EC2 Server Setup & Hardening
A server built the way you would build it on day 400, not day one.
From $199 1–2 days
Production WordPress on AWS
WordPress on AWS built so it can survive an instance dying, not just a traffic spike.
Price and scope
From $399
Typically $399–$999, fixed in writing before anything starts.
What moves it up
- WooCommerce, where the cart and the sessions cannot be cached the way pages can
- Multisite, which changes how media, domains and the database are laid out
- A live site with real traffic, so the build happens in parallel and cuts over
Some of this you can check yourself, right now, for free: WordPress Security Check →
What actually goes wrong
WordPress on AWS usually means one EC2 instance running the same LAMP stack the shared host was running — the identical single point of failure, except now you own the patching and pay more for it. The thing that quietly prevents ever fixing it is the media library: uploads land on the instance's own disk, so a second instance would serve half the images, and a rebuild would lose them. Underneath that, every uncached page view goes to a MySQL on the same box, which is why the site falls over at exactly the moment it starts doing well.
How I find it
wp option get home && wp option get siteurl — what the database thinks the site isdu -sh wp-content/uploads on the instance, against what is in S3, which is usually nothingSHOW GLOBAL STATUS LIKE 'Threads_connected' under real traffic, not at restcurl -sI against a cold URL, reading the cache headers a logged-out visitor actually receives
What you get
- Media moved to S3 and served through CloudFront, so the instance holds no state worth losing
- A page cache and an object cache, with the invalidation rules WooCommerce needs if it is present
- Database on RDS with automated backups, separate from the instance serving PHP
- Automatic security updates for core and plugins, with a staging path for anything larger
- A restore tested end to end — the site rebuilt from backup, timed, before you rely on it
Questions
Is AWS actually better than managed WordPress hosting?
Often not, and I will say so. If you run one marketing site with no unusual requirements, a good managed host is cheaper and better than anything I would build you. AWS earns its keep when you need it inside your own network, alongside other infrastructure, or under compliance rules a shared platform cannot meet.
Will my plugins still work after this?
Almost all of them. The two that occasionally object are ones writing directly to the uploads directory and ones caching in a way that conflicts with the object cache — both are found during the build, on a copy, not after you have gone live.
Can you do this without taking the site down?
Yes. The new environment is built alongside the existing one and verified against a hosts-file override before any DNS changes, so the only interruption is the cutover you plan for.
What does it cost to run on AWS afterwards?
For a typical business site, a small instance, a small RDS and CloudFront transfer — usually comparable to mid-tier managed hosting rather than dramatically cheaper. I will give you the estimate from your actual traffic before you commit, because "cheaper" is the claim this work most often fails to deliver.
If this is not quite it
Website / Application Migration to AWS
Moved onto AWS with the cutover rehearsed, the DNS planned, and the old host still standing.
From $459 2–5 days
Want this done?
Tell me what you are running and I will come back with a fixed price and a date. If it turns out you do not need this, I will say that instead.
Prefer to talk? Book a free call ↗ · Or hire me on Upwork ↗ · Typical reply within one business day.
Before you enquire
When I answer
Sunday to Thursday, 09:00–18:00 EET. Outside that I will still look, but I will not promise a time.
No 24/7 desk, and I will not pretend otherwise
One person, one time zone. If round-the-clock cover is what you need, you need a team, and I will say so rather than sell you a plan that cannot deliver it.
Your AWS bill stays yours
You pay Amazon directly and you keep control of the account. Nothing here resells your infrastructure or sits between you and your own billing.
A price that starts with "from" is a starting price
Every service page lists exactly what pushes a quote above it, before you ask. You get a fixed number in writing before any work begins.