Amazon Lightsail remains one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to deploy a WordPress website on AWS. This updated 2025 guide walks through how to create your instance, configure it for performance and security, and set up your custom domain.

1. Sign Up or Sign In to AWS

Before you begin, sign in to your AWS Management Console. If you’re new to AWS, create an account — you’ll need a valid payment method to activate Lightsail.

2. Access the Lightsail Console

From the AWS homepage, search for Lightsail and open the Lightsail Console. Click Create instance under the Instances tab.

3. Configure Your Instance

Choose Region and Availability Zone

Select the AWS Region closest to your target audience (for example, US West (Oregon) or US East (Virginia)).

Choose Platform

Select Linux/Unix — this is the standard for WordPress hosting.

Choose a Blueprint

Under Select a blueprint, choose WordPress. You can also enable Launch script (optional) if you’d like to run initialization commands automatically at first boot.

4. Select an Instance Plan

In 2026, Lightsail offers plans starting at $5/month, with Graviton-powered instances that provide better performance per dollar. A $7/month plan (512 MB RAM, 1 vCPU, 20 GB SSD) remains a great starting point for small blogs and personal sites.

💡 Tip: You can scale up later or connect Lightsail to EC2 for more advanced workloads.

5. Name Your Instance

Create a unique name that meets these criteria:

  • 2–255 characters long
  • Starts and ends with an alphanumeric character
  • May include periods, dashes, and underscores
  • Must be unique within your AWS Region

Example: my-lightsail-wp-2025

6. Create the Instance

Click Create instance. Within a few minutes, Lightsail provisions and launches your WordPress environment.

7. Manage Your Instance

Once active, go to the instance management page:

  1. Click the three dots next to your instance name → Manage.
  2. On the Connect tab, you can use the built-in SSH client to access the server.

8. Retrieve the Default WordPress Password

  1. In the Connect tab, launch the browser-based SSH session.
  2. Run this command to reveal your default WordPress admin password:
    cat bitnami_application_password
  3. Copy the displayed password — you’ll use it to log in to WordPress.

9. Access the WordPress Admin Dashboard

In your browser, visit:

http://<PublicIP>/wp-admin
  • Username: user
  • Password: the one retrieved above

Once logged in, you can change your admin credentials, install plugins, and begin customizing your site.

10. Register or Connect a Domain

Lightsail allows direct domain registration or connection to an existing domain.

Option A — Register via Lightsail

  1. Go to the Domains & DNS tab → Create a DNS zone.
  2. Enter your desired domain (e.g., mywebsite.com).
  3. Register and verify ownership.

Option B — Use an Existing Domain

If you’ve registered a domain elsewhere, update its A record to point to your Lightsail instance’s public IP address.

🔁 Pro tip: Enable Static IP in Lightsail before updating DNS records — otherwise your IP may change if the instance restarts.

11. Enable HTTPS (Recommended)

To secure your site:

  1. Navigate to Networking → Add Certificate.
  2. Select your domain and Lightsail automatically provisions a free SSL certificate using Let’s Encrypt.
  3. Follow the prompts to apply the certificate to your instance.

Your site will now be accessible via https://.

12. Optional: Set Up Backups and Monitoring

Lightsail supports:

  • Automatic snapshots (daily or manual backups)
  • Metrics and alerts (CPU, memory, bandwidth)

Enable these in the Snapshots and Metrics tabs for improved reliability.

✅ Summary

By following these steps, you’ve:

  • Created a Lightsail instance using a modern WordPress blueprint
  • Retrieved your credentials and logged into the WordPress dashboard
  • Registered or connected a domain
  • Secured your site with HTTPS
  • Enabled monitoring and snapshots for reliability

Your WordPress site is now live, scalable, and cloud-managed — ready for 2026 and beyond.

