Deploy and Host WordPress on Railway

What is WordPress?

WordPress is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) used to build and manage websites. Launched in 2003, it is the most popular CMS worldwide, powering more than 40% of all websites. WordPress is designed for flexibility and ease of use, supporting everything from blogs and portfolios to business websites and online stores, all with minimal coding knowledge required[16][17].

Latest version: WordPress 6.8 (released April 15, 2025)[18][25].

About Hosting WordPress

Hosting WordPress involves deploying a PHP-based application that generates and manages website content dynamically. The process requires a web server (commonly Apache or Nginx), a supported PHP runtime, and a MySQL (or MariaDB) database for storing content and settings. Successful hosting includes configuring server settings, handling file storage, securing user logins, and updating the core, themes, and plugins as needed. When deploying on Railway, the platform provides automated infrastructure setup, integrated MySQL database hosting, persistent file storage, and manages your PHP environment for you—making deployment and scaling fast and straightforward[23][26].

Common Use Cases

Business Websites: Professional company sites, portfolios, or landing pages.
Blog Publishing: Personal or team blogs, news sites, and online magazines.
eCommerce Stores: Online shops with integrated payment gateways and order management.

Dependencies for WordPress Hosting

PHP Runtime: PHP 8.3 or greater is recommended.
Database: MySQL 8.0+ or MariaDB 10.6+ for storing posts, user data, and site settings.
Web Server: Apache or Nginx (with mod_rewrite enabled for SEO-friendly URLs).
HTTPS: For secure HTTP connections and encryption[24].

Deployment Dependencies

Implementation Details

Example docker-compose.yml for local development: version: '3.8' services: wordpress: image: wordpress:6.8 restart: always environment: WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db WORDPRESS_DB_USER: exampleuser WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: examplepass WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: exampledb ports:

"8080:80" db: image: mysql:8.0 restart: always environment: MYSQL_DATABASE: exampledb MYSQL_USER: exampleuser MYSQL_PASSWORD: examplepass MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: rootpass volumes:
db_data:/var/lib/mysql volumes: db_data:

On Railway, simply use the provided [WordPress+MySQL template][26] and follow setup instructions, all of the config is automated.

Why Deploy WordPress on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying WordPress on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.