---
title: "Deploy WordPress — Self-Hosted CMS with MariaDB on Railway"
description: "Self-host WordPress + MariaDB. No traffic caps. No renewal price hikes."
category: "CMS"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/wordpress-cms
---

# Deploy WordPress — Self-Hosted CMS with MariaDB on Railway

Self-host WordPress + MariaDB. No traffic caps. No renewal price hikes.

**[Deploy WordPress — Self-Hosted CMS with MariaDB on Railway on Railway](https://railway.com/template/wordpress-cms)**

Machine-readable deploy manifest (JSON, validated by TemplateCI): https://railway.com/deploy/wordpress-cms/manifest.json

- **Creator:** SilverBanana
- **Category:** CMS
- **Total deploys:** 38

## Template content

### Mariadb https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/homarr-labs/dashboard-icons/svg/mariadb.svg

- **Image:** mariadb:latest

### Wordpress https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/homarr-labs/dashboard-icons/svg/wordpress.svg

- **Image:** wordpress
- **Start command:** `/bin/sh -c 'a2dismod mpm_event mpm_worker || true; a2enmod mpm_prefork || true; exec docker-entrypoint.sh apache2-foreground'`
- **Public domain:** Yes

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host WordPress on Railway

![WordPress self-hosted CMS dashboard](https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/wplogoblue-stacked-rgb_zqpuyr.png?format=auto&width=2048)

WordPress is the world's most popular open-source CMS — powering 43% of all websites, from
personal blogs to enterprise e-commerce. This template deploys a production-ready WordPress
instance with a MariaDB database, persistent volumes for files and database, auto-generated
security keys, and `WP_HOME`/`WP_SITEURL` wired to your Railway domain automatically. No LAMP
stack setup, no SSL wrangling, no manual configuration.

**Self-host WordPress for ~$5–10/month** — versus WP Engine at $30/month, Kinsta at $35/month,
or SiteGround which renews at $29.99/month. No traffic caps. No renewal price hikes. Full
ownership of your site and data.

---

## What This Template Deploys

| Service | Purpose |
|---|---|
| **WordPress** | The CMS — official `wordpress` image on Apache (MPM Prefork for PHP compatibility), serving your site with the full plugin and theme ecosystem on port `80` |
| **MariaDB** | Managed database — posts, pages, users, settings, and all plugin data, with auto-generated credentials |
| **Persistent Volumes** | `/var/www/html` (WordPress files) and `/var/lib/mysql` (database) — both survive every redeploy |

Both services connect over Railway's private network — MariaDB is never exposed to the public
internet. All 8 WordPress security salts and database credentials are generated automatically.

---

## About Hosting WordPress

Traditional shared WordPress hosting puts your site on overcrowded servers, imposes traffic
caps, and triples renewal rates after year one. Managed hosts like WP Engine and Kinsta solve
performance but start at $30–35/month for a single site with visitor caps. Running WordPress
yourself on a VPS means configuring Apache, PHP, MariaDB, SSL, and patching all of it forever.

Railway eliminates all of that. This template runs the official WordPress and MariaDB images
over private networking with persistent volumes, automatic HTTPS, and an environment-variable
UI for rotating secrets without SSH. The full two-container stack is live in under two minutes.

Typical cost: **~$5–10/month** on Railway's Hobby plan. WP Engine starts at $30/month, Kinsta
at $35/month, and SiteGround renews at $29.99/month — all with visitor caps. Railway has no
traffic limits and no renewal pricing.

---

## Deploy in Under 5 Minutes

1. Click **Deploy on Railway** — WordPress and MariaDB build automatically (~2 minutes)
2. Database credentials, security keys, and your public domain are wired automatically
3. Open your Railway-assigned URL — the WordPress 5-minute install wizard loads
4. Set your site title, admin username, and a strong password
5. Log in at `/wp-admin` and install your theme and plugins

No cPanel. No FTP. No SSH. No SSL configuration.

![WordPress installation wizard on Railway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/WordPress_6.4_Dashboard.png)

---

## Common Use Cases

- **Managed WordPress alternative to WP Engine** — dedicated container infrastructure without
  the $30/month single-site cap, visitor limits, or annual contract
- **Run WooCommerce without Shopify transaction fees** — full e-commerce store with WooCommerce,
  Stripe/PayPal gateways, and inventory management; no per-transaction platform cut
- **WordPress with a dedicated database instead of shared hosting** — Railway provisions a
  private MariaDB per deployment; no shared database servers, no noisy neighbours
- **Membership and subscription sites** — gated content with MemberPress or Paid Memberships
  Pro on infrastructure that doesn't throttle you during launches
- **Agency client WordPress hosting** — deploy isolated WordPress instances per client; each
  gets its own container, database, and volume with no cross-contamination
- **Digital product and course stores** — sell e-books, courses, or software with Easy Digital
  Downloads and automated delivery on a dedicated stack

