If you’re a website owner of a fast-growing business, you may notice the need to scale in terms of space and other internal factors. To eliminate downtime issues, you must ensure your website is hosted on a secure cloud hosting platform like Google Cloud Platform (GCP) that can handle large traffic and improve your site’s performance.
In this article, we shall discuss the Google Cloud platform, Step by Step guide on how to host WordPress on GCP, and later show a more flexible and easier way of setting up a WordPress staging site on InstaWP. Let’s get started.
What is Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
Google Cloud Platform is a suite of cloud computing services provided by Google. It provides a range of services for computing, virtual machines, data storage, command line tools, analytics, and so on.
Google Cloud hosting runs the same infrastructure that Google uses for its internal products such as Google Drive, Gmail, YouTube, and so on. By hosting your website on Google Cloud, Google ensures that your website data is readily available to your users.
Key Components of Google Cloud Platform.
Compute Engine. Virtual machines that run on Google cloud infrastructure providing flexibla nad scalable computing power.
Cloud Storage. A scalable, durable, and secure object storage service for storing large amounts of unstructured data.
Google Kubernetes Engine. A managed service for running containerized applications using Kubernetes, an open-source orchestration system.
Cloud Functions. A serverless execution environment for building and connecting cloud services, running your code, in response to events without managing servers.
Cloud CDN. A Content Delivery Network for web and video.
Networking. Services such as Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Load balancing, Cloud CDN and Cloud Interconnect for creating and managing networks and connecting to other cloud environments.
Cloud SQL and Cloud Spanner. Managed relational databases that support MySQL, Postgre SQL, and SQL Server with Spanner offering global distribution and strong consistency.
Big Querry. A fully managed serverless data warehouse that enables superfast execution of SQL queries using the processing power of Google’s infrastructure.
Why use Google Cloud Platform to Host a WordPress Site?
Scalability. GCP allows you to automatically scale your WordPress site to handle traffic spikes which is beneficial for websites that experience unpredictable traffic patterns.
Security. Robust security features including encryption, identity management, and compliance certifications.
Global Infrastructure. Google’s global network of data centers ensures low latency access and high availability ensuring your WordPress site is up and running with minimum downtime.
Integration. Seamless integration with other Google services and tools like Google Analytics, and Google Workspace.
Performance. GCP provides high-speed networking and low-latency connections resulting in faster load times and a better user experience. Google Cloud CDN can cache your website’s content on the network’s edge, providing faster content delivery to users across the world.
Cost-Effectives. Pay-as-you-go pricing model, allowing you to pay only for the resources you use which can reduce costs, avoiding the over-provisioning associated with traditional hosting.
Reliability. GCP offers features like multi-region deployments and managed backups to ensure your site remains accessible and your data is easily recovered in case of any issue.
Businesses, developers, and organizations use GCP to build. Deploy and scale applications, process and analyze data, and run machine learning models.
Flexibility. Unlike traditional shared WordPress hosting, GCP allows you to fully customize your server environment, choosing the exact software stack, operating system, and configurations of your choice.
Cloud Hosting is a significant part of GCP and in the next section, we shall discuss how to host your WordPress site on Google Cloud servers.
How to set up a Staging WordPress Site on GCP
To create a staging WordPress site on gcp you need to create an account on Google Cloud web hosting and then install WordPress.
Step 1: Create an account on Google Cloud Platform.
Click on the Google Cloud platform to create an account.
Click on the Get Started for free button.
Select your country, click Agree, and Continue to go to the next step. Google gives you 300 credits for the first 90 days. You will have access to all Google Products for free after which you will have to pay a fee.
Step 2: Set Up your Payment.
In the next step, Google Cloud will ask you for your credit card details. Don’t worry because you won’t be charged for the first 90 days. Enter your card details and then click on Start free to continue.
Google Cloud will ask a few questions. Answer them and click on Done to continue. If you’re interested in answering just click on Close and Proceed to the next step.
And there you go, your account has been created.
Note that you won’t be auto-charged once your trial ends but your resources are marked for deletion and may be lost immediately.
Activate your full account to avoid losing your resources. Once your full account is activated, you will be pay for only what you need.
Step 3: Create a New Project.
You are now in Google Cloud Console. Click on the drown next to the Google Cloud logo and click on NEW PROJECT.
Type the name of your project and click Create.
Click on the drop again and select the project you just created. Click on it to open the project.
To view your project details, go to your navigation menu, Cloud overview– Dashboard.
You will be presented with your project information.
Step 4: Install WordPress.
In your Google Console search bar type Market place, and click on it to open.
While in the marketplace, type WordPress in the search field. You will be presented with a variety of options.
Select the option of WordPress Multisite with the words Google click to Deploy-Virtual machines.
Scroll down to see the overview and pricing information before proceeding.
