WooCommerce

beginner

WordPress-based e-commerce platform.

Overview

WooCommerce is the world's most popular e-commerce plugin for WordPress, powering over 5 million online stores globally. Built as an extension to WordPress, it transforms the content management system into a fully-featured e-commerce platform capable of selling physical products, digital downloads, subscriptions, and services. WooCommerce leverages WordPress's flexibility and extensive ecosystem while adding specialized e-commerce functionality like inventory management, payment processing, shipping calculations, and tax handling. This Docker stack combines WordPress with MySQL 8.0 to create a complete WooCommerce hosting environment. WordPress serves as the application layer running WooCommerce, while MySQL provides the relational database backend storing product catalogs, customer data, orders, and inventory information. The MySQL InnoDB storage engine ensures ACID compliance for financial transactions, while WordPress's plugin architecture allows unlimited customization of the store's functionality and appearance. This configuration is ideal for entrepreneurs launching online stores, developers building custom e-commerce solutions, and agencies managing multiple client shops. The combination provides enterprise-grade database reliability with WordPress's user-friendly interface, making it accessible to non-technical users while offering the flexibility developers need for complex customizations. WooCommerce's REST API enables headless commerce implementations and third-party integrations with CRM systems, inventory management tools, and marketing platforms.

Key Features

Complete WooCommerce e-commerce platform with product management, inventory tracking, and order processing
WordPress Gutenberg block editor with WooCommerce product blocks for visual store building
MySQL 8.0 with InnoDB storage engine providing ACID compliance for financial transactions
Built-in payment gateway support for Stripe, PayPal, Square, and 100+ other processors
Comprehensive tax calculation system with support for multiple tax classes and jurisdictions
Advanced shipping options including flat rate, free shipping, local pickup, and real-time carrier rates
WooCommerce REST API for headless commerce and third-party integrations
Extensive reporting dashboard with sales analytics, customer insights, and inventory reports

Common Use Cases

1Small to medium online retail stores selling physical products with inventory management
2Digital product marketplaces selling software, ebooks, courses, and downloadable content
3Subscription-based businesses offering recurring billing for services or products
4B2B wholesale platforms with custom pricing tiers and bulk ordering capabilities
5Multi-vendor marketplaces where multiple sellers can list and manage their products
6Local businesses adding online ordering and pickup/delivery options to their services
7Agencies developing custom e-commerce solutions for clients with specific requirements

Prerequisites

Minimum 1GB RAM recommended for WordPress and WooCommerce operation under normal load
Port 8080 available for web access to the WordPress/WooCommerce frontend
Environment variables configured: MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD, MYSQL_DATABASE, MYSQL_USER, MYSQL_PASSWORD
Basic WordPress administration knowledge for initial setup and WooCommerce configuration
Understanding of e-commerce concepts like payment gateways, shipping zones, and tax settings
SSL certificate setup knowledge for production deployment handling customer payment data

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  wordpress: 
3    image: wordpress:latest
4    container_name: woocommerce
5    restart: unless-stopped
6    environment: 
7      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: mysql
8      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
9      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
10      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
11    volumes: 
12      - wordpress_data:/var/www/html
13    ports: 
14      - "8080:80"
15    depends_on: 
16      - mysql
17    networks: 
18      - woo
19
20  mysql: 
21    image: mysql:8.0
22    container_name: woo-mysql
23    environment: 
24      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
25      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
26      MYSQL_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
27      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
28    volumes: 
29      - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
30    networks: 
31      - woo
32
33volumes: 
34  wordpress_data: 
35  mysql_data: 
36
37networks: 
38  woo: 
39    driver: bridge

.env Template

.env

1MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpassword
2MYSQL_DATABASE=woocommerce
3MYSQL_USER=woocommerce
4MYSQL_PASSWORD=changeme

Usage Notes

1Docs: https://woocommerce.com/documentation/
2Access at http://localhost:8080 - complete WordPress setup wizard first
3Install WooCommerce from Plugins > Add New, then run setup wizard
4Storefront theme recommended for WooCommerce compatibility
5Configure payment gateways: Stripe, PayPal, Square plugins available
6REST API available at /wp-json/wc/v3/ for integrations

Individual Services(2 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

wordpress

wordpress:
  image: wordpress:latest
  container_name: woocommerce
  restart: unless-stopped
  environment:
    WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: mysql
    WORDPRESS_DB_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
    WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
    WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
  volumes:
    - wordpress_data:/var/www/html
  ports:
    - "8080:80"
  depends_on:
    - mysql
  networks:
    - woo

mysql

mysql:
  image: mysql:8.0
  container_name: woo-mysql
  environment:
    MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
    MYSQL_DATABASE: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
    MYSQL_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
    MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
  volumes:
    - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
  networks:
    - woo

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  wordpress:
5    image: wordpress:latest
6    container_name: woocommerce
7    restart: unless-stopped
8    environment:
9      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: mysql
10      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
11      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
12      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
13    volumes:
14      - wordpress_data:/var/www/html
15    ports:
16      - "8080:80"
17    depends_on:
18      - mysql
19    networks:
20      - woo
21
22  mysql:
23    image: mysql:8.0
24    container_name: woo-mysql
25    environment:
26      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
27      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${MYSQL_DATABASE}
28      MYSQL_USER: ${MYSQL_USER}
29      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
30    volumes:
31      - mysql_data:/var/lib/mysql
32    networks:
33      - woo
34
35volumes:
36  wordpress_data:
37  mysql_data:
38
39networks:
40  woo:
41    driver: bridge
42EOF
43
44# 2. Create the .env file
45cat > .env << 'EOF'
46MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpassword
47MYSQL_DATABASE=woocommerce
48MYSQL_USER=woocommerce
49MYSQL_PASSWORD=changeme
50EOF
51
52# 3. Start the services
53docker compose up -d
54
55# 4. View logs
56docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/woocommerce/run | bash

Troubleshooting

WordPress database connection error: Verify MySQL container is running and environment variables match between services
WooCommerce setup wizard not appearing: Ensure WooCommerce plugin is installed and activated from WordPress admin plugins page
MySQL container failing to start: Check that MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD environment variable is set and contains valid characters
WordPress showing database establishment error: Wait for MySQL container to fully initialize before WordPress starts, typically 30-60 seconds
WooCommerce products not saving: Increase WordPress memory limit by adding WORDPRESS_CONFIG_EXTRA environment variable with memory_limit setting
Payment gateway connection failures: Verify SSL/TLS configuration as most payment processors require secure connections for API communication

Community Notes

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