Title: WordPress as a Self-Hosting Platform Author: Alex Kirk Published: January 24, 2025 Last modified: March 16, 2025 --- # WordPress as a Self-Hosting Platform January 24, 2025 Leaving the current drama around WordPress.org aside for now, I believe that there is a use case for WordPress that is heavily underutilized: Using WordPress as a platform for self-hosting. When people think WordPress, they think publishing platform. And, of course, that’s its nature. It was built for expressing yourself publicly on the internet. But as we have seen over the years, it is also a pretty good framework on which—through its plugin system—almost anything can be built on top of it. This is especially interesting considering that you can get WordPress hosting easily and for cheap. Even NAS systems like Synology or QNAP support installing WordPress on them. There are so many services on the internet that have self-hosting options. An interesting website about this is [selfh.st](https://selfh.st/). It’s a [compilation of different apps](https://selfh.st/apps/), amongst others: * [RSS Readers](https://selfh.st/apps/?tag=RSS), * [Photo Management](https://selfh.st/apps/?tag=Photos), * [Bookmarking](https://selfh.st/apps/?tag=Bookmarks), * [Recipes](https://selfh.st/apps/?tag=Recipes), * and around [165 more categories](https://selfh.st/apps/). A downside of this plethora of self-hosting apps is that they each have their unique software stack and requirements. While this complexity can be alleviated with virtualization solutions like Docker, it means that with every additional app, the hardware requirements for your host go up. When using WordPress as a basis for self-hosting, the software requirements for all plugins are about the same, namely PHP and MySQL. This means as soon as you have WordPress hosting, you have your basis for self-hosting, without having to go through software requirements. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, WordPress out of the box is open and public. Thus, if you want to self-host just for yourself (and friends and family, i.e. logged- in users), the first step needs to be to install [a “Private WordPress” plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/private/). Then, also, there are not yet many plugins that provide a self-host experience. While I am only doing this on the side (for now), I am working on changing this by building more of these plugins. I recently realized that this was a big part of what I am trying to do with my [Friends plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/friends/). While it even has a public component (you might reblog what you read in it), I framed it as the center of your online activity. From a self-host perspective, it’s a combined RSS Reader with a publishing platform that has ActivityPub support (thus making it a [full Mastodon instance](https://alex.kirk.at/2024/06/13/your-wordpress-as-your-personal-mastodon-instance/)), e-mail and keyword notifications, post format support, etc. Additionally, its independence from major third-party social networks is equivalent to the goals of self-hosting. It can’t be shutdown on you because the service was bought or turned out to be not profitable enough. Also, you can choose where to host it. So what does WordPress offer for self-hosting yet? Maybe let’s just revisit what I build and am using myself. These are all WordPress plugins: * RSS Reader: [Friends](https://wordpress.org/plugin/friends/) * Bookmarking: [Post Collection](https://github.com/akirk/friends-post-collection) * Read it Later: [Send to E-Reader](https://github.com/akirk/friends-send-to-e-reader) * Wiki: [Family Wiki](https://alex.kirk.at/2024/01/19/keeping-a-family-wiki/) * Private Family Blog: just WordPress, with [a forked Network Privacy plugin](https://github.com/akirk/ra-network-privacy/) * Mastodon Apps Compatibility: [Enable Mastodon Apps](https://wordpress.org/plugins/enable-mastodon-apps/) For Bookmarking, I also have ported my old project [thinkery.me](https://thinkery.me) to [a Thinkery WordPress plugin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/thinkery/), hopefully I’ll have time to give it the finishing touches. I would love to store my family’s recipies in such a WordPress environment, too. While self-hosting photo management also sounds tempting, I actually think that a private family blog is a superior alternative. We’re drowning in photos and videos, but being able to keep them along with a title and a story is much better than the endless streams in Google Photos and the like. I don’t know whether WordPress will ever offer as [large a selection of self-hosted apps](https://selfh.st/apps/) as WordPress plugins. But I do think that it’s a path worth following. It might not be a nerd’s favorite choice, but easy hosting and administration could allow WordPress to democratize self-hosting next. ###### Fediverse Reactions * [ ⌊Aslak Raanes⌉ ](https://mastodon.social/@aslakr) * [ ⌊Nangpa⌉ ](https://oslo.town/@Nangpa) * [ ⌊James Huff :prami:⌉ ](https://social.lol/@macmanx) * [ ⌊Christopher Kurth⌉ ](https://dewp.space/@christopher) * [ ⌊Helen Chong :prami_pride:⌉ ](https://social.lol/@helenchong) * [ ⌊HïMY SYeD🟩:mstdn:⌉ ](https://mstdn.ca/@HiMYSYeD) * [ ⌊Matthias Pfefferle⌉ ](https://mastodon.social/@pfefferle) * [ ⌊Oblomov⌉ ](https://sociale.network/@oblomov) * [ ⌊John Tierney⌉ ](https://mastodon.ie/@JohnTierney) * [ ⌊Buck Moon⌉ ](https://woof.group/@bootblackcub) * [ ⌊Peter Müller⌉ ](https://mastodon.social/@pmmueller) * [ ⌊Dan Q⌉ ](https://m.danq.me/@dan) * [ ⌊Danny van Kooten⌉ ](https://toot.re/@dvk) * [ ⌊Paul van Buuren 🍉⌉ ](https://social.van.buu.re/@paul) * [ ⌊sokai 🇺🇦 🕎⌉ ](https://openbiblio.social/@sokai) * [ ⌊Aslak Raanes⌉ ](https://mastodon.social/@aslakr) * [ ⌊Christopher Kurth⌉ ](https://dewp.space/@christopher) * [ ⌊Max⌉ ](https://social.lol/@zacatero) * [ ⌊HïMY SYeD🟩:mstdn:⌉ ](https://mstdn.ca/@HiMYSYeD) * [ ⌊Matthias Pfefferle⌉ ](https://mastodon.social/@pfefferle) * [ ⌊Oblomov⌉ ](https://sociale.network/@oblomov) * [ ⌊Ricardo Sasaki ☸️⌉ ](https://mastodon.social/@ricardosasaki) * [ ⌊Pixelcats⁷⌉ ](https://apobangpo.space/@pixelcats) * [ ⌊Wigbert B 🎻🏛🎭🎤🗞🎥📚⌉ ](https://mastodon.world/@wigbert) * [ ⌊Buck Moon⌉ ](https://woof.group/@bootblackcub) * [ ⌊Frank_NL⌉ ](https://mastodon.hypnoguys.com/@Frank_NL) * [ ⌊Peter Müller⌉ ](https://mastodon.social/@pmmueller) * [ ⌊Dan Q⌉ ](https://m.danq.me/@dan) * [ ⌊jfroehlich⌉ ](https://mastodon.social/@jfroehlich) * [ ⌊Carsten Bach⌉ ](https://dewp.space/@carstingaxion) * [ ⌊Dj Mishka Lost⌉ ](https://mastodon.social/@MishkaLost) * [ ⌊Kelson⌉ ](https://notes.kvibber.com/@kelson) * [ ⌊Timo Tijhof⌉ ](https://fosstodon.org/@krinkle) * [ ⌊sokai 🇺🇦 🕎⌉ ](https://openbiblio.social/@sokai) [WordPress](https://alex.kirk.at/category/wordpress/) Read this next [Previous Post](https://alex.kirk.at/2024/12/07/2147970/) ## 12 responses to “WordPress as a Self-Hosting Platform” 1. [alex.kirk.at](https://alex.kirk.at/) 2. [August 25, 2022](https://alex.kirk.at/2025/01/24/wordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-87989) 3. Hi there, I’m Alex Kirk, a web application programmer and experienced lead of remote teams, based in Vienna, Austria. I speak German and English. I… 4. [Log in to Reply](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Falex.kirk.at%2F2025%2F01%2F24%2Fwordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform%2F) 5. ![Alex Kirk Avatar](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/cropped- 2025.Alex-512x512-1-48x48.jpg) 6. [Alex Kirk](https://alex.kirk.at/) 7. [January 25, 2025](https://alex.kirk.at/2025/01/24/wordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-87931) 8. Actually this was initially tried (2010-2013) but failed. For example, GlotPress [https://glotpress.blog/](https://glotpress.blog/) was initially based on BackPress [https://backpress.org/](https://backpress.org/) . GlotPress was later made a WordPress plugin because BackPress was falling behind. But the point of my post is the user perspective. Granted, I don’t know Nextcloud well, but it seems very file centric and around office applications. I think WordPress is very easy to install and to install plugins to which makes installing self-hosting plugins very easy. 9. [Log in to Reply](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Falex.kirk.at%2F2025%2F01%2F24%2Fwordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform%2F) 10. [Simon Kraft](https://wpletter.de/author/simon/) 11. [January 27, 2025](https://alex.kirk.at/2025/01/24/wordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-87936) 12. Post Status verkauft Im WordPress-Ökosystem bestand in den vergangenen Jahren kein Mangel an Aufkäufen und Übernahmen. Produkte und Unternehmen wechseln Inhaber* innen und als Benutzer*innen können wir in vielen Fällen nur hoffen, dass auch das neue Management in unserem Sinne handeln wird. Am vergangen Mittwoch wurde bekannt gegeben, dass Post Status, das sich in den letzten […] 13. [Log in to Reply](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Falex.kirk.at%2F2025%2F01%2F24%2Fwordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform%2F) 14. ![Wigbert B 🎻🏛🎭🎤🗞🎥📚 Avatar](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-content/uploads/sites/ 2/activitypub/actors/2825495/cc73db2f80f07eaebfdd32186632a832.webp) 15. [Wigbert B 🎻🏛🎭🎤🗞🎥📚](https://mastodon.world/@wigbert) 16. [January 28, 2025](https://mastodon.world/@wigbert/113905123224696183) 17. [@alex](https://alex.kirk.at/author/alex/) this sounds quite interesting!but hasn’t [#WordPress](https://mastodon.world/tags/WordPress) been plagued by all kinds of privacy vulnerabilities in the past? the concept of self-hosting my private data should have the least access points possible, no? 18. a. ![Alex Kirk Avatar](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/cropped- 