Deploy WordPress

Deploy Your WordPress Projects on Brimble

This guide is for site owners and WordPress builders. You do not need to know servers, Docker, or PHP under the hood. Follow the steps in order. Each important screen has a screenshot so you can match what you see in the dashboard. When you finish, you will have:

A live WordPress site on a free Brimble address (https://your-name.brimble.app)
A database that stores posts, pages, and users
Storage so photos and plugins do not disappear when you redeploy
Optional security for WordPress (recommended)
Optional custom domain and small config files

Before you start

You need	Why
A Brimble account	To use the dashboard
A plan that allows websites, databases, and storage	WordPress needs all three for a normal site
About 15-20 minutes	First setup takes a little longer

Put the database and WordPress in the same region (for example both in Germany). That keeps the site faster and more reliable.

The big picture

WordPress on Brimble is two projects that work together:

A database: where posts, pages, and logins are stored
WordPress itself: the website software, run from the official WordPress image

You create the database first, then create WordPress and connect it.

Checklist

Create the database
Create WordPress and connect it
Turn on storage for uploads
Finish the setup wizard in your browser
Turn on WordPress protection (recommended)
(Optional) Add your own domain
(Optional) Raise upload limits with a small config file

Step 1: Create the database first

WordPress cannot run without a database. Do this before you create the WordPress site.

Open the Brimble dashboard.
Click New project.
Choose Database.
Pick MySQL or MariaDB (both work with WordPress).
Leave the version as the default unless you know you need another one.
Choose a region: remember it; WordPress must use the same one.
Pick a size. Start small; you can upgrade later.
Give it a clear name, for example my-blog-db.
Click Create / Provision.

Wait until the status is Active (often one or two minutes).

New project screen with Database and MySQL selected — Creating a MySQL database for WordPress.

Where the connection details live

Open the database project. You will see a list of secrets (connection details). You will copy these into WordPress in the next step. You mainly need:

What WordPress needs	What it looks like in the list
Database host	Prefer the private / internal host when both projects are in the same workspace and region
Port	Usually shown as the service port
Username	MySQL / MariaDB user
Password	MySQL / MariaDB password
Database name	The database name

Recommended: use the private connection when WordPress and the database are in the same place on Brimble. It is faster and stays on Brimble’s private network. Also fine: use the public host if you prefer, or if private is not available.

Database project secrets list with connection details — Database secrets: host, port, user, password, and database name.

More detail: Deploy a database.

Step 2: Create WordPress

Click New project again.
Choose Docker image (you are not connecting a Git repo for standard WordPress).
For the image name, use the official WordPress image, for example:

wordpress:latest

You can also use a more specific tag such as wordpress:php8.2-apache if you prefer.

Leave private registry credentials empty for this public image.
Choose the same region as the database.
Pick a small compute size to start.
Give the project a name (this becomes your free URL, for example https://my-blog.brimble.app).

Secrets: how WordPress finds the database

On the create screen (and later under the Secrets tab), add these values. Important: set PORT to 80. The official WordPress image expects that.

Name	What to put	Plain English
`PORT`	`80`	Which door WordPress listens on
`WORDPRESS_DB_HOST`	host and port, like `something:3306`	Where the database lives
`WORDPRESS_DB_USER`	from the database project	Login username for the database
`WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD`	from the database project	Login password for the database
`WORDPRESS_DB_NAME`	from the database project	Which database to use

Easiest option: reference the database project

If your database project is named my-blog-db, you can point WordPress at it with references (Brimble fills in the real values at deploy time). Adjust the name to match your database project:

PORT=80
WORDPRESS_DB_HOST={{@my-blog-db.PRIVATE_SERVICE_HOST}}:{{@my-blog-db.SERVICE_PORT}}
WORDPRESS_DB_USER={{@my-blog-db.MYSQL_USER}}
WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD={{@my-blog-db.MYSQL_PASSWORD}}
WORDPRESS_DB_NAME={{@my-blog-db.MYSQL_DATABASE}}

For a public host instead of private, use SERVICE_HOST instead of PRIVATE_SERVICE_HOST. You can also open the database secrets list and paste the values by hand.

New project secrets section with PORT and WordPress database variables — Adding PORT and database secrets when creating the WordPress project. Set PORT to 80.

After the site exists, you can review or edit the same list under Secrets:

WordPress project Secrets tab with PORT and WORDPRESS_DB keys — Secrets tab on the WordPress project after deploy.

Learn more: Environment variable references.

Step 3: Turn on storage for uploads

If you skip storage, media uploads and many plugins can be lost when the site restarts or redeploys.

Turn on Persistent Storage (when creating the project, or later under Configuration → Resources).
Set the mount path exactly to:

/var/www/html/wp-content

That folder holds themes, plugins, and uploads. Do not mount the whole site path (/var/www/html). Only wp-content. You can create a new volume or attach one you already have in the same region.

Storage price (typical)

Storage is charged by size each month. In the size dropdown you will see options similar to:

Size	About
10 GB	$2.50 / month
20 GB	$5.00 / month
30 GB	$7.50 / month
40 GB	$10.00 / month
50 GB	$12.50 / month
60 GB	$15.00 / month

That is about $0.25 per GB per month. Always trust the price shown in the dashboard. 10 GB is enough for most small sites.

Volume size dropdown with monthly prices — Choosing volume size and seeing the monthly price.

Configuration resources with persistent storage and wp-content mount path — Persistent storage turned on, mount path set to /var/www/html/wp-content.

