Overview

Got it! You want a Dockerized WordPress project that runs locally with HTTPS on a custom domain https://example.com, and later you’ll move it to shared hosting. Let’s go step by step. I’ll include Docker, HTTPS setup for local development, and WordPress configuration.

Step 1: Directory Structure

Create a project folder, e.g., wordpress-docker:

wordpress-docker/
│
├─ docker-compose.yml
├─ nginx/
│   └─ default.conf
├─ certs/       # for self-signed SSL
└─ html/        # WordPress files (will be mounted)

Step 2: Docker Compose File

docker-compose.yml:

services:
  wordpress:
    image: wordpress:latest
    container_name: wordpress
    restart: always
    environment:
      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db:3306
      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wpuser
      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: wppassword
      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wpdatabase
    volumes:
      - ./html:/var/www/html
    expose:
      - "80"

  db:
    image: mysql:5.7
    container_name: db
    restart: always
    environment:
      MYSQL_DATABASE: wpdatabase
      MYSQL_USER: wpuser
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: wppassword
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: rootpwd
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql
    ports:
      - "3306:3306"

  nginx:
    image: nginx:latest
    container_name: nginx
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "443:443"
      - "80:80"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx/default.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
      - ./certs:/certs
      - ./html:/var/www/html
    depends_on:
      - wordpress

volumes:
  db_data: {}

Step 3: Nginx Config with HTTPS

nginx/default.conf:

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/certs/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/certs/key.pem;

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

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

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_pass wordpress:80;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    }
}

Step 4: Generate Self-Signed SSL for Local Dev

mkdir certs
openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout certs/key.pem -out certs/cert.pem

Common Name (CN): example.com

Step 5: Update Local Hosts File

Add the following line to /etc/hosts (Linux/macOS) or C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts (Windows):

127.0.0.1 example.com

This maps your custom domain to localhost.

Step 6: Start Docker

docker-compose up -d

• WordPress will be accessible at: https://example.com
• Database: wpdatabase / wpuser / wppassword
• PHP handled via Nginx container.

Step 7: Moving to Shared Hosting Later

When you move to shared hosting:

• Export WordPress files from ./html.

• Export the MySQL database from db_data:

docker exec db mysqldump -u wpuser -p wpdatabase > wpdatabase.sql

• Upload both to your hosting provider.
• Update wp-config.php with your shared hosting DB credentials.