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How to Deploy WordPress on Kubernetes: Step-by-Step Guide

Posted on by William Zheng

Thinking about running WordPress on Kubernetes, but not sure where to start? You’re not alone. As websites grow and demands increase, many turn to Kubernetes for its powerful scaling and management capabilities—but connecting the dots with WordPress can seem daunting.

This article breaks it all down. You’ll learn why Kubernetes is a smart choice for WordPress, what steps to follow, and key tips for smooth deployment. Let’s make WordPress on Kubernetes easy and achievable.

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Deploying WordPress on Kubernetes: A Complete Guide

What Does It Mean to Deploy WordPress on Kubernetes?

Deploying WordPress on Kubernetes means running your WordPress site as a set of containerized applications within a Kubernetes cluster. Kubernetes, often simply called K8s, is a powerful orchestration platform for managing containers at scale. WordPress itself is a popular content management system (CMS) widely used for blogging and websites.

By leveraging Kubernetes, you can achieve scalability, high availability, and easier management of your WordPress-based website. Rather than running WordPress on a single server, Kubernetes allows you to distribute your workload across multiple nodes, making your site more robust and flexible.

Why Should You Deploy WordPress on Kubernetes?

Before jumping into the how-to, consider why Kubernetes is an excellent choice for running WordPress:

  • Scalability: Easily scale your WordPress site up or down based on traffic.
  • High Availability: Minimize downtime by distributing resources across multiple nodes.
  • Efficient Resource Management: Automatically place workloads where resources are available.
  • Automated Rollouts and Rollbacks: Smoothly update your WordPress environment without service interruptions.
  • Self-Healing: Automatically replace failed containers to keep your site running.

Step-by-Step: How to Deploy WordPress on Kubernetes

Here’s a practical breakdown to help you get WordPress up and running on your Kubernetes cluster.

1. What Do You Need Before Starting?

To deploy WordPress on Kubernetes, ensure you have the following:

  • A Kubernetes Cluster: This can be on the cloud (like GKE, EKS, AKS) or local (using Minikube, KinD).
  • kubectl Installed: The command-line tool for interacting with Kubernetes clusters.
  • A Container Registry: Such as Docker Hub, for pulling official WordPress and MySQL images.
  • Helm Package Manager (Optional, but recommended): Helm makes deployments much easier with reusable charts.

2. Core Components of a Kubernetes WordPress Deployment

At a high level, your WordPress setup will usually include:

  • WordPress Application Pod: Runs the WordPress PHP app.
  • MySQL (or MariaDB) Database Pod: Stores your site data and content.
  • Persistent Volumes: To ensure data (like uploads and database files) persists beyond pod lifecycles.
  • Services: Define how other components can access WordPress and MySQL.
  • Ingress Controller (Optional): Manages external access (HTTP/S routing, TLS/SSL termination).

3. Deploying with Helm (The Simplest Path)

Helm is the package manager for Kubernetes. Using Helm charts takes care of best practices and common configuration options for you. Let’s walk through deploying WordPress with Helm:

a) Add the Bitnami Helm Repository

First, add a repository that contains a well-maintained WordPress chart:

helm repo add bitnami https://charts.bitnami.com/bitnami
helm repo update

b) Install WordPress with Helm

Run the following command:

helm install my-wordpress bitnami/wordpress

Helm will:

  • Deploy WordPress and MySQL as separate pods.
  • Set up Persistent Volume Claims for file and database storage.
  • Create necessary services for connecting the components.

c) Verify Your Deployment

You can check the WordPress and database pods:

kubectl get pods
kubectl get svc

d) Access Your WordPress Site

Helm will output instructions to access your new WordPress site. You may need to set up port forwarding or configure an ingress resource to make the site accessible from outside the cluster.

4. Deploying Manually Using Kubernetes YAML Manifests

If you prefer fine-grained control, deploy WordPress components with custom YAML manifests.

a) Create a Namespace

It’s a good practice to separate your application in its own namespace:

apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: wordpress

Apply with:

kubectl apply -f namespace.yaml

b) Deploy MySQL/MariaDB

  • Create a secret for your database password for enhanced security.
  • Define a PersistentVolumeClaim for database storage.
  • Create a Deployment or StatefulSet for MySQL so it runs as a pod.
  • Expose the database with a ClusterIP Service (only accessible within the cluster).

c) Deploy WordPress

  • Reference your MySQL service in the WordPress deployment’s environment variables.
  • Define a PersistentVolumeClaim for WordPress file storage (wp-content).
  • Expose WordPress with a Service for internal and (optionally) external access.

d) Optional: Set Up Ingress

  • Deploy an ingress controller (like NGINX) for external HTTP/S access if your cluster supports it.
  • Secure your site with HTTPS using cert-manager for automatic certificate management.

