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WP Engine WordPress Setup Guide

Complete step-by-step guide to setting up WordPress on WP Engine managed hosting in 2025

What You'll Need

  • • A domain name (purchased separately)
  • • Credit card for payment
  • • About 30-45 minutes of your time
  • • Basic understanding of WordPress

Step 1: Choose Your WP Engine Plan

WP Engine offers three main managed WordPress hosting plans:

Startup - $30/mo

  • • 1 WordPress site
  • • 10GB storage
  • • 25,000 visits/month
  • • Global CDN
  • • SSL certificates

Professional - $60/mo

  • • 3 WordPress sites
  • • 15GB storage
  • • 75,000 visits/month
  • • Global CDN
  • • Staging environments

Growth - $115/mo

  • • 10 WordPress sites
  • • 20GB storage
  • • 100,000 visits/month
  • • Advanced features
  • • Priority support
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Step 2: Account Setup

  1. 1. Personal Information:
    • • Full name and email address
    • • Phone number
    • • Company information (optional)
  2. 2. Account Configuration:
    • • Choose account name (subdomain)
    • • Set secure password
    • • Select data center location
  3. 3. Payment Setup:
    • • Enter billing information
    • • Choose billing cycle
    • • Review and confirm order

Step 3: Domain Configuration

Important: WP Engine doesn't register domains. You'll need to point your existing domain to WP Engine's nameservers.

Option A: Primary Domain Setup

  1. 1. In WP Engine User Portal, go to "Domains"
  2. 2. Click "Add Domain"
  3. 3. Enter your domain name
  4. 4. Choose "Primary Domain"
  5. 5. Follow DNS configuration instructions

Option B: Use Temporary Domain

  1. 1. WP Engine provides a temporary domain
  2. 2. Format: yoursite.wpengine.com
  3. 3. Use this to set up your site
  4. 4. Switch to your domain later

Step 4: WordPress Installation

Managed Service: WP Engine automatically provides a fresh WordPress installation with every new account!

Fresh Installation Process

  1. 1. WordPress is automatically installed
  2. 2. You'll receive admin credentials via email
  3. 3. Access your site via temporary domain
  4. 4. Complete basic WordPress setup

Site Migration (Existing Site)

  1. 1. Use WP Engine's free migration plugin
  2. 2. Install plugin on your current site
  3. 3. Enter WP Engine migration key
  4. 4. Plugin handles the entire migration
  5. 5. Or request professional migration service

Step 5: WP Engine User Portal

WP Engine's User Portal is your control center for managing your WordPress sites:

Key Features

  • • Site management dashboard
  • • Staging environments
  • • Backup management
  • • Performance monitoring
  • • Security settings
  • • SSL certificate management

Accessing the Portal

  1. 1. Go to my.wpengine.com
  2. 2. Log in with your credentials
  3. 3. Select your site from the list
  4. 4. Access all management tools

Step 6: Essential WP Engine Features

Staging Environment

Test changes safely before going live:

  1. 1. Create staging site in User Portal
  2. 2. Copy production site to staging
  3. 3. Make changes and test
  4. 4. Deploy changes to production

Backup System

Automated daily backups with easy restore:

  • • Daily automatic backups
  • • Manual backup creation
  • • One-click restore points
  • • Backup retention policies

Performance Features

  • • Edge caching system
  • • Global CDN included
  • • Image optimization
  • • Database optimization
  • • PHP performance monitoring

Step 7: WordPress Configuration

  1. 1. Initial Login:
    • • Access via yoursite.wpengine.com/wp-admin
    • • Use credentials from welcome email
    • • Change default password immediately
  2. 2. Basic Settings:
    • • Update site title and tagline
    • • Set timezone and date format
    • • Configure reading settings
    • • Set up permalink structure
  3. 3. Theme Selection:
    • • Choose from Genesis themes (included)
    • • Or install your preferred theme
    • • Test theme on staging first

Step 8: Plugin Management

Important: WP Engine has a list of disallowed plugins for security and performance reasons.

Recommended Plugins

  • • Yoast SEO (for optimization)
  • • WP Engine Smart Plugin Manager
  • • Contact Form 7
  • • Advanced Custom Fields
  • • WooCommerce (for e-commerce)

Avoid These Plugins

  • • Caching plugins (built-in caching)
  • • Backup plugins (automatic backups)
  • • Security plugins (managed security)
  • • Performance plugins (optimized by default)

Step 9: SSL Certificate Setup

  1. 1. Automatic SSL (Recommended):
    • • WP Engine provides free SSL certificates
    • • Automatically configured for your domain
    • • Includes automatic renewal
  2. 2. Custom SSL:
    • • Upload your own SSL certificate
    • • Ideal for extended validation certificates
    • • Manage via User Portal
  3. 3. Force HTTPS:
    • • Enable HTTPS redirect in WordPress
    • • Update site URLs to use HTTPS
    • • Test all site functionality

Step 10: Performance Optimization

Built-in Features

  • • Edge caching (automatically enabled)
  • • Global CDN distribution
  • • Image optimization
  • • Database optimization
  • • PHP 8.x support

Additional Optimizations

  • • Optimize images before upload
  • • Use WebP format when possible
  • • Minimize plugin usage
  • • Monitor performance metrics
  • • Use staging for testing

Getting Support

WP Engine offers multiple support channels:

  • • 24/7 Live Chat: Available in User Portal
  • • Phone Support: For technical issues
  • • Email Tickets: For non-urgent requests
  • • Knowledge Base: Extensive documentation
  • • WordPress Experts: All support staff are WordPress specialists

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