Skill

Interactive guide to deploy a production-ready WordPress site for international trade businesses. Triggers on "build a trade website", "deploy wordpress trade site", "set up B2B website", or similar requests.

WordPress Trade Site Builder

Deploy a production-ready WordPress trade site from scratch through 9 interactive phases. Based on the wordpress-trade-starter template.

Principle: Automate everything possible. Only pause when user decisions or information are required. When errors occur, diagnose and fix them proactively — don't tell the user to go fix things themselves.

Interaction: Use AskUserQuestion for all user-facing questions. Report progress after each phase, then continue to the next.

Data flow: Information collected in each phase (business info, SSH details, domain, etc.) is reused in subsequent phases. Key data is labeled with variable names for reference.

---

Phase 1: Collect Business Information

Before any technical work, understand the user's business needs.

AskUserQuestion (collect sequentially):

1. Company name — "What is your company name? (Both local language and English)"

   • Example: TitanPuls Technology Co., Ltd.
   • Record as COMPANY_EN (and COMPANY_LOCAL if provided)

2. Main products — "What products do you mainly sell? (Brief description)"

   • Example: Semi-trailers, construction machinery
   • Record as PRODUCTS

3. Target markets — "Which markets do you primarily target?" (multiSelect)

   • Africa
   • Middle East
   • Southeast Asia
   • Latin America
   • Europe
   • North America
   • Record as TARGET_MARKETS

4. Languages — "Which languages should your website support?" (multiSelect, recommend based on target markets)

   • English (Recommended)
   • Chinese
   • Russian
   • Spanish
   • French
   • Arabic
   • Record as LANGUAGES

5. Contact info — "How should customers reach you?"

   • WhatsApp number (with country code)
   • Business email
   • Record as WHATSAPP and EMAIL

Summary confirmation: Display collected information and AskUserQuestion to confirm correctness.

---

Phase 2: Server Preparation

2a. Server status

AskUserQuestion: "Do you already have a Linux server?"

• I have a server — Collect SSH details
• I need guidance — Recommend datacenter locations and providers based on TARGET_MARKETS

Purchase guidance (if needed):

Recommend based on target market:

Target Market	Recommended DC	Recommended Providers
Europe/Africa	Germany/Netherlands	Contabo, Hetzner
North America	US East/West Coast	DigitalOcean, Vultr
Southeast Asia	Singapore	Vultr, Alibaba Cloud
Middle East	Dubai/Bahrain	AWS, Alibaba Cloud
Latin America	US Miami	DigitalOcean

Recommended specs: 2 cores / 2GB RAM / 40GB SSD ($10-20/month). Tell user to continue after purchase.

2b. SSH connection

AskUserQuestion: "Please provide your server SSH details:"

• IP address → SERVER_IP
• SSH port (default 22) → SSH_PORT
• Username (usually root) → SSH_USER
• Authentication: password or SSH key

Verify connection:

ssh -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -p ${SSH_PORT} ${SSH_USER}@${SERVER_IP} "echo CONNECTION_OK && uname -a && free -m && df -h /"

• CONNECTION_OK → Continue
• Connection failed → Check IP/port/credentials, prompt user to correct

2c. Server initialization

Execute via SSH:

# System update
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Set timezone
timedatectl set-timezone UTC

# Create swap (if RAM <= 2GB and no swap exists)
if [ $(free -m | awk '/^Mem:/{print $2}') -le 2048 ] && [ ! -f /swapfile ]; then
    fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
    chmod 600 /swapfile
    mkswap /swapfile
    swapon /swapfile
    echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' >> /etc/fstab
fi

# Firewall
ufw allow 22/tcp
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw --force enable

# Essential tools
apt install -y curl git unzip htop

Verify: ufw status shows 22/80/443 open.

---

Phase 3: Docker Deployment

3a. Install Docker

if ! command -v docker &>/dev/null; then
    curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
    systemctl enable docker && systemctl start docker
fi
docker compose version || apt-get install -y docker-compose-plugin

Verify: docker compose version outputs a version number.

3b. Clone template

cd /opt
git clone https://github.com/iPythoning/wordpress-trade-starter.git wordpress
cd /opt/wordpress

3c. Generate .env

AskUserQuestion: "Please provide the following:"

• Domain name (e.g. example.com) → DOMAIN
• MySQL root password (auto-generate recommended) → MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD
• MySQL user password (auto-generate recommended) → MYSQL_PASSWORD

If user chooses auto-generation:

MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 16)
MYSQL_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -base64 16)

Write .env:

cat > /opt/wordpress/.env << EOF
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
MYSQL_DATABASE=wordpress
MYSQL_USER=wordpress
MYSQL_PASSWORD=${MYSQL_PASSWORD}
DOMAIN=${DOMAIN}
EMAIL=${EMAIL}
EOF

Important: Display the generated passwords to the user and remind them to save securely.

