Project 04 - WordPress + MySQL + Nginx

A production-ready WordPress blog setup with MySQL as the database and Nginx as a reverse proxy in front.

What You Will Learn

Using official images without writing a Dockerfile
Bind mounts for WordPress themes and plugins (edit locally, see instantly)
Named volumes for database persistence
Nginx as a reverse proxy in front of WordPress (real production pattern)
Restart policies for all services

Architecture

graph LR Browser[" Browser\nport 80"] --> NGINX subgraph DOCKER["Docker Network: wp-network"] NGINX[" nginx\nReverse Proxy\nport 80"] WP[" wordpress\nPHP-FPM\nport 9000"] DB[(" mysql\nMySQL 8.0\nport 3306")] NGINX -->|FastCGI proxy| WP WP --> DB end WP --- WPVOL[(" wp-content\nbind mount\n./wp-content")] DB --- DBVOL[(" mysql-data\nnamed volume")]

Project Structure

04. WordPress + MySQL/
 nginx/
    default.conf       <- Nginx config for WordPress
 wp-content/            <- Bind mounted - edit themes/plugins locally
 docker-compose.yml
 .env.example
 README.md

How to Run

cd "Docker Projects/04. WordPress + MySQL"

copy .env.example .env

docker compose up -d

# Open in browser
# http://localhost
# Complete the WordPress setup wizard

Key Concepts Demonstrated

Concept	Where
Official images (no custom Dockerfile)	`docker-compose.yml`
Bind mount for live theme editing	`wp-content/` folder
Named volume for database	`mysql-data` volume
Nginx reverse proxy in front of PHP	`nginx/default.conf`
Environment variables from `.env`	`.env.example`

FAQ

Should I memorize every Docker command?+

No. Memorize the core workflow first: build, run, list, inspect, logs, exec, stop, remove, and clean up. Then learn specialized commands when you need them.

Is Docker only for developers?+

No. Docker is useful for system administrators, infrastructure engineers, DevOps engineers, cloud engineers, support engineers, and learners who want repeatable labs.

What should I do after reading this guide?+

Run the examples, write down what each command changes, rebuild the workflow with Docker Compose, and then add one CI/CD step that builds the image automatically.

Need help applying Docker in a real project?

Work directly with Muhammad Irfan Aslam for Docker, Linux, DevOps, CI/CD, cloud deployment, or infrastructure troubleshooting support.

Hire Me for Support