WordPress 7.1.0 with its own MariaDB 11.8 deploys in one click onto a dedicated server Selfhost.dev provisions, secures and runs. The proxy headers that stop wp-admin looping behind HTTPS are set before the first request. Every plugin and theme is yours to install.
Two containers and a database of its own, with no plan tier above the server.
WordPress.org running on a server you control instead of as a tenant on WordPress.com. The PHP, the files, the database and every plugin live on that server.
Site owners who have outgrown a page builder, agencies running client sites and developers who want WordPress in Docker without writing the compose file.
When a plan tier starts deciding which plugins you may use. Or when you want the site, its media and its database somewhere you can take with you.
A basic WordPress Docker Compose example can use latest tags, plain HTTP and example passwords. Here WordPress starts from an exact image tag and MariaDB follows the 11.8 series, with generated database passwords, managed TLS and forwarded-header configuration.
Behind a proxy, WordPress sees plain HTTP and keeps sending wp-admin back to HTTPS. The official Docker configuration already handles X-Forwarded-Proto. Preserve that handling in custom configurations; this template also trusts X-Forwarded-Host and supplies managed TLS before your first login.
Visitors, editors and wp-admin
TLS and routing
WordPress 7.1.0
MariaDB 11.8
Core, plugins and uploads
Database passwords
| WordPress Docker Compose, by hand | WordPress on Selfhost.dev |
|---|---|
wordpress:latest and mariadb:latest, which can jump a major version | WordPress starts from wordpress:7.1.0-php8.3-apache; mariadb:11.8 follows the 11.8 series |
| Database passwords typed into the compose file | Kept as platform secrets and passed to WordPress |
| Plain HTTP on port 8080 or a proxy and certificate you add | HTTPS issued and renewed per hostname |
| Preserve forwarded-HTTPS handling when configuring a reverse proxy | WORDPRESS_CONFIG_EXTRA trusts the forwarded proto and host |
WP_HOME hardcoded, so a domain move needs a configuration edit | Left unset, so you change the domain in wp-admin |
| WordPress starting before the database is ready | MariaDB starts first; readiness is checked on the WordPress URL after startup |
Self hosted WordPress requirements here come down to the server size. 4 GB, the smallest server we offer, carries WordPress and MariaDB with room to spare. Uploads are what grow, so size the disk for your media.
No compose file to write and no certificate to renew. The install screen is yours to claim.
The button on this page opens the WordPress template in the console. Choose one of the six locations and submit; the template deploys in about six minutes.
Open the HTTPS address and finish the WordPress install screen. The first account to complete it becomes the administrator, so do it the moment the deploy is live.
Point your domain at the server and verify it with a TXT record; HTTPS follows on its own. Update the WordPress Address and Site Address in wp-admin to your HTTPS domain, then install your theme and plugins.
The software is free, the template adds no fee and no plan sits above it. What you pay for is the server: $0.02/hr for 4 GB in Europe, about $15 to $16 a month, taken hourly from prepaid credits.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Plugins, themes and users | $0 in platform fees; paid plugin or theme licences are separate |
| Bandwidth | $0. Traffic is included in the server price |
| Optional daily backups | +20% of the server price |
| Server | RAM, cores, disk | Where | Rate | About a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
cx23 (recommended) | 4 GB, 2 cores, 40 GB | Europe | $0.02/hr | $15.18 |
cax11 (ARM) | 4 GB, 2 cores, 40 GB | Europe | $0.02/hr | $16.35 |
cx33 (media-heavy sites) | 8 GB, 4 cores, 80 GB | Europe | $0.03/hr | $23.36 |
cpx21 | 4 GB, 3 cores, 80 GB | US | $0.12/hr | $87.75 |
cpx22 | 4 GB, 2 cores, 80 GB | Singapore | $0.10/hr | $72.56 |
Monthly figures assume 730 hours; live availability varies by location. Outside Europe the same memory costs more.