3d. Configure Nginx

sed -i "s/YOUR_DOMAIN/${DOMAIN}/g" /opt/wordpress/nginx.conf

3e. Start containers

cd /opt/wordpress
docker compose up -d

Verify:

docker compose ps
# Confirm all three containers (db, wordpress, nginx) are running/healthy

Wait for WordPress to be ready:

for i in $(seq 1 30); do
    curl -sf http://localhost > /dev/null 2>&1 && break
    sleep 2
done

• All 3 containers running → Continue
• db unhealthy → Check docker compose logs db, common cause is password format issues
• wordpress not starting → Check docker compose logs wordpress

---

Phase 4: SSL Certificate

4a. Choose method

AskUserQuestion: "Which SSL certificate method?"

• Let's Encrypt (Recommended) — Free, auto-renewal, requires domain A record pointing to server IP
• Cloudflare Origin Certificate — For users already using Cloudflare proxy

4b-A. Let's Encrypt

Prerequisite: Domain A records must point to SERVER_IP. If not configured, guide the user to add in their DNS panel:

• DOMAIN → A → SERVER_IP
• www.DOMAIN → A → SERVER_IP

# Stop nginx to free port 80
cd /opt/wordpress && docker compose stop nginx

apt install -y certbot
certbot certonly --standalone -d ${DOMAIN} -d www.${DOMAIN} --email ${EMAIL} --agree-tos --non-interactive

mkdir -p /opt/wordpress/ssl
cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/${DOMAIN}/fullchain.pem /opt/wordpress/ssl/
cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/${DOMAIN}/privkey.pem /opt/wordpress/ssl/

# Auto-renewal cron
(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "0 3 * * * certbot renew --quiet --pre-hook 'cd /opt/wordpress && docker compose stop nginx' --post-hook 'cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/${DOMAIN}/fullchain.pem /opt/wordpress/ssl/ && cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/${DOMAIN}/privkey.pem /opt/wordpress/ssl/ && cd /opt/wordpress && docker compose start nginx'") | crontab -

# Restart nginx
docker compose start nginx

4b-B. Cloudflare Origin Certificate

Guide the user through Cloudflare Dashboard:

1. SSL/TLS → Origin Server → Create Certificate
2. Choose RSA, 15-year validity
3. Copy Certificate and Private Key

mkdir -p /opt/wordpress/ssl
# User pastes certificate content
cat > /opt/wordpress/ssl/fullchain.pem << 'EOF'
<user pastes certificate here>
EOF
cat > /opt/wordpress/ssl/privkey.pem << 'EOF'
<user pastes private key here>
EOF

4c. Verify HTTPS

docker compose restart nginx
curl -I https://${DOMAIN} 2>/dev/null | head -5

• HTTP/2 200 → Success
• Connection failed → Check DNS resolution, certificate paths, nginx logs

---

Phase 5: WordPress Initialization

5a. Setup wizard

Tell the user to open https://${DOMAIN}/wp-admin/install.php in their browser and fill in:

• Site Title: COMPANY_EN
• Username: suggest avoiding "admin" (security)
• Password: strong password
• Email: EMAIL

AskUserQuestion: "Have you completed the WordPress setup wizard?"

5b. Install WP-CLI

docker compose exec wordpress bash -c '
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar
chmod +x wp-cli.phar
mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp
'

Verify: docker compose exec wordpress wp --info --allow-root

5c. Base configuration

docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root option update blogname "${COMPANY_EN}"
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root option update blogdescription "${PRODUCTS} - ${COMPANY_EN}"
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root option update timezone_string "UTC"
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root option update date_format "Y-m-d"
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root option update permalink_structure "/%postname%/"

# Delete default content
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root post delete 1 2 --force
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root widget reset --all

---

Phase 6: Theme & Plugin Installation

6a. Astra theme + Child Theme

docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root theme install astra --activate

# Create Child Theme
docker compose exec wordpress bash -c '
mkdir -p /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/astra-child
cat > /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/astra-child/style.css << "CSS"
/*
Theme Name: Astra Child
Template: astra
Version: 1.0.0
*/
CSS
cat > /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/astra-child/functions.php << "PHP"
<?php
add_action("wp_enqueue_scripts", function() {
    wp_enqueue_style("parent-style", get_template_directory_uri() . "/style.css");
});
PHP
'
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root theme activate astra-child

6b. Batch install plugins

Install plugins one by one to track failures:

PLUGINS="elementor seo-by-rank-math wp-super-cache imagify jetpack-boost polylang contact-form-7 flamingo chaty ecommerce-product-catalog"
for plugin in $PLUGINS; do
    docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root plugin install $plugin --activate 2>&1 || echo "WARN: $plugin install failed, manual install needed"
done

Note: Some plugins may not be in the wordpress.org directory. For failed installs, inform the user to install manually from the admin panel (Plugins → Add New).

