How to Deploy WordPress on Kubernetes

WordPress is a popular and versatile content management system (CMS) that powers a significant portion of the internet. Deploying WordPress on Kubernetes adds a layer of scalability, flexibility, and ease of management to your website infrastructure. In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of deploying WordPress on Kubernetes step by step.

1. Setting up Kubernetes Cluster:

To begin with, ensure you have a Kubernetes cluster up and running. You can use managed Kubernetes services like Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Amazon EKS, or set up your own cluster using tools like Minikube. Once your cluster is ready, proceed to the next steps.

2. Creating Persistent Volumes:

WordPress requires persistent storage for data such as uploads, themes, and plugins. Define Persistent Volumes (PVs) and Persistent Volume Claims (PVCs) in your Kubernetes cluster to ensure data persistence across pod restarts or rescheduling.

# Example YAML for Persistent Volume
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolume
metadata:
  name: wp-pv
spec:
  capacity:
    storage: 5Gi
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  hostPath:
    path: "/path/to/host/directory"

# Example YAML for Persistent Volume Claim
apiVersion: v1
kind: PersistentVolumeClaim
metadata:
  name: wp-pvc
spec:
  accessModes:
    - ReadWriteOnce
  resources:
    requests:
      storage: 5Gi

3. Deploying MySQL Database:

WordPress relies on a MySQL database to store its content. Deploy a MySQL database using a Kubernetes Deployment and Service.

# Example MySQL Deployment YAML
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: mysql-deployment
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: mysql
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: mysql
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: mysql
          image: mysql:latest
          env:
            - name: MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
              value: your_password
---
# Example MySQL Service YAML
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: mysql-service
spec:
  selector:
    app: mysql
  ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 3306
      targetPort: 3306

4. Configuring WordPress Deployment:

Now, configure the WordPress deployment, ensuring it connects to the MySQL database.

# Example WordPress Deployment YAML
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: wordpress-deployment
spec:
  replicas: 1
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: wordpress
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: wordpress
    spec:
      containers:
        - name: wordpress
          image: wordpress:latest
          env:
            - name: WORDPRESS_DB_HOST
              value: mysql-service
            - name: WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD
              valueFrom:
                secretKeyRef:
                  name: mysql-secret
                  key: password
---
# Example WordPress Service YAML
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: wordpress-service
spec:
  selector:
    app: wordpress
  ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 80
      targetPort: 80

5. Exposing WordPress:

Expose the WordPress service to the external world using a Kubernetes Ingress resource or a LoadBalancer service, depending on your setup.

# Example Ingress YAML
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: wordpress-ingress
spec:
  rules:
    - host: your-domain.com
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: wordpress-service
                port:
                  number: 80