I'm building a WordPress site using AWS and I've got a couple of questions. First, I'd like to get some opinions on the value and cost-effectiveness of hosting a site in AWS compared to other options. Second, I'm curious about the process of moving both my files and database if I decide to switch hosts later on. Any additional suggestions or tips would also be greatly appreciated!
4 Answers
Here are some tips to consider:
1. Don't put your EC2 instance in a public network. Use a Load Balancer that’s in a public network and your EC2 instance in a private one.
2. Consider using Auto Scaling Groups for your EC2 instances so your site can handle varying traffic loads.
3. Implement a WAF (Web Application Firewall) with your Load Balancer to protect against common attacks. Also, associate WAF with your CloudFront distribution and ensure that your S3 bucket is only accessed via CloudFront.
4. Use an RDS instance for your database instead of launching it on EC2 for better performance.
5. Offload images and videos to an S3 bucket and put that behind CloudFront and WAF for improved performance and security.
These are common rookie mistakes I made when I started, so hopefully, they help you out!
The cost mainly depends on how much traffic you expect on your site. Each EC2 instance comes in different types based on vCPU and RAM, which affects pricing. Can you clarify what you mean by moving files and the database?
Why go with AWS? You could save a lot by opting for a fixed-price VPS from another provider. Unexpected bills from AWS can be a real headache!
That’s a good point! I’ll look into VPS options too.
It's been a while, but generally speaking, you can do cool things with WordPress on AWS, though if you don’t need special features, traditional WP hosts are usually cheaper. Setting up can take some finesse, especially with filesystem issues, but database restores are pretty simple with snapshots.
Great tips! These are crucial for anyone with a high-traffic site to keep costs manageable.