6c. Configure CF7 + Flamingo

Critical: CF7 only sends emails by default — if the recipient email is wrong, all inquiries are lost permanently. Flamingo stores every submission in the WP database as a safety net.

After installing, verify:

# Verify Flamingo is active (auto-stores CF7 submissions)
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root plugin list --status=active --field=name | grep flamingo

# Update CF7 form recipient to the admin email (not a non-existent address)
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root post list --post_type=wpcf7_contact_form --fields=ID,post_title
# For each form, verify the recipient matches EMAIL:
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root post meta get <FORM_ID> _mail
# If recipient is wrong, update it via WP Admin → Contact → Forms → Edit

Inquiries are viewable at: WP Admin → Flamingo → Inbound Messages.

6d. Configure Imagify

AskUserQuestion: "Do you have an Imagify API key? (Free signup at imagify.io, 20MB/month free tier)"

• Yes → Collect IMAGIFY_API_KEY
• Skip for now → Remind user to configure later in Settings → Imagify

6e. Configure WP Super Cache

docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root super-cache enable 2>/dev/null || true

If WP-CLI doesn't support it, tell the user to go to Settings → WP Super Cache:

1. Enable Caching
2. Advanced → Use mod_rewrite

6f. Jetpack Boost

Tell the user to enable in the admin panel:

• Critical CSS generation
• Lazy image loading
• Concatenate JS/CSS

---

Phase 7: Multilingual + SEO

7a. Polylang configuration

Configure based on the LANGUAGES list from Phase 1:

# Set English as default language
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root pll lang create "English" en en_US

Add each selected language:

• Chinese: wp pll lang create "Chinese" zh zh_CN
• Russian: wp pll lang create "Russian" ru ru_RU
• Spanish: wp pll lang create "Spanish" es es_ES
• French: wp pll lang create "French" fr fr_FR
• Arabic: wp pll lang create "Arabic" ar ar

Note: Polylang WP-CLI support may be limited. If commands fail, guide the user to add languages manually in Languages → Settings.

7b. Rank Math SEO configuration

Guide the user through the Rank Math setup wizard:

1. Business Type → Select "Company"
2. Company Name → COMPANY_EN
3. Website URL → https://${DOMAIN}
4. Social Profiles → If available
5. Sitemap Settings → Enable XML Sitemap
6. Schema → Organization

7c. Create base pages

docker compose exec wordpress bash -c '
wp --allow-root post create --post_type=page --post_title="Home" --post_status=publish --post_content="<!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Welcome to '"${COMPANY_EN}"'. We specialize in '"${PRODUCTS}"'.</p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->"
wp --allow-root post create --post_type=page --post_title="About Us" --post_status=publish --post_content="<!-- wp:paragraph --><p>About '"${COMPANY_EN}"'</p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->"
wp --allow-root post create --post_type=page --post_title="Products" --post_status=publish --post_content="<!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Our product catalog</p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->"
wp --allow-root post create --post_type=page --post_title="Contact" --post_status=publish --post_content="<!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Get in touch with us. WhatsApp: '"${WHATSAPP}"' Email: '"${EMAIL}"'</p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->[contact-form-7]"
wp --allow-root post create --post_type=page --post_title="FAQ" --post_status=publish --post_content="<!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Frequently Asked Questions</p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->"
wp --allow-root post create --post_type=page --post_title="Blog" --post_status=publish --post_content=""
'

# Set Home as front page, Blog as posts page
HOME_ID=$(docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root post list --post_type=page --name=home --field=ID)
BLOG_ID=$(docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root post list --post_type=page --name=blog --field=ID)
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root option update show_on_front page
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root option update page_on_front $HOME_ID
docker compose exec wordpress wp --allow-root option update page_for_posts $BLOG_ID

