How to Run Your WordPress Website on Amazon AWS for 1 Year Free with $200 Credits

Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers new users $200 in free credits, allowing you to host a fully functional WordPress website for up to one year without paying out of pocket. With AWS’s robust infrastructure, you can enjoy enterprise-level performance, high availability, and secure hosting at no cost during this free period. We will walk you through how to set up and run your WordPress site on AWS using this credit efficiently, along with cost optimisation strategies to maximise uptime and minimise unnecessary charges.

Understanding AWS Free Credits for WordPress Hosting

AWS provides $200 in free credits to new users, which can be used across multiple AWS services. For running a WordPress site, we will focus on:

• Amazon EC2 for compute power
• Amazon S3 or EBS for storage
• Amazon RDS or MySQL on EC2 for database management
• Amazon Route 53 for domain name management (optional)

With a t2.small or t3.small instance (1 vCPU, 2GB RAM) and 10GB storage, you can keep your monthly costs around $16.67, ensuring you can run your site for about 360 days using only your free credits.

Step-by-Step Guide to Hosting WordPress on AWS for One Year Free

1. Create Your AWS Account and Claim Free Credits

1. Visit the AWS Free Tier page.
2. Sign up using a valid email address and payment method.
3. Verify your account and claim $200 in AWS free credits.

Tip: Ensure you monitor the credit expiration date — the free credits usually expire after 12 months.

2. Choose the Right EC2 Instance for WordPress

For a smooth WordPress experience without exhausting credits too quickly, opt for:

• Instance Type: t2.small or t3.small
• vCPU: 1 core
• RAM: 2GB
• Storage: 10GB GP2 SSD (via EBS)

These specs are sufficient for a blog or small business site with moderate traffic.

3. Deploy WordPress Using AWS Marketplace

AWS Marketplace offers pre-configured WordPress AMIs, making installation quick:

1. Go to AWS Marketplace in your AWS console.
2. Search for “WordPress Certified by Bitnami”.
3. Click Continue to Subscribe.
4. Choose your instance size (t2.small or t3.small).
5. Launch your instance in the nearest AWS region for lower latency.

4. Configure Security Groups for Your Instance

To ensure your website is accessible:

• Allow HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443) for web traffic.
• Enable SSH (port 22) for server administration — but restrict it to your IP for better security.

5. Attach and Configure Elastic IP

An Elastic IP ensures your website’s IP address remains constant:

1. Allocate a new Elastic IP from the AWS console.
2. Associate it with your EC2 instance.

This step is essential for stable DNS mapping.

6. Set Up a Domain Name

You can use Amazon Route 53 or an external registrar like Namecheap or GoDaddy.

• Point your domain’s A record to your Elastic IP.
• Optionally set up a CNAME record for www to point to your root domain.

7. Enable HTTPS for Secure Browsing

Security is critical. Use Let’s Encrypt SSL to secure your WordPress site:

1. Connect via SSH to your EC2 instance.
2. Install Certbot:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache

• Run:

sudo certbot --apache

• Follow the prompts to enable HTTPS.

8. Optimise AWS Costs to Maximise Free Credit Usage

To run WordPress for the entire year without paying extra:

• Choose the correct instance type: Avoid over-provisioning CPU and RAM.
• Use EBS gp2 storage instead of more expensive storage options.
• Enable auto-scaling only if necessary for traffic spikes.
• Regularly monitor AWS Cost Explorer to ensure you’re on track.

Cost Breakdown for One Year Hosting

This calculation assumes on-demand pricing with 24/7 uptime and no excessive data transfer.

Performance Optimisation for AWS WordPress

To ensure fast loading speeds and better SEO rankings, follow these:

• Enable CloudFront CDN for global content delivery.
• Use caching plugins like W3 Total Cache or LiteSpeed Cache.
• Optimise images using plugins such as ShortPixel.
• Implement database optimisation with WP-Optimise.
• Limit unnecessary plugins to reduce overhead.

Monitoring and Backups

Your AWS credits won’t help if your site goes down due to poor management. Use:

• AWS CloudWatch to monitor CPU, memory, and network usage.
• Automated backups with Amazon S3 or Lightsail snapshots.
• Disaster recovery plans in case of data loss.

When Your Free Credits Expire

Once your $200 credits run out:

• If traffic is low, downgrade to a smaller instance (t2.micro or t3.micro).
• Consider switching to AWS Lightsail, which offers predictable pricing.
• Move to a traditional hosting plan if AWS costs are too high.

Wrap Up

When done strategically, hosting your WordPress website on AWS for one year for free with $200 credits is entirely possible. By choosing the right instance size, optimising resources, and keeping a close eye on spending, you can enjoy premium cloud hosting without touching your wallet for the first year.

Selva Ganesh

Selva Ganesh is the Chief Editor of this blog. A Computer Science Engineer by qualification, he is an experienced Android Developer and a professional blogger with over 10 years of industry expertise. He has completed multiple courses under the Google News Initiative, further strengthening his skills in digital journalism and content accuracy. Selva also runs Android Infotech, a widely recognized platform known for providing in-depth, solution-oriented articles that help users around the globe resolve their Android-related issues.