If you have a card on file or have topped up before, a zero balance powers the server off and we email you. It is held for 24 hours, then deleted; a top-up in that window restarts it. Welcome-credit-only servers are deleted at zero, so keep a WXR export elsewhere.
Price 4 GB in your own location in the calculator, no signup.
WordPress.com runs the same open source WordPress in plans from Free through Commerce, with Enterprise separate. Plugins start at Personal, $9 a month; SFTP, SSH and WP-CLI start at Business, $40, on monthly billing. Here you rent the server, with no plan above it.
| WordPress.com | Self hosted on Selfhost.dev | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price with plugins | Personal, $9 a month | About $15 to $16 a month (cx23 or cax11, Europe) |
| Storage at that price | 6 GB | 40 GB disk |
| Plan tiers | Standard plans from Free to Commerce, plus Enterprise | None |
| Plugins and themes | From Personal | Any, on every server |
| SFTP, SSH and WP-CLI | From Business, $40 a month | SSH to the server; container access granted on request |
| Who runs it | Automattic runs WordPress for you | We run the server; WordPress and its updates are yours |
WordPress.com monthly-billing rates from wordpress.com/pricing; billed yearly they are lower. Ours assumes 730 hours.
When you want WordPress run for you or the smallest bill. WordPress.com runs core updates and caching; backups depend on the plan. Its Free plan costs nothing, with their branding. For one small brochure site, shared hosting is cheaper than a server.
The console estimates about six minutes for the WordPress template after the server is ready; first-time server provisioning adds time.
/wp-admin/install.php open until someone completes it; that person becomes the administrator. Finish it the moment the deploy is live.http:// can bring the redirect loop back.Ready to claim yours? The template deploys in about six minutes.
Launch WordPressOptional daily backups snapshot the whole server (both containers, the database and every upload) and keep the last seven. They are deleted with the server, so keep your own export too: WXR from wp-admin needs no server access. It is a content export, not a complete site backup: keep media files and plugin/theme configuration separately.
| Method | What it covers | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Daily server backup (optional, +20%) | WordPress, MariaDB and every upload; the last 7 kept | With the server; deleted with it |
| WXR export (Tools, Export) | Posts, pages, comments, author information and media references | Wherever you save it |
| Database dump and file copy | Everything, byte for byte | Taken with container access, granted on request |
Export a WXR file from your current wp-admin, deploy here, claim the install screen, then use Tools, Import. Media is fetched from the old site during the import, so leave it running until the import finishes.
Tell us how many sites and roughly how much media. We will reply with a server size, the monthly cost and what it replaces on your current hosting bill. One email, no newsletter.
Yes. WordPress is a one-click template you deploy onto your project server. Selfhost.dev provisions the server, brings up WordPress and its own MariaDB, sets the proxy headers and issues the certificate. You complete the first-run screen yourself, which is how WordPress works everywhere.
You pay for the server and nothing else: the template has no fee, traffic is included and no plan sits above it. A 4 GB server, the smallest we offer, runs WordPress and its database. The cost table shows example server rates for Europe, the US and Singapore. See pricing.
No. We run the server, the containers, HTTPS and optional backups. WordPress core, themes and plugins are yours to update; there is no staging copy and no WordPress-aware cache. In return, nothing limits what you install or how many plugins you run.
Not on its own. WordPress has no built-in mail transport here, so password resets, comment notifications and contact forms will not deliver until you install an SMTP plugin and point it at a mail provider. Nothing blocks it; the credentials simply have to be yours.
Yes, if you fix what most examples skip: pin the image tags instead of latest, keep passwords out of the file, put HTTPS in front and trust the X-Forwarded-Proto header so wp-admin does not loop. This template is that setup, already running on a server of your own.
Selfhost.dev runs managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, ClickHouse, OpenSearch and Kafka on AWS, plus Projects: a dedicated server we provision and operate, for apps from GitHub and for 44 one-click configurations across 38 apps. Pricing is pay as you go against prepaid credits, with no tiers and no subscriptions.
Best for: WordPress, Strapi, Mautic, Nextcloud and managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, ClickHouse, OpenSearch and Kafka.