Click on GET STARTED to proceed.
The next step is to read the terms and agreement. If you accept the terms and conditions, click on AGREE to continue.
You will see a popup. Click on DEPLOY to deploy WordPress.
The next step is for you to set up your customization options.
Type the name of your deployment, and select a zone that is nearer to your region.
Note that there is a different price for each machine type. You can select a free machine which is either e2-small or e2-medium.
Check the box for Enable HTTPS to implement HTTPS security on your site.
When you’re done with your customizations, scroll down and click DEPLOY.
Congratulations! Your WordPress site is now deployed.
To view your new wordpress on gcp click on the Site Address.
To access your WordPress admin dashboard, click on the Admin URL, then copy and paste the WordPress Admin username and password provided.
You can now go ahead and install the WordPress themes and Plugins of your choice and customize your site.
As you can see, it takes skill to create a WordPress site on gcp. Using Google Cloud can be challenging, particularly for beginners. In the next section, we will take you through the steps of creating a staging WordPress site using InstaWP.
What is InstaWP
InstaWP is a one-click development tool for creating WordPress sites for testing, staging, and demo purposes. With InstaWP, you can spin up a WordPress site in seconds without the need for complex configurations or hosting setups.
Why should you set up a Staging site using InstaWP?
Quick and Easy Setup. InstaWP allows you to create WordPress sites in seconds. Since InstaWP is a cloud-based platform there’s no need to configure hosting or domains which simplifies your setup process.
Testing Environments. Changes made to the staging sites do not affect your live sites, allowing you to test themes, plugins, and custom code without any risk.
Flexibility and Customization. InstaWP allows you to customize your staging environment to closely match your production site. You can choose PHP versions, and install themes, and plugins to match your live site.
Easy Collaboration. InstaWP provides shareable links for staging sites making it easy to collaborate with teams, clients or stakeholders. They can access the site without the need for login credentials. This also allows you to easily collect feedback from clients or team members.
Security. Testing updates in a staging environment helps prevent potential security issues that could arise on your live site. By separating your testing environment, you ensure your live site’s data remains unaffected by experimental changes.
Learner friendly. For WordPress newbies, InstaWP is a safe space to experiment with new ideas, learn coding, and practice site modifications without the fear of breaking a live site.
Using InstaWP to create a staging WordPress site is an efficient, low-cost way to test and deploy changes, ensuring that your live site remains stable and secure.
Whether you’re building a blog or a complex e-commerce platform, a staging environment is essential for maintaining the quality and reliability of your website. Let’s learn how to set up a staging WordPress site using InstaWP in the next section.
How to set up a Staging WordPress site using InstaWP
Creating a staging WordPress site using InstaWP is as simple as the steps below.
Step 1: Create an Account on InstaWP.
To begin with, you need an account on InstaWP. Click on Get Started to register.
You will be presented with a bunch of signup options.
Choose any method of your choice and complete the signup process.
Once you’re done, sign in to your InstaWP dashboard.
Step 2: Install the InstaWP Connect Plugin.
Log in to the admin dashboard of your live WordPress site.
Go to plugins and search for InstaWP Connect.
Click on Install Now to install it.
Step 3: Create Staging.
When the Plugin is installed and activated, click on Create Staging.
Connect your InstaWP account.
You will see a popup asking you to deny or approve the connection. Click Approve to continue to the next step.
Click on Create Satging Site to create a copy of your website.
Customize your Staging site.
Now you need to choose customization options for your site.
Select the Staging type.
Click on Enter site Name to type a custom name, by default InstaWP generates for you a site name. Click Next Step to continue.
Select the files and tables that you want to exclude from your staging site. For those that you want to include leave the check boxes unmarked.
Confirm your options and click on Create Staging to create the site.
In a few seconds, InstaWP will have your staging site ready. Click on Track Migration to see the progress. If you want to stop the process you can click on Abort.
Congratulations! Your staging site is now ready.
The source URL is your live website and the Destination site URL is your new staging site.
Click on the URL to view your site. Click on Magic Login to access your WordPress admin Dashboard. If you want to create a new staging site, click on Create another Staging site.
There you go, you have your WordPress staging site ready in a few steps.
Conclusion
In summary, WordPress cloud hosting is optimized for WordPress websites using cloud computing technologies to provide a scalable and reliable hosting environment. Instead of relying on a single server, cloud hosting spreads your website’s data across a network of connected servers.
Hosting WordPress on gcp is an excellent choice for those who need a reliable, secure, and scalable platform with the flexibility to tailor the environment to their specific needs. Whether you’re running a blog or a high-traffic business site, GCP provides the necessary infrastructure for optimal performance.
InstaWP is a great choice for quickly setting up a WordPress staging site in the cloud with minimal effort, especially when simplicity, speed, and ease of use are more important than long-term infrastructure management.