WordPress Docker with Caddy

Production-ready WordPress with automatic HTTPS using Docker and Caddy. Includes separate configurations for local development and production deployment.

Features

• 🚀 One-command deployment
• 🔒 Automatic HTTPS with Let's Encrypt (production)
• 🐳 Fully containerized
• 🔧 Separate local and production configs
• 📦 Persistent data storage

Prerequisites

• Docker (20.10.0+)
• Docker Compose (2.0.0+)
• A domain pointing to your server (production only)

Quick Start

Local Development

# 1. Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/Sagar-Kap/dockerised-wordpress.git
cd dockerised-wordpress

# 2. Configure environment
cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # Use simple passwords for local

# 3. Start
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml up -d

# 4. Access at http://localhost:8080

Production

# 1. Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/Sagar-Kap/dockerised-wordpress.git
cd dockerised-wordpress

# 2. Configure environment
cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # Set DOMAIN, CADDY_EMAIL, and strong passwords

# 3. Verify DNS points to your server
nslookup yourdomain.com

# 4. Start
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml up -d

# 5. Access at https://yourdomain.com

Project Structure

wordpress-docker-caddy/
├── docker-compose.local.yml        # Local development
├── docker-compose.production.yml   # Production
├── Caddyfile.local                 # HTTP on port 8080
├── Caddyfile.production            # HTTPS with auto SSL
└── .env.example                    # Environment template

Local vs Production

Feature	Local	Production
Compose File	docker-compose.local.yml	docker-compose.production.yml
URL	http://localhost:8080	https://yourdomain.com
SSL	❌ No	✅ Automatic
Ports	8080	80, 443

Common Commands

Local Development

# Start
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml up -d

# Stop
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml down

# View logs
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml logs -f

# Restart
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml restart

Production

# Start
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml up -d

# Stop
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml down

# View logs
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml logs -f

# Update WordPress
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml pull
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml up -d

Backup

Database Backup

Local:

docker exec wordpress-mysql-local mysqldump -u root -p${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD} \
  ${MYSQL_DATABASE} > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

Production:

docker exec wordpress-mysql mysqldump -u root -p${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD} \
  ${MYSQL_DATABASE} > backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

Files Backup

Local:

docker cp wordpress-app-local:/var/www/html/wp-content ./wp-content-backup

Production:

docker cp wordpress-app:/var/www/html/wp-content ./wp-content-backup

Troubleshooting

SSL Certificate Issues (Production)

# Check Caddy logs
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml logs caddy

# Verify DNS
nslookup yourdomain.com

# Check ports are open
sudo netstat -tlnp | grep -E ':(80|443)'

Can't Access Site

# Check services are running
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml ps  # or production.yml

# Restart all services
docker compose -f docker-compose.local.yml restart

Database Connection Error

# Verify credentials in .env
cat .env

# Test connection
docker exec -it wordpress-mysql mysql -u ${MYSQL_USER} -p${MYSQL_PASSWORD}

Permission Issues

# Fix WordPress permissions (use wordpress-app or wordpress-app-local)
docker exec wordpress-app chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html

Environment Configuration

Example .env for local development:

DOMAIN=localhost
CADDY_EMAIL=dev@localhost
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=localroot
MYSQL_DATABASE=wordpress_dev
MYSQL_USER=wpuser
MYSQL_PASSWORD=wppass123
WORDPRESS_DB_HOST=mysql:3306
WORDPRESS_DB_USER=wpuser
WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD=wppass123
WORDPRESS_DB_NAME=wordpress_dev

Example .env for production:

DOMAIN=yourdomain.com
CADDY_EMAIL=admin@yourdomain.com
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=SuperSecure123!
MYSQL_DATABASE=wordpress_prod
MYSQL_USER=wordpress_user
MYSQL_PASSWORD=AnotherSecure456!
WORDPRESS_DB_HOST=mysql:3306
WORDPRESS_DB_USER=wordpress_user
WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD=AnotherSecure456!
WORDPRESS_DB_NAME=wordpress_prod

Generate strong passwords:

openssl rand -base64 32

Migration from Existing WordPress

1. Backup your current site:

mysqldump -u user -p database > backup.sql
tar czf wp-content.tar.gz /path/to/wp-content

2. Start Docker environment:

cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # Configure
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml up -d
sleep 30

3. Import database:

docker cp backup.sql wordpress-mysql:/tmp/
docker exec -i wordpress-mysql mysql -u root -p${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD} \
  ${MYSQL_DATABASE} < /tmp/backup.sql

4. Restore files:

docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml stop wordpress
tar xzf wp-content.tar.gz
docker cp wp-content wordpress-app:/var/www/html/
docker exec wordpress-app chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/wp-content
docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml start wordpress

5. Update URLs in database:

docker exec -it wordpress-mysql mysql -u root -p${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD} ${MYSQL_DATABASE}

UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'https://yourdomain.com' WHERE option_name = 'siteurl';
UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'https://yourdomain.com' WHERE option_name = 'home';

Security Best Practices

1. Use strong passwords (20+ characters)
2. Keep .env file secure: chmod 600 .env
3. Update regularly: docker compose -f docker-compose.production.yml pull
4. Enable firewall:

   sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
   sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
   sudo ufw enable

5. Regular backups (automate with cron)

Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Docker Docs: https://docs.docker.com/
• Caddy Docs: https://caddyserver.com/docs/

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