How to migrate a WordPress website to the edge with WordPress EdgeAccelerator

WordPress EdgeAccelerator is a template designed by Azion that helps you to migrate your WordPress website to run on the edge of the network.

This template creates a new Azion edge application and domain, which enables you to manage and run your project on the edge. Additionally, it defines some key configurations to successfully deploy and implement the project, including common cache rules, image file cache rules, static file cache rules, and bypass routes. These configurations optimize your WordPress website’s performance.

Requirements

To use this template, you must activate:

You need to activate these modules via Azion Console. To do so:

1. Access Console > Account menu
2. Select the Billing & Subscriptions option.
3. Select the Subscriptions tab.
4. Activate the switch for each module.

Getting the template

To migrate an existing WordPress website to the edge using this template, proceed as follows:

1. Access Azion Console.
2. Click the + Create button on the homepage.
3. In the modal, select the Templates option.
4. Browse and select the WordPress EdgeAccelerator card.

Setting up the template

In the configuration form, you must provide the information to configure your Azion application. Fill in the presented fields.

Fields identified with an asterisk are mandatory.

• Application Name *: the name of your edge application. It’s used to identify and manage your application within Azion’s platform.
  • Use a unique and easy-to-remember name. If the name has already been used, the platform returns an error message.
• Origin Address *: the address of your hosted origin. This information is crucial for the edge application to know where to fetch the original content from.
  • For example: www.yourwebsite.com.
• Custom host header: in some cases, it may be necessary to add host information in the header request to retrieve information from the origin. This variable is used for that purpose.
  • For example: ${host}. Read more about the Host Header and how to customize it on the Origins documentation.

After completing all the information, click the Deploy button, located in the bottom-right corner. This will start the deployment process.

During the deployment, you’ll be able to follow the process through a window showing off the logs. When it’s complete, the page shows information about the application and some options to continue your journey.

Key configurations

This template creates a new Azion edge application and its domain, as well as defines some key configurations, including common cache rules, image file cache rules, static file cache rules, and bypass routes to optimize your WordPress website’s performance.

To know more on how to edit and customize your project’s settings, go to the Managing your project on Azion section.

Managing your project on Azion

Considering that this initial setup may not be optimal for your specific edge application, all settings can be customized any time you need by using Azion Console.

To manage and edit your edge application’s settings, follow these steps:

1. Access Console.
2. On the upper-left corner, select Products menu > Edge Application.

• You’ll be redirected to the Edge Application page. It lists all the edge applications you’ve created.

3. Find the edge application related to your WordPress website and select it.

• The list is organized alphabetically. You can also use the search bar located in the upper-left corner of the list; currently, it filters only by Application Name.

After selecting the edge application you’ll work on, you’re directed to a page containing all the settings you can configure.

Additionally, once the template is deployed, you also have full control over customizing your website’s design, content, and functionality using the WordPress admin panel.

Adding a custom domain

The edge application created during the deployment has an assigned Azion domain to make it accessible through the browser. The domain has the following format: xxxxxxxxxx.map.azionedge.net/. However, you can add a custom domain for users to access your edge application through it.