in with the credentials you entered during the order.

If you placed the server behind a VyOS router on a private network, set up port forwarding for ports 22, 80 and 443 so the store is reachable from the internet. WooCommerce is a public-facing store, so it must be reachable from the internet for customers to buy.

Step 2 - Point Your Domain to the Server

Go to your domain registrar's DNS settings and create A records pointing to your server's IP address:

Type	Name	Value
A	@	your.server.ip
A	www	your.server.ip

DNS changes usually take a few minutes, but can take up to 24 hours. You can check the status at dnschecker.org.

Step 3 - Access Your Store

Once DNS has propagated, your store is live:

• Your store: http://yourdomain.com
• Admin panel: http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin

Log in with the admin credentials you entered during the order.

Step 4 - Enable SSL (Required for Payments)

Important: SSL is required for accepting payments. Stripe and PayPal will not work without HTTPS - they require a secure connection to process transactions.

Connect via SSH and run:

ssh root@your.server.ip

/opt/setup/get-ssl.sh

The script will verify DNS, obtain a Let's Encrypt certificate and switch your store to HTTPS automatically. Automatic renewal is already configured. After completion, your store is available at https://yourdomain.com.

Step 5 - Configure Payment Gateways

Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Payments in wp-admin.

Stripe

1. Click Set up next to Stripe
2. Click Connect with Stripe - you'll be redirected to Stripe
3. Sign in or create a Stripe account
4. Authorize the connection

PayPal

1. Click Set up next to PayPal
2. Click Connect with PayPal - you'll be redirected to PayPal
3. Sign in or create a PayPal business account
4. Authorize the connection

You can enable both Stripe and PayPal at the same time - let customers choose their preferred payment method.

SSL Certificate Renewal

Let's Encrypt certificates are valid for 90 days. Automatic renewal is configured. You can test it with:

certbot renew --dry-run

Fail2Ban - Brute-Force Protection

Your server comes with Fail2Ban pre-configured to protect both SSH and WordPress from brute-force attacks.

Rule	Max Attempts	Ban Duration
SSH	5 failed logins	10 minutes
WordPress (hard)	3 failed logins	1 hour
WordPress (soft)	5 failed logins	10 minutes

Useful commands:

# Check banned IPs
fail2ban-client status wordpress-hard
fail2ban-client status sshd

# Unban an IP
fail2ban-client set wordpress-hard unbanip 1.2.3.4

If you accidentally lock yourself out, connect via VNC console in your client panel and unban your IP.

Service Management

Web stack services are managed via systemd:

# Check service status
systemctl status apache2
systemctl status mysql

# Restart services
systemctl restart apache2
systemctl restart mysql

Server Credentials

MySQL credentials are stored in /root/.wp_credentials. WordPress is pre-configured to use them.

Pre-installed Plugins

Plugin	Purpose
WooCommerce	E-commerce engine
WooCommerce Stripe	Accept credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay
WooCommerce PayPal	PayPal payments
WooCommerce Shipping & Tax	Automated shipping rates and tax calculations
Jetpack	Security, performance and marketing tools
Storefront Theme	Official WooCommerce theme

Software Included

Component	Version
Ubuntu	24.04 LTS
Apache	2.4
MySQL	8.0
PHP	8.3
WordPress	Latest
WooCommerce	Latest
WP-CLI	Latest
Certbot	2.9
Fail2Ban	1.0
Postfix	3.8

• WooCommerce Documentation: woocommerce.com/documentation