Brief overview of the why's and how's of using nginx with WordPress

1. nginx [engine x]
and you! (with WordPress)

2. Why Nginx?
● Better performance of static content
● Better scalability (non-blocking
architecture)
● Ability to use as a proxy server in
conjunction with another web server such
as Apache
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tu
torials/apache-vs-nginx-practical-
considerations

3. Should I?
Probably not:
● Local installs where Apache, ServerPress,
XAMPP, or MAMP is otherwise working fine
Maybe:
● New Server Instances/Installs
For sure:
● Servers where performance is a must
● Situations requiring a proxy to help lighten
static file requests

4. But Why?
● For fun! (nginx has a bright future)
● Greater understanding of “managed”
WordPress hosts
● Performance/Speed
Remember the “Why nots” - for many
switching is a zero-sum game.

5. Managed WordPress Layer Cake
● Cloudflare - High Speed DNS/SSL handling
● Varnish - Caching
● CDN - Library Delivery
● Nginx - static file proxy
● Apache - dynamic content requests
● PHP - dynamic content generation
● MySQL - content data store

6. Simplified WordPress Layer Cake
● Nginx - Full Web Server
● PHP - FastCGI Process Manager (FPM)
● MySQL - content data store

7. Trying it out
Basic nginx Install on Ubuntu:
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tu
torials/how-to-install-linux-nginx-mysql-php-
lemp-stack-on-ubuntu-14-04
WordPress specific considerations:
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tu
torials/how-to-install-wordpress-with-nginx-
on-ubuntu-14-04
More from Codex:
https://codex.wordpress.org/Nginx

8. PHP-FPM configuration
/etc/php5/fpm (configuration home)
/etc/php5/fpm/php.ini
# for security purposes
cgi.fix_pathinfo=0

9. PHP-FPM configuration (cont.)
/etc/php5/fpm/pool.d/www.conf
# observe value for nginx configuration
listen = /var/run/php5-fpm.sock

10. nginx configuration
/etc/nginx (configuration home)
/etc/nginx/sites-available (sites available)
/etc/nginx/sites-enabled (sites “turned on”)
/etc/nginx/includes (created by me)

11. Site: http://tmp.thinky64.lan
/etc/nginx/sites-available/100-wp_tmp
server {
root /home/justin/src/tmp;
server_name tmp.thinky64.lan;
include includes/wp.conf;
}

12. Standard nginx WP include
/etc/nginx/includes/wp.conf
listen 80;
index index.php;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/
/index.php?q=$uri&$args;
}

13. Standard nginx WP include (cont.)
location ~ .php$ {
try_files $uri =404;
fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php5-
fpm.sock;
fastcgi_index index.php;
include fastcgi.conf;
}

14. Be Careful!
● These slide examples are simplified
● Many of the tutorials are outdated
● Follow best security practices!

15. MultiSite
Additional configuration only needed for
subdirectory multisite installations
Nginx Config:
https://codex.wordpress.org/Nginx#WordPres
s_Multisite_Subdirectory_rules
Nginx Helper - only needed for sites that
started life as WP 3.4 or earlier:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/nginx-helper/

16. Site: http://folder.thinky64.lan
/etc/nginx/sites-available/100-wp_folder
#only needed if using nginx-helper plugin
map $http_host $blogid {
default 0;
include /home/justin/src/ms-folder/wp-
content/uploads/nginx-helper/map.conf;
}

17. http://folder.thinky64.lan (cont.)
server {
root /home/justin/src/ms-folder;
server_name folder.thinky64.lan;
include includes/wp-ms-subdir.conf;
}

18. Thank you!
Justin Foell
Partner @ 9seeds.com / WordPress Developer
justin@9seeds.com