WordPress site creation form reference
This article is a reference for the WordPress site creation form in BeAdmin. For each field it explains what the field means, what the limits are, and how the panel behaves when the field is filled in poorly. If you need a step-by-step walkthrough from the first install to a working site, start with WordPress. Quick start.
Where the form opens
Open WordPress in the side menu of the panel and click "New WordPress website". The button only appears if all three dependencies — Nginx, PHP and MariaDB — are installed. How to install them is covered in the Preparing for installation section of the quick start.
Basic settings
Domain
The domain name of the site — for example, mysite.io. The panel uses it for the Nginx virtual host and for the SSL certificate request.
Limits:
- Up to 253 characters.
- Latin letters, digits, hyphens and dots are allowed. Cyrillic domains formally pass validation, but in administrator emails, during SSL issuance and in some plugins they may behave unstably. If you plan to use a Cyrillic domain, use its IDN form (for example,
xn--80aswg.xn--p1aiforсайт.рф). - The domain zone must be at least two characters long or have the form
xn--…(punycode).
If a virtual host already exists in Nginx for this domain, the form will show the error "A server block for this domain already exists.". Delete the old host in the Nginx module or pick a different domain.
Files path
The directory on the server into which the panel will deploy the WordPress files. By default it is filled in as /<domain> once you have filled in the "Domain" field. The path can be edited manually or picked from the file manager that opens via the button next to the field.
What the form highlights:
- If the field is left as a single
/, a hint appears: "We recommend placing the site files in a separate folder instead of/.". This is a warning, not an error — the form can still be submitted, but the WordPress files at the server root will be mixed with system ones. - If the chosen directory already exists, a warning appears: "The folder already exists, the files inside it can be overwritten.". This is also not an error: if the folder is empty or contains stale files, you can proceed. If it contains a working project, pick a different path or clear the folder via the file manager.
WordPress version
The list of versions the panel can install. The first option is marked "Latest" — this is the recommended choice. Each version is shown with its release date next to it.
Picking an earlier version makes sense in only one case — you have a theme or plugin that is strictly tied to an older WordPress core. The WordPress version does not directly affect PHP compatibility: the PHP version is picked in a separate field below.
HTTPS or HTTP connection
The toggle determines the mode the site starts in. The label changes depending on the state — "Use HTTPS (port 443)" when the toggle is on, and "Use HTTP (port 80)" when it is off.
When you turn HTTPS on, the form requests a free SSL certificate from Let's Encrypt for the domain and adds a HTTP → HTTPS redirect to the Nginx config so that visitors do not land on the site over an unencrypted connection.
For the certificate issuance to succeed, three conditions must hold:
- the domain is correct;
- its DNS A record points at this server;
- port 80 is open from the outside — Let's Encrypt uses it for the http-01 challenge.
If at least one of the conditions is not met, certificate issuance will fail and the site will not be created — the virtual host will not appear either. So if DNS does not yet point at the server, it is safer to create the site over HTTP, wait for the DNS to propagate and turn HTTPS on later, on the virtual host page in the Nginx module. More on DNS — in the DNS setup for the mail server article; the steps for the A record are there as well. If the issuance fails anyway — see Nginx. Troubleshooting ACME errors.
PHP version
The PHP version the Nginx virtual host of this site will run on. The list shows all versions installed on the server.
If the version you need is not in the list, the form will offer to install it right from here — the panel will install the chosen PHP version and substitute it into the field once finished. The version can also be changed later, on the virtual host page in the Nginx module.
Database parameters
The panel can either create a new database and user for the site, or reuse existing ones — for example, if you are migrating a site and want to connect it to an old database.
Database name
The name of the MariaDB database the site will connect to. The field has search: as you type a name, a matching existing database appears in the list. Databases the chosen user has access to are surfaced at the top.
Limits for a new name:
- 2–64 characters.
- Only Latin letters, digits and underscore (
_) are allowed.
If you have picked an existing database, the form additionally checks compatibility with the user. Possible messages:
- "For an existing database, select a user with access to it." — an existing database is picked, but a new name is entered in the user field. This is not allowed: see Database and user combinations.
- "The selected user has no access to this database." — both the database and the user are picked, but there is no link between them. Grant access via the MariaDB module or pick a different pair — see MariaDB. Managing database access.
Database username
The name of the MariaDB user the site will use to access the database. The field also supports search: existing users are suggested. Users without access to the chosen database are labeled "No access to the selected database.".
Limits for a new name:
- up to 32 characters;
- Latin letters, digits, underscore (
_) and hyphen (-) are allowed.
If you enter the name of an existing user, a hint appears under the field: "In the next field, enter this user's password." — a reminder to enter the user's current password into the "Password" field.
Database user password
The password for the MariaDB user. If you do not want to come up with one yourself, use the password generator button next to the field.
The behavior depends on which user you have specified:
- New user. The form validates the password against the rules: 8–255 characters, at least one letter and one digit.
- Existing user. The form accepts any string — the panel cannot verify it against the actual MariaDB password in advance. But if the password does not match, on "Create" the installation will fail with a database connection error.
The password can be changed later in the MariaDB module, on the user page.
Database and user combinations
The "Database name" and "Username" fields let you reuse existing databases and users from the MariaDB module. Four scenarios are possible:
- New database and new user. The simplest case: pick any names and a password that passes validation. If such a database or user name is already taken, the form will show an error — delete the conflicting entity (database or user) in the MariaDB module or pick different names.
- New database and existing user. Enter the current password of the chosen user. The panel does not check the password on the fly — the field accepts any string — but the operation will fail with an error during site creation if the password does not match the real one.
- Existing database and new user. This is not allowed: for an existing database, the panel only accepts an existing user that already has access to it. This protects the access management of the MariaDB module from being bypassed. To add a new user to an already existing database, create the user in the MariaDB module and grant access — after that, they will appear in the selector.
- Existing database and existing user. The password must be valid, and the user must have access to the chosen database. If access is missing, the panel will highlight the incompatibility in both selectors (in the database list and in the user list), and the "Create" button will be disabled.
What happens after you click "Create"
The panel will run four steps in sequence:
- it brings up the Nginx virtual host with the chosen domain, path, PHP version and connection mode;
- it creates the database and user in MariaDB — the ones that were not picked from existing entities;
- it deploys the WordPress files of the chosen version into the specified folder;
- it opens the card of the new site.
From the card, you can immediately open the standard WordPress installation wizard — described in the Finishing the WordPress installation section of the quick start.