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Installing WordPress with Docker Compose (Ubuntu)

📘 What Will You Learn in This Guide?​

In this guide, we will install WordPress with a modern and manageable architecture using Docker Compose.
MySQL, WordPress and Nginx will run in separate containers.
SSL certificates will be automatically obtained and renewed with Let's Encrypt.

🧠 Technical Summary​

This guide explains how to install WordPress with Docker Compose on Ubuntu.
The aim is to eliminate the classic LAMP/LEMP installation confusion.
The setup includes SSL, Nginx and automatic certificate renewal.

Preliminary Preparations​

Before you start, you should have the following ready:

  • A server with Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04
  • Docker and Docker Compose must be installed
  • Domain name DNS A records must be directed to the server IP
  • Ports 80 and 443 must be open

1. Defining Nginx Configuration​

First create the project directory:

mkdir wordpress && cd wordpress
  1. This command creates the WordPress project folder.

mkdir nginx-conf
nano nginx-conf/nginx.conf
  1. This file contains the Nginx configuration.

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name siteadresiniz.com www.siteadresiniz.com;

    root /var/www/html;
    index index.php index.html;

    location ~ /.well-known/acme-challenge {
        allow all;
        root /var/www/html;
    }

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        fastcgi_pass wordpress:9000;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    }
}

This structure is required for SSL authentication and WordPress.

2. Defining Environment Variables (.env)​

  1. Sensitive information should be kept in .env file.

nano .env

MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=guclu_root_sifre
MYSQL_USER=wp_kullanici
MYSQL_PASSWORD=guclu_wp_sifre
  1. This information is used for database access.

nano .gitignore

.env
  1. This setting prevents confidential information from being added to the repo.

3. Defining Docker Compose Services​


nano docker-compose.yml
  1. MySQL Service

services:
  db:
    image: mysql:8.0
    restart: unless-stopped
    env_file: .env
    environment:
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=wordpress
    volumes:
      - dbdata:/var/lib/mysql
    command: --default-authentication-plugin=mysql_native_password
  1. This service runs the WordPress database.

2.1 WordPress Service


  wordpress:
    image: wordpress:php8.1-fpm
    depends_on:
      - db
    env_file: .env
    environment:
      - WORDPRESS_DB_HOST=db:3306
      - WORDPRESS_DB_USER=${MYSQL_USER}
      - WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
      - WORDPRESS_DB_NAME=wordpress
    volumes:
      - wordpress:/var/www/html

This service runs the WordPress application.

  1. Nginx Service

  webserver:
    image: nginx:alpine
    depends_on:
      - wordpress
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - wordpress:/var/www/html
      - ./nginx-conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d
Bu servis HTTP trafiğini yönetir.

3.1 Certbot Service (SSL)​


  certbot:
    image: certbot/certbot
    volumes:
      - wordpress:/var/www/html
      - certbot-etc:/etc/letsencrypt
    command: certonly --webroot --webroot-path=/var/www/html --email admin@siteadresiniz.com --agree-tos --no-eff-email --staging -d siteadresiniz.com -d www.siteadresiniz.com
  • The --staging parameter is for testing purposes and maintains limits.

4. Starting Containers​


docker-compose up -d
  1. This command starts all services.

docker-compose ps
  1. All services must be in Up state.

5. HTTPS Configuration​


curl -sSLo nginx-conf/options-ssl-nginx.conf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/certbot/certbot/master/certbot-nginx/certbot_nginx/_internal/tls_configs/options-ssl-nginx.conf
  1. This file downloads the recommended SSL settings.
  1. Nginx configuration is updated with HTTPS support:

listen 443 ssl http2;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/siteadresiniz.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/siteadresiniz.com/privkey.pem;

6. WordPress Installation​

  1. From the browser, go to the following address:

https://siteadresiniz.com
  • Select the language and enter administrator information.

7. Automatic SSL Renewal (Cron)​


nano ssl_renew.sh

#!/bin/bash
docker-compose run certbot renew && docker-compose kill -s SIGHUP webserver
  • This script renews certificates.

chmod +x ssl_renew.sh
sudo crontab -e

0 12 * * * /home/kullanici/wordpress/ssl_renew.sh >> /var/log/cron.log 2>&1

This task checks certificates daily.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions​

1. Why should Docker Compose be preferred? Installation is standard and easy to manage.

2. Will the data be deleted? No, the volume structure preserves the data.

3. Why is mysql_native_password necessary? It is required for PHP compatibility.

4. Why is staging used? To avoid SSL limits.

🚀 Result​

Installing WordPress with Docker Compose is fast and secure. With SSL and automatic renewal, maintenance burden is reduced.

👉 You can install this structure on GenixNode in minutes.