2025.Alex-512x512-1-48x48.jpg) b. [Alex Kirk](https://alex.kirk.at/) c. [January 28, 2025](https://alex.kirk.at/2025/01/24/wordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-87947) d. I agree that you want to ensure this for your private data. Thus it does require a privacy plugin that doesn’t leak information indeed, for example that also restricts the REST endpoints. I believe that if there was a bit of a movement, a “best privacy plugin” would emerge like Yoast for SEO plugins. Also, as an option, I mentioned Synology and QNAP as examples of how you can also host this home-network-internally on your NAS easily. e. [Log in to Reply](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Falex.kirk.at%2F2025%2F01%2F24%2Fwordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform%2F) f. a. ![Wigbert B 🎻🏛🎭🎤🗞🎥📚 Avatar](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-content/uploads/sites/ 2/activitypub/actors/2825495/cc73db2f80f07eaebfdd32186632a832.webp) b. [Wigbert B 🎻🏛🎭🎤🗞🎥📚](https://mastodon.world/@wigbert) c. [January 28, 2025](https://mastodon.world/@wigbert/113905370535999568) d. [@alex](https://alex.kirk.at/author/alex/) thank you – but while I host my own website since 20+ years with [#WordPress](https://mastodon.world/tags/WordPress), this sounds a little too technical for me – (so I am a good example for a user, who need simple & easy explanations / directions …)nevertheless, I’ll observe this closely – together with one of my sons, who studies computer science 😬 for our plans of a family NAS 19. ![harmonicarichard Avatar](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/activitypub/ actors/2825500/8c9437e651769d7864f323e4eb96b1b6.webp) 20. [harmonicarichard](https://techhub.social/@harmonicarichard) 21. [January 28, 2025](https://techhub.social/@harmonicarichard/113905129004825641) 22. [@alex](https://alex.kirk.at/author/alex/) I have been using WordPress since 2004 or so. Before that I needed either to re-work the navigation each time I added a page, or use server side include to make navigation updates simpler. Classicpress is being developed in parallel. 23. ![Morten Juhl-Johansen Avatar](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/ activitypub/actors/2825496/1726313b2a77cd50e92b21d4d51b26e5.webp) 24. [Morten Juhl-Johansen](https://mstdn.dk/@mjj) 25. [January 28, 2025](https://mstdn.dk/@mjj/113905352068587948) 26. [@alex](https://alex.kirk.at/author/alex/) It does have a lot of platform features. I have used an installation as my document management for my ebooks. 27. ![Brian J. Link Avatar](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/activitypub/ actors/2825489/869db50345f9e50f8d21b1e0be17170a.webp) 28. [Brian J. Link](https://mas.to/@brianjlink) 29. [January 28, 2025](https://mas.to/@brianjlink/113905764306827180) 30. [@alex](https://alex.kirk.at/author/alex/) There are quite a few ERP, CRM, and document management plugins out there for WordPress. They all have their pros and cons, but for people looking for self-hosted business software alternatives, there are some solutions worth trying. 31. ![Xander Avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/?s=48&d=mm&r=g) 32. [Xander](https://fusil.uk/publications/author/xander/) 33. [January 28, 2025](https://alex.kirk.at/2025/01/24/wordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-87965) 34. If WordPress wasn’t able to be self hosted, I wouldn’t be using it! WordPress is also incredibly powerful I find, and it’s not too demanding to self-host or difficult to set up. Your friends plugin also makes it much more enjoyable! 35. [Log in to Reply](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Falex.kirk.at%2F2025%2F01%2F24%2Fwordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform%2F) 36. [Fediverse Report – #104 – The Fediverse Report](https://fediversereport.com/fediverse-report-104/) 37. [February 18, 2025](https://alex.kirk.at/2025/01/24/wordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-87977) 38. […] WordPress as a Self-Hosting Platform – Alex Kirk […] 39. [Log in to Reply](https://alex.kirk.at/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Falex.kirk.at%2F2025%2F01%2F24%2Fwordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform%2F) 40. [Dan Knauss](https://wpyeg.org/author/dpknauss/) 41. [April 24, 2025](https://alex.kirk.at/2025/01/24/wordpress-as-a-self-hosting-platform/comment-page-1/#comment-87995) 42. Because I hope it makes us the target of friendly “DDoS” attacks, I finally installed and activated the ActivityPub plugin on WPYEG.org, allowing it to interact with the Fediverse like a Mastodon account. I also added the Friends and Webmention plugins, which facilitate decentralized interactions, creating a community-focused platform. Lots of details about that plus other WordPress news and hacking around. 43. 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