---

## Configuration

| Variable | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `WORDPRESS_DB_HOST` | ✅ Auto-wired | MariaDB host:port — injected from the MariaDB service |
| `WORDPRESS_DB_NAME` | ✅ Auto-wired | Database name (`railway`) |
| `WORDPRESS_DB_USER` | ✅ Auto-wired | Database user (`railway`) |
| `WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD` | ✅ Auto-generated | 32-char database password |
| `WORDPRESS_CONFIG_EXTRA` | ✅ Pre-set | Sets `WP_HOME`, `WP_SITEURL`, `DOMAIN_CURRENT_SITE` |
| `WORDPRESS_AUTH_KEY` / `WORDPRESS_AUTH_SALT` | ✅ Auto-generated | WordPress security salts (all 8 generated) |
| `MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD` | ✅ Auto-generated | MariaDB root password |
| `WORDPRESS_TABLE_PREFIX` | Optional | Table prefix — defaults to `wp_`. Change for security on public sites |
| `PORT` | ✅ Pre-set | WordPress container port (`80`) |

> All database connection variables and security salts are generated and wired automatically.
> You do not need to set them manually — deploy and go straight to the install wizard.

---

## WordPress on Railway vs. Managed Hosting

| | Railway (~$5–10/mo) | WP Engine | Kinsta | SiteGround (renewal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Entry price** | ~$5–10/mo flat | $30/mo | $35/mo | $29.99/mo |
| **Renewal price hike** | ✅ None | ❌ Contract-based | ❌ Annual billing | ❌ Steep jump |
| **Traffic / visitor cap** | ✅ None | ❌ 25,000/mo | ❌ 25,000/mo | ❌ 10,000/mo |
| **Dedicated database** | ✅ Private MariaDB | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ Shared |
| **Plugin freedom** | ✅ Any plugin | ⚠️ Some banned | ⚠️ Some banned | ✅ Any |
| **Data ownership** | ✅ Your infra | ❌ WP Engine | ❌ Kinsta/GCP | ❌ SiteGround |
| **WooCommerce** | ✅ Full support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| **Multi-site per price** | ✅ Per project | ❌ Extra cost | ❌ Extra cost | ❌ Extra cost |

---

## Dependencies for WordPress Hosting

- Railway account — Hobby plan (~$5–10/month) covers WordPress, MariaDB, and volumes
- A custom domain (optional — Railway provides a public domain; custom domains are free to add)
- Optional: Cloudflare in front for CDN and DDoS protection

### Deployment Dependencies

- [WordPress Docker Image](https://hub.docker.com/_/wordpress) — official
- [MariaDB Docker Image](https://hub.docker.com/_/mariadb) — official
- [WordPress.org](https://wordpress.org) — source and plugin repository
- [WooCommerce](https://woocommerce.com) — e-commerce plugin
- [Railway Custom Domains](https://docs.railway.com/networking/custom-domains)

### Implementation Details

This template runs the official `wordpress` image on Apache with MPM Prefork (enforced via a
custom start command for PHP compatibility), connected to the official `mariadb` image over
Railway's private network. The `/var/www/html` and `/var/lib/mysql` volumes persist files and
database across every redeploy.

> **Production note:** Pin the MariaDB image to a specific version (e.g. `mariadb:11.4`) rather
> than `latest` in service settings. An unpinned `latest` tag can pull a new major version on
> redeploy and break database compatibility — pinning protects your production site.

---

## Frequently Asked Questions

**How much does WordPress on Railway cost vs WP Engine or Kinsta?**
The full stack runs at ~$5–10/month on Railway's Hobby plan. WP Engine starts at $30/month for
one site with a 25,000 visit cap. Kinsta starts at $35/month with the same limit. SiteGround
renews at $29.99/month after the intro period. Railway has no visitor caps and no renewal hikes.

**Do I lose my content and media if Railway redeploys?**
No. Posts, pages, and settings live in the MariaDB volume; media and theme files live in the
`/var/www/html` volume. Both persist independently of the containers — redeploys, updates, and
restarts don't affect your data.

**Can I run WooCommerce on this deployment?**
Yes. WooCommerce installs as a standard plugin with no restrictions. The MariaDB database
handles WooCommerce's tables without additional configuration, and you can connect Stripe or
PayPal gateways directly.

**Can I use a custom domain instead of the Railway URL?**
Yes. Add your domain under the WordPress service's Custom Domains settings. Railway provisions
HTTPS for custom domains automatically — no SSL certificate purchase or renewal needed.

**How do I update WordPress to a newer version?**
Update from the WordPress admin dashboard at `/wp-admin` like any WordPress site. For
container-level updates, change the image tag in Railway service settings and redeploy — your
MariaDB data and volume files are unaffected.

**Can I run multiple WordPress sites on one Railway account?**
Yes. Deploy a separate Railway project per site. Each gets its own WordPress container, MariaDB
database, and volume — no cross-contamination and no per-site add-on fee beyond compute usage.

---

## Why Deploy and Host 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 get a production-grade CMS with a dedicated MariaDB
database, persistent media storage, automatic HTTPS, and no traffic caps — at ~$5–10/month flat
with no renewal price hikes and full ownership of your site, data, and infrastructure.

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