7d. Create navigation menu

docker compose exec wordpress bash -c '
wp --allow-root menu create "Main Menu"
wp --allow-root menu item add-post "Main Menu" $(wp --allow-root post list --post_type=page --name=home --field=ID) --title="Home"
wp --allow-root menu item add-post "Main Menu" $(wp --allow-root post list --post_type=page --name=about-us --field=ID) --title="About"
wp --allow-root menu item add-post "Main Menu" $(wp --allow-root post list --post_type=page --name=products --field=ID) --title="Products"
wp --allow-root menu item add-post "Main Menu" $(wp --allow-root post list --post_type=page --name=faq --field=ID) --title="FAQ"
wp --allow-root menu item add-post "Main Menu" $(wp --allow-root post list --post_type=page --name=blog --field=ID) --title="Blog"
wp --allow-root menu item add-post "Main Menu" $(wp --allow-root post list --post_type=page --name=contact --field=ID) --title="Contact"
wp --allow-root menu location assign "Main Menu" primary
'

---

Phase 8: Cloudflare + Performance

8a. Cloudflare DNS

AskUserQuestion: "Are you using Cloudflare for DNS management?"

• Yes → Guide configuration
• No → Skip Cloudflare section, only do local performance optimization

Cloudflare configuration guide:

1. Add site DOMAIN in Cloudflare Dashboard
2. Change domain NS records to Cloudflare-provided nameservers
3. Add DNS records:
   • @ → A → SERVER_IP (Proxied)
   • www → CNAME → DOMAIN (Proxied)

8b. SSL/TLS settings

In Cloudflare Dashboard:

• SSL/TLS → Overview → Full (Strict)
• Edge Certificates → Always Use HTTPS → On
• Edge Certificates → Minimum TLS Version → 1.2
• Edge Certificates → Automatic HTTPS Rewrites → On

8c. Cache rules

In Cloudflare Dashboard → Caching:

• Caching Level → Standard
• Browser Cache TTL → Respect Existing Headers
• Always Online → On

Page Rules (if free quota available):

• *${DOMAIN}/wp-admin/* → Cache Level: Bypass
• *${DOMAIN}/wp-login.php* → Cache Level: Bypass
• *${DOMAIN}/* → Cache Level: Cache Everything, Edge TTL: 2 hours

8d. Verify triple-layer cache

# Test 1: Check Nginx proxy cache
curl -I https://${DOMAIN} 2>/dev/null | grep -i x-cache-status
# Expected: X-Cache-Status: HIT (on second request)

# Test 2: Check Cloudflare cache
curl -I https://${DOMAIN} 2>/dev/null | grep -i cf-cache-status
# Expected: cf-cache-status: HIT

# Test 3: Check WP Super Cache
docker compose exec wordpress ls /var/www/html/wp-content/cache/supercache/ 2>/dev/null && echo "SUPER_CACHE_OK" || echo "SUPER_CACHE_EMPTY"

8e. PageSpeed test

Tell the user to visit Google PageSpeed Insights: https://pagespeed.web.dev/analysis?url=https://${DOMAIN}

Target metrics:

• Desktop Score: >= 75
• Mobile Score: >= 60
• TTFB: < 500ms
• LCP: < 2.5s

---

Phase 8.5: GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)

8.5a. Deploy GEO functions

# Copy GEO functions to child theme
docker compose exec wordpress bash -c '
curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/iPythoning/wordpress-trade-starter/main/assets/geo-functions.php \
  -o /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/astra-child/geo-functions.php
'

Add configuration to child theme's functions.php:

docker compose exec wordpress bash -c '
cat >> /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/astra-child/functions.php << "GEO"

// GEO Configuration
define("GEO_SAMEAS", []);  // Add Wikipedia, LinkedIn, YouTube URLs later
define("GEO_LANGUAGES", [${LANGUAGES_ARRAY}]);
define("GEO_CONTACT_EMAIL", "${EMAIL}");
define("GEO_CONTACT_PHONE", "${WHATSAPP}");
require_once get_stylesheet_directory() . "/geo-functions.php";
GEO
'

AskUserQuestion: "Do you have profiles on these platforms? (We'll add them to your schema for AI recognition)" (multiSelect)

• Wikipedia page
• LinkedIn company page
• YouTube channel
• Twitter/X account
• None yet — Skip

For each selected platform, collect the URL and add to GEO_SAMEAS array.

8.5b. Verify GEO deployment

# Check robots.txt has AI bots
curl -s https://${DOMAIN}/robots.txt | grep -c "User-agent:"
# Expected: 15+ entries (standard + AI tier 1 + tier 2 + SEO bots)

# Check llms.txt auto-generation
curl -s https://${DOMAIN}/llms.txt | head -5
# Expected: "# COMPANY_NAME" followed by description

# Check JSON-LD schema
curl -s https://${DOMAIN}/ | grep -o '"@type":"[^"]*"' | sort -u
# Expected: Organization, WebSite, BreadcrumbList

8.5c. Cloudflare AI bot access

Critical: Cloudflare's "Managed robots.txt" blocks AI crawlers by default.