🧭 Related Guides

How to Access Your WordPress Site on a New Lightsail Instance

A common point of confusion for first-time users is how to access WordPress on a new Lightsail instance right after it launches. Here is the exact path:

  1. Open the public site. In a browser, go to http://<YourPublicIP> (or your domain once DNS is pointed). The default Bitnami WordPress site loads immediately.
  2. Reach the admin dashboard. Add /wp-admin to the URL — http://<YourPublicIP>/wp-admin.
  3. Find your password. Lightsail's WordPress blueprint is built on Bitnami, so the admin password is generated at first boot. Open the browser-based SSH session from the Connect tab and run:
    cat bitnami_application_password
  4. Log in. Use username user and the password from the previous step. If bitnami_application_password is empty, the file may live at /home/bitnami/bitnami_application_password.
  5. Secure it immediately. Once inside, change the admin username and password under Users → Profile, and confirm a static IP is attached so your access URL never changes.

🔑 If you forget the password later, you can reset it from SSH with the WordPress CLI: wp user update user --user_pass="NewStrongPassword" --path=/opt/bitnami/wordpress.

Amazon Lightsail Pricing in 2026

One of Lightsail's biggest draws is flat, predictable pricing. Current instance bundles (Linux/Unix, 2026):

Plan RAM vCPU SSD Transfer Price/mo
Nano 512 MB 2 20 GB 1 TB $5
Micro 1 GB 2 40 GB 2 TB $7
Small 2 GB 2 60 GB 3 TB $12
Medium 4 GB 2 80 GB 4 TB $24

New AWS accounts typically get the first few months free on the smallest plan. For most small blogs and brochure sites, the $5–$7 Graviton (ARM) bundles are plenty; bump to Small or Medium once traffic, plugins, or WooCommerce push memory usage up.

AWS WordPress Hosting: Is Lightsail the Right Choice?

If you are comparing ways to host a WordPress site on AWS, Lightsail is the simplest on-ramp — fixed pricing, a one-click WordPress blueprint, built-in SSL, and snapshots, without the configuration depth of EC2, RDS, and VPC. Choose Lightsail when you want predictable cost and minimal ops. Move to EC2 (or add a managed database and CloudFront) when you need autoscaling, high availability, or compliance-grade isolation. You can migrate a Lightsail instance to EC2 later, so starting small carries little risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does WordPress run on Amazon Lightsail?

Yes. Lightsail offers a one-click WordPress blueprint (built on Bitnami) that provisions a fully working WordPress site in minutes, including the web server, PHP, and database on a single instance.

How do I access my WordPress site on Lightsail?

Visit http://<YourPublicIP>/wp-admin in a browser, then log in with username user. Retrieve the auto-generated password by opening the Lightsail SSH session and running cat bitnami_application_password.

How do I install WordPress on AWS Lightsail?

In the Lightsail console, click Create instance, choose Linux/Unix as the platform and WordPress as the blueprint, pick a plan, name the instance, and click Create. Lightsail installs and configures WordPress automatically — no manual setup required.

How do I install an SSL certificate on Amazon Lightsail with WordPress?

Attach a static IP and point your domain to it, then go to Networking → Add certificate, select your domain, and Lightsail provisions a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate. Apply it to your instance to serve the site over HTTPS.

How much does it cost to host WordPress on Lightsail in 2026?

Lightsail uses flat monthly bundles starting at $5/month (512 MB RAM) and $7/month (1 GB RAM), scaling to $12 and $24 for larger sites. New AWS accounts usually get the first few months free on the smallest plan.

Can I use my own domain with a Lightsail WordPress site?

Yes. Either create a DNS zone in Lightsail and update your registrar's name servers, or keep your existing DNS and point an A record at the instance's static IP. Always attach a static IP first so the address does not change on restart.

How do I find my WordPress admin password on Lightsail?

Open the browser-based SSH session from the Connect tab and run cat bitnami_application_password. If that file is empty, check /home/bitnami/bitnami_application_password.