The first step in deploying WordPress is to choose a server. Why choose a Southeast Asian server? Southeast Asian countries (such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia) have local data centers, which serve local users much faster than pulling content from servers in the United States and Japan, and have low user access latency. If you are targeting user groups such as Shopee and Lazada, deploying sites close to users is the key to improving conversion rates.

Server environment construction - choose the "infrastructure" suitable for WordPress

After choosing a good server, it's time to start building the "ecological environment" for WordPress to run.

One-click deployment or manual construction?

Option A: Lazy tool - one-click installation package (recommended for novices)

Some platforms will provide a one-click installation package. After you choose a cloud server, you can complete the full deployment of WordPress + Nginx + PHP + MySQL with one click, and also give you SSL and security optimization.

Advantages: fast speed, not prone to errors.

Disadvantages: poor flexibility and low playability.

Solution B: Hardcore route - build it yourself

Choose operating system: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (high stability)

Install LEMP environment (Linux + Nginx + MySQL + PHP):

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install nginx mysql-server php-fpm php-mysql unzip curl -y

Configure the database:

mysql_secure_installation
CREATE DATABASE wp_db DEFAULT CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'wp_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'yourpassword';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wp_db.* TO 'wp_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Configure Nginx virtual host and bind your domain name.

WordPress installation and initialization:

Download and deploy WordPress

cd /var/www/
wget https://wordpress.org/latest.zip
unzip latest.zip
mv wordpress mysite
chown -R www-data:www-data mysite

Configure Nginx's server block:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;

    root /var/www/mysite;
    index index.php index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}

Don’t forget to set up SSL! Use Certbot to automate the process of requesting a free certificate:

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx

Deploying WordPress is just the beginning. In Southeast Asia, due to the uneven network stability, optimization is particularly important. Recommended optimization methods: enable cache plugins, use CDN acceleration, image compression plugins to reduce bandwidth consumption, install security plugins to prevent attacks, and make regular backups.

Choosing to deploy WordPress in Southeast Asia is no longer a strategy for a few people. More and more companies and independent developers are beginning to realize the power of "getting close to users". A WordPress site that loads faster, is more stable to deploy, and is more SEO-friendly not only represents your mastery of technology, but also reflects your respect for user experience.