Tell the user: Go to Cloudflare Dashboard → Security → Bots → Disable "Managed robots.txt".

Without this, all GEO work is nullified.

---

Phase 9: Security Hardening + Verification

9a. File permissions

# WordPress file permission best practices
docker compose exec wordpress bash -c '
find /var/www/html -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find /var/www/html -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
chmod 440 /var/www/html/wp-config.php
'

9b. Block xmlrpc.php

Already handled in nginx.conf via skip_cache rules. Additional blocking:

docker compose exec wordpress bash -c '
cat >> /var/www/html/.htaccess << "HTACCESS"

# Block xmlrpc.php
<Files xmlrpc.php>
    Require all denied
</Files>
HTACCESS
'

9c. Backup cron

# Database backup script
cat > /opt/wordpress/backup.sh << 'BACKUP'
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/opt/wordpress/backups"
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
docker compose -f /opt/wordpress/docker-compose.yml exec -T db mysqldump -u root -p${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD} wordpress > $BACKUP_DIR/db_$DATE.sql
gzip $BACKUP_DIR/db_$DATE.sql
# Keep only last 7 days of backups
find $BACKUP_DIR -name "*.sql.gz" -mtime +7 -delete
BACKUP
chmod +x /opt/wordpress/backup.sh

# Daily backup at 2am
(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "0 2 * * * /opt/wordpress/backup.sh") | crontab -

9d. UptimeRobot monitoring

AskUserQuestion: "Would you like to set up free UptimeRobot monitoring?"

• Yes → Guide user to register at uptimerobot.com and add:
  • Monitor Type: HTTPS
  • URL: https://${DOMAIN}
  • Interval: 5 minutes
  • Alert Contact: EMAIL
• Skip → Continue

9e. Final verification checklist

Run checks and report:

echo "=== WordPress Trade Site Verification Checklist ==="

# 1. Container status
docker compose -f /opt/wordpress/docker-compose.yml ps --format "table {{.Name}}\t{{.Status}}"

# 2. HTTPS
curl -sI https://${DOMAIN} | head -1

# 3. WordPress version
docker compose -f /opt/wordpress/docker-compose.yml exec wordpress wp --allow-root core version

# 4. Active plugins
docker compose -f /opt/wordpress/docker-compose.yml exec wordpress wp --allow-root plugin list --status=active --format=table

# 5. Published pages
docker compose -f /opt/wordpress/docker-compose.yml exec wordpress wp --allow-root post list --post_type=page --post_status=publish --format=table

# 6. SSL certificate expiry
echo | openssl s_client -connect ${DOMAIN}:443 -servername ${DOMAIN} 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -noout -dates

# 7. Cache status
curl -sI https://${DOMAIN} | grep -iE "x-cache-status|cf-cache-status"

Output a summary report:

All 3 containers running (WordPress + MySQL + Nginx)
HTTPS certificate valid, expires: YYYY-MM-DD
WordPress 6.7, X active plugins installed
6 base pages created + navigation menu
Multilingual configured with X languages
SEO (Rank Math) enabled
Triple-layer cache active
Database auto-backup configured
xmlrpc.php blocked
File permissions hardened
GEO: robots.txt has AI bot tiers, llms.txt serving, JSON-LD schemas active

Site URL:  https://${DOMAIN}
Admin URL: https://${DOMAIN}/wp-admin
Email:     ${EMAIL}
WhatsApp:  ${WHATSAPP}

---

Troubleshooting

Docker containers fail to start: Check docker compose logs <service>. Common issues: port already in use (lsof -i :80), insufficient disk space (df -h).

SSL certificate acquisition fails: Confirm DNS has propagated (dig ${DOMAIN}), port 80 is accessible. Let's Encrypt limits to 5 certificates per domain per week.

WordPress setup wizard doesn't appear: Check docker compose logs wordpress. If database connection fails, check if .env passwords contain special characters (need escaping).

Plugin installation fails: When WP-CLI fails, install manually from the admin panel (Plugins → Add New). Ensure the WordPress container can reach wordpress.org.

Low PageSpeed score: Confirm all three cache layers are active, Imagify has optimized existing images, Jetpack Boost Critical CSS has been generated. Clear all caches and retest.

SSH connection drops: Use screen or tmux for long-running commands. Reconnect with screen -r to resume session.