WebsiteBox

A Docker-based, self-hosted WordPress deployment system. Provision a VPS, run the installer, and get a working SSL-secured WordPress portfolio site with a single command. All code is auditable, no telemetry, no external dependencies beyond what you explicitly configure.

Features

• One-command deploy: docker compose up -d starts everything
• Automatic SSL: Let's Encrypt certificates acquired and renewed automatically
• Secure by default: Hardened WordPress config, Wordfence firewall, XML-RPC disabled, rate-limited login
• Age verification: Pre-configured Age Gate plugin (optional)
• Automated backups: UpdraftPlus with configurable retention
• VPS-agnostic: Works on any Ubuntu/Debian VPS provider
• Transparent: All persistent data in one visible directory (websitebox-data/)
• Auto-restart: Survives VPS reboots without intervention

Requirements

• A VPS with Ubuntu 20.04+ or Debian 11+ (1GB RAM minimum, 2GB recommended)
• A domain name with DNS access
• Basic command-line familiarity

Recommended VPS Providers

Provider	Min Cost	Notes
BuyVM	$3.50/mo	Explicit "legal content" policy, free DDoS protection
Vultr	$6/mo	No explicit prohibition, widely used
OVHcloud	$5.50/mo	European, no explicit prohibition

Quick Start

1. SSH into your VPS and run the installer:

   curl -fsSL https://git.constantprojects.xyz/tankadmin/websitebox/raw/branch/main/install.sh | bash
   

2. Answer the setup wizard prompts (domain, admin credentials, etc.)

3. Point your domain's A record to your server's IP address

4. Wait for DNS propagation, then start:

   cd ~/websitebox
   docker compose up -d
   

5. Visit your site at https://yourdomain.com and log in at https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin

Configuration Reference

All configuration is stored in .env (generated by setup.sh).

Variable	Description	Default
DOMAIN	Your domain name	Required
SITE_TITLE	WordPress site title	My Portfolio
ADMIN_USER	WordPress admin username	Required
ADMIN_EMAIL	Admin email (for SSL & WordPress)	Required
ADMIN_PASSWORD	Admin password	Required
AGE_GATE_ENABLED	Enable age verification	true
AGE_GATE_MIN_AGE	Minimum age (18-21)	18
SMTP_HOST	SMTP server for email	(empty)
SMTP_PORT	SMTP port	587
SMTP_USER	SMTP username	(empty)
SMTP_PASS	SMTP password	(empty)
BACKUP_RETENTION_DAYS	Days to keep local backups	30

Database passwords and WordPress salts are auto-generated by setup.sh — do not edit them manually.

Customization Guide

Theme

WebsiteBox uses a child theme built on GeneratePress. Customize it in the WordPress admin under Appearance > Customize, or edit the child theme files directly:

websitebox-data/wordpress/wp-content/themes/websitebox/
├── style.css          # Custom styles
├── functions.php      # Theme functions
├── index.php          # Main template (inherits from GeneratePress)
└── theme.json         # Theme settings (colors, typography)

Plugins

Pre-installed plugins can be managed normally through the WordPress admin. Additional plugins can be installed via Plugins > Add New.

• Age Gate: Configure under Settings > Age Gate
• Wordfence: Configure under Wordfence > Dashboard
• UpdraftPlus: Configure under Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups

Backup & Restore

Automatic Backups

UpdraftPlus runs automatic backups stored in websitebox-data/backups/.

Manual Backup

./scripts/backup.sh

This creates a database dump and compressed file backup in websitebox-data/backups/.

Cleanup Old Backups

./scripts/backup.sh --prune-only

Restore

1. Go to Settings > UpdraftPlus Backups in wp-admin
2. Select a backup to restore
3. Follow the UpdraftPlus restore wizard

Remote Backups

For offsite backups, configure UpdraftPlus to send copies to Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, or other remote storage via the UpdraftPlus settings in wp-admin.

Updating WebsiteBox

cd ~/websitebox
./scripts/update.sh

This pulls the latest changes, rebuilds containers, and runs any migrations. See docs/UPDATING.md for details.

Uninstalling

cd ~/websitebox
docker compose down
# Remove all data (IRREVERSIBLE):
# rm -rf websitebox-data/

Security Practices

See docs/SECURITY.md for a full overview. Key points:

• SSL via Let's Encrypt with auto-renewal
• WordPress file editor disabled (DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT)
• XML-RPC disabled
• Non-standard database table prefix
• Rate limiting on wp-login.php
• Wordfence firewall and brute-force protection
• MariaDB not exposed to host network
• Auto-generated cryptographic passwords and salts

Troubleshooting

See docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md for common issues. Quick commands:

# Check container health
./scripts/healthcheck.sh

# View logs
docker compose logs -f nginx
docker compose logs -f wordpress
docker compose logs -f db

# Restart a service
docker compose restart nginx

# Re-run WordPress first-boot setup
docker compose exec wordpress rm /var/www/html/.websitebox-setup-complete /var/www/html/.websitebox-setup-partial
docker compose restart wordpress

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request with DCO sign-off (git commit -s)

License

GPLv3 — see LICENSE.