Deploy WordPress

Click Deploy project. Wait until the deploy finishes successfully.

Step 4: Finish setup in your browser

Open your free URL: https://YOUR-PROJECT-NAME.brimble.app
Choose language, site title, and admin username.
Use a strong password (not admin / password).
Complete the wizard and log in to the WordPress dashboard.

You should see the normal WordPress home screen:

WordPress dashboard welcome screen — WordPress admin after a successful install.

If you see “Error establishing a database connection”

Work through this list:

Database project status is Active
All four WORDPRESS_DB_* secrets are filled in
PORT is 80
Database host includes the port (for example :3306)
Database and WordPress are in the same region if you used the private host
You redeployed after changing secrets

Step 5: Turn on WordPress protection (recommended)

This blocks common automated attacks on WordPress (fake logins, known exploit paths, and similar noise).

Open your WordPress project.
Open the Networking tab.
Under Network (edge cache, headers & firewall), click Configure.
Open the Firewall tab.
Turn WordPress protection on.
Leave Path blocking on.
Click Save changes.

Networking tab with domain and Configure button for firewall settings — Networking tab: open Configure next to edge cache and firewall.

Network edge settings Firewall tab with WordPress protection enabled — Firewall settings with WordPress protection turned on.

A few plugins or phone apps need XML-RPC. If something stops working after you enable protection, turn WordPress protection off temporarily and contact support if you need a special rule. Most sites do not need XML-RPC open.

Step 6: Add your own domain (optional)

Still on the Networking tab:

Click + Add domain.
Follow the DNS instructions Brimble shows (usually at your domain registrar).
Wait until the domain shows as Active and HTTPS is ready.

Then in WordPress go to Settings → General and set:

WordPress Address (URL) to your live https://… address
Site Address (URL) to the same

Save. Full guide: Custom domains.

Step 7: Larger uploads (optional)

If media uploads fail because files are “too large”, you can raise PHP limits with the Files feature. This is for small text config files only (not for photos; photos go in the media library and live on your volume).

Open the WordPress project.
Open Files and click Add file.
Example:

Field	Example
Name	`Custom WordPress configuration`
Mount path	`/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/zz-custom.ini`
Secret	On if the file has sensitive values; off is fine for PHP limits

Example file content:

upload_max_filesize = 64M
post_max_size = 64M
memory_limit = 256M
max_execution_time = 120

Click Create.
Redeploy so the file is mounted.
Try the upload again.

Limits: text files only, 1 MB max per file, path must start with /.

Add file modal with name, mount path, secret toggle, and file upload — Add file modal for a custom PHP settings file.

Common problems

Error establishing a database connection
Check Active database, secrets, PORT 80, same region for private host, then redeploy. Uploads disappear after redeploy
Turn on persistent storage at /var/www/html/wp-content. Site feels broken after attaching storage
Mount path must be /var/www/html/wp-content, not /var/www/html. Upload says file is too large
Use Step 7 (Files) and check free space on the volume. Extra check page when logging in
WordPress protection may show a short browser check. Complete it, or turn protection off temporarily. App or plugin that needs XML-RPC stopped working
Turn WordPress protection off or ask support for a custom rule. Site shows an error right after deploy
Wait a minute for first boot, open Deployments / logs, confirm the image is wordpress:… and PORT is 80.

Quick checklist before you go live

Strong WordPress admin password
Database created before WordPress
Private database host when possible
PORT is 80
Storage at /var/www/html/wp-content
WordPress protection on
Path blocking on
Site URLs use https:// in WordPress settings
Only trusted plugins and themes; keep WordPress updated

Getting started

Projects

Sandboxes

Volumes

Object storage

Domains

Environments

Networking

Scaling

Observability

Analytics

Workspaces and teams

Security

Billing

Notifications

Webhooks

Troubleshooting

Reference

Deploy WordPress

Before you start

The big picture

Checklist

Step 1: Create the database first

Where the connection details live

Step 2: Create WordPress

Secrets: how WordPress finds the database

Easiest option: reference the database project

Step 3: Turn on storage for uploads

Storage price (typical)

Deploy WordPress

Step 4: Finish setup in your browser

If you see “Error establishing a database connection”

Step 5: Turn on WordPress protection (recommended)

Step 6: Add your own domain (optional)

Step 7: Larger uploads (optional)

Common problems

Quick checklist before you go live

​Before you start

​The big picture

​Checklist

​Step 1: Create the database first

​Where the connection details live

​Step 2: Create WordPress

​Secrets: how WordPress finds the database

​Easiest option: reference the database project

​Step 3: Turn on storage for uploads

​Storage price (typical)

​Deploy WordPress

​Step 4: Finish setup in your browser

​If you see “Error establishing a database connection”

​Step 5: Turn on WordPress protection (recommended)

​Step 6: Add your own domain (optional)

​Step 7: Larger uploads (optional)

​Common problems

​Quick checklist before you go live

​Related guides

Before you start

The big picture

Checklist

Step 1: Create the database first

Where the connection details live

Step 2: Create WordPress

Secrets: how WordPress finds the database

Easiest option: reference the database project

Step 3: Turn on storage for uploads

Storage price (typical)

Deploy WordPress

Step 4: Finish setup in your browser

If you see “Error establishing a database connection”

Step 5: Turn on WordPress protection (recommended)

Step 6: Add your own domain (optional)

Step 7: Larger uploads (optional)

Common problems

Quick checklist before you go live

Related guides