5. Handling Storage: Persistent Volumes Explained

Kubernetes pods are ephemeral by design. For a website, you need to retain:

  • Uploaded media (images, files) – stored in wp-content/uploads.
  • Database data – where posts, settings, and users are kept.

Solution:

  • Use Persistent Volumes and Persistent Volume Claims so that storage survives pod restarts and failures.

Popular storage options:
– Cloud storage classes (e.g., AWS EBS, GCP Persistent Disk, Azure Disk)
– NFS or network-attached storage for on-premise clusters

6. Scaling Your WordPress Site

Kubernetes makes scaling straightforward.

  • You may increase the number of WordPress pod replicas for higher availability (though WordPress is mostly stateless aside from wp-content).
  • Use a managed database, or a MySQL cluster, for scaling the database tier.
  • Use an external object storage (like Amazon S3) for media files if scaling globally.

Auto-scaling tips:

  • Enable Horizontal Pod Autoscaler to adjust pod counts based on demand.
  • Set resource requests and limits to avoid noisy neighbor problems.

7. Managing Upgrades, Backups, and Security

Running WordPress on Kubernetes provides powerful tools for maintenance and safety:

  • Upgrades: Use rolling updates with zero downtime.
  • Backups: Regularly back up Persistent Volumes (for files) and database snapshots.
  • Security: Use Kubernetes Secrets for sensitive data, network policies to isolate pods, and keep components updated.

8. Challenges and Considerations

While Kubernetes brings many advantages, deploying WordPress this way is more complex than a simple shared hosting setup. Be aware of the following challenges:

  • Operational Complexity: More moving parts, more infrastructure to manage.
  • Persistent Data Management: Properly handle storage for durability and backup.
  • Cost: Running clusters may incur more costs than shared hosting, especially with high availability setups.
  • Performance Tuning: May require fine-tuning for optimal database, PHP, and web server performance.

9. Practical Tips and Best Practices

  • Start Simple: Use Helm charts for your first deployment.
  • Use Managed Database Services: For production use, consider using cloud-managed databases rather than self-hosted MySQL for improved reliability and scaling.
  • Secure Your Cluster: Regularly update container images and Kubernetes components. Use security policies to limit access.
  • Automate Backups: Set up cron jobs or scheduled tasks for database and Persistent Volume backups.
  • Monitor Everything: Deploy monitoring tools (like Prometheus & Grafana) to keep an eye on performance and health.
  • Log Aggregation: Use centralized logging (ELK stack or similar) for troubleshooting.
  • Budget Carefully: Use resource requests, limits, and auto-scaling features to optimize resource usage and control costs. Stateful workloads need persistent storage, which is often billed hourly.

10. Cost Tips

While Kubernetes offers enterprise-grade features, costs can rise quickly if not managed well. Here are some practical cost-saving strategies:

  • Right-Size Your Cluster: Don’t over-provision nodes or resources.
  • Optimize Storage: Use standard/efficient storage classes instead of premium, unless necessary.
  • Turn Off Unused Environments: Use ephemeral clusters for testing and destroy them when not in use.
  • Monitor Resource Usage: Regularly check if allocated resources match real usage and adjust accordingly.
  • Use Free Tiers: Many cloud providers offer free clusters for testing.

Summary

Deploying WordPress on Kubernetes transforms your site into a scalable, resilient, and modern application. Whether you’re using Helm for simplicity or going “all in” with custom manifests, Kubernetes brings automation, management, and power to your favorite CMS. With some planning, attention to data persistence, and best practices, your WordPress site can be production-ready, ready to handle anything from casual blogs to high-traffic platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are the main benefits of deploying WordPress on Kubernetes?

  • Scalability, high-availability, automated management, and disaster recovery. Kubernetes can handle surges in traffic and automatically recover from app or server failures, minimizing downtime.

2. Do I need coding skills to deploy WordPress on Kubernetes?

  • Not much! Tools like Helm make it accessible without deep technical knowledge. However, understanding basic Kubernetes concepts and YAML configuration files will help you troubleshoot and customize your deployment.

3. How do I persist data in a Kubernetes WordPress setup?

  • Use Persistent Volumes and PersistentVolumeClaims for both the WordPress uploads directory and the MySQL database. This ensures your data survives pod restarts, recreation, or updates.

4. Is Kubernetes overkill for a small WordPress site?

  • For very small, personal, or static sites, Kubernetes may be more complex than needed. For business-critical, growing, or high-traffic sites, the scalability and reliability benefits are significant.

5. Can I use plugins and custom themes with WordPress on Kubernetes?

  • Yes! You can upload and manage plugins and themes as usual. Just ensure the persistent volume is set up for the wp-content directory so your changes aren’t lost when pods restart.

Deploying WordPress on Kubernetes opens the door to a modern, reliable, and scalable website. Start simple, iterate, and you’ll soon master bringing WordPress into the world of cloud-native infrastructure.

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