🌍 How to Point a Domain to Your AWS EC2 WordPress Site

🌍 How to Point a Domain to Your AWS EC2 WordPress Site

You’ve got two common options for DNS setup:

1. Use your domain registrar’s DNS (free + easy)
2. Use AWS Route 53 (full AWS control but not free)

Let’s start with the most popular and budget-friendly route.

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🧭 Option 1: Use Your Domain Registrar’s DNS (Recommended for Simplicity)

🪜 Step-by-Step:

1. Get Your EC2 Instance’s Public IPv4 Address

• Go to your EC2 dashboard → Click your instance → Copy the Public IPv4 address

2. Log in to Your Domain Registrar

(e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains)

3. Find DNS or “Manage DNS” Section

Every registrar has a section where you manage DNS records for your domain.

4. Add an A Record (this points your domain to your EC2)

• Host: @ (or leave blank for root domain)
• Type: A
• Value / Points to: Your EC2 IP (e.g., 54.123.45.67)
• TTL: 30 min or default is fine

5. (Optional) Add a www A Record

• Host: www
• Type: A
• Points to: Same EC2 IP

6. Save + Wait for DNS to Propagate

• Usually 5–30 minutes (can take up to 48 hrs, but that’s rare)

✅ After that, visiting your domain should show your WordPress site!

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🛡️ Optional (But Awesome): Set Up HTTPS

If you’re using Bitnami, there’s a built-in tool:

sudo /opt/bitnami/bncert-tool

This:

• Installs Let’s Encrypt SSL
• Redirects HTTP → HTTPS
• Sets up auto-renewals

It’ll ask for:

• Your domain (e.g., mycoolsite.com, www.mycoolsite.com)
• Email (for renewal reminders)

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🧭 Option 2: Use AWS Route 53 (Advanced + Paid)

Want to keep all things in AWS? You can use Route 53, AWS’s DNS service (~$0.50/month).

1. Go to Route 53 → Hosted Zones → Create Hosted Zone
2. Enter your domain (e.g., mycoolsite.com)
3. Copy the 4 AWS nameservers
4. Go to your domain registrar → Replace their nameservers with the AWS ones
5. Back in Route 53 → Add an A record pointing to your EC2 IP

Done! And now AWS handles all DNS traffic for your domain.

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🎉 TL;DR Recap

What You Need	What You Do
Domain name	Buy from Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.
EC2 IP	Add as A record in DNS settings
Optional SSL	Use bncert-tool

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