WooCommerce VPS - Getting Started Guide

Software Included

Component	Version
Ubuntu	24.04.3 LTS
Apache	2.4.58
MySQL	8.0.44
PHP	8.3.6
WordPress	6.9
WooCommerce	10.4.3
WP-CLI	2.12.0
Certbot	2.9.0
Fail2Ban	1.0.2
Postfix	3.8.6

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

Step 1 - Get Your Server IP Address

After your VPS is created, log in to your client panel and open your VPS service details. Find the IP address of your server.

Your site is already accessible by IP address right away - open http://your.server.ip in a browser to verify it works. But for your domain to work, you'll need to set up DNS in the next step.

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 Site

Once DNS has propagated, your site 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 using the root password from your service details page:

ssh root@your.server.ip

/opt/setup/get-ssl.sh

The script will verify DNS, obtain a Let's Encrypt certificate and switch your site 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. Many prefer PayPal because they don't have to enter card details on an unfamiliar site.

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 (it happens), connect via VNC console in your client panel and unban your IP.

Server Credentials

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

• WooCommerce Documentation: woocommerce.com/documentation