Blue-Green Updates for WordPress on a Single Lightsail Instance
Even small WordPress sites can deploy with near-zero interruption by preparing a green copy and switching traffic intentionally.
Step 1: Mirror app files into versioned release folders
/opt/bitnami/releases/2026-03-11-01/
/opt/bitnami/releases/2026-03-11-02/
ln -sfn /opt/bitnami/releases/2026-03-11-02 /opt/bitnami/current
Step 2: Run health checks before cutover
curl -f http://127.0.0.1/wp-login.php
curl -f http://127.0.0.1/category/16/
Step 3: Keep rollback pointer for instant recovery
ln -sfn /opt/bitnami/releases/2026-03-11-01 /opt/bitnami/current
sudo /opt/bitnami/ctlscript.sh restart apache
Pitfall
Deploying directly in-place with no reversible release pointer.
Verification
- Health checks pass on new release before traffic switch.
- Rollback takes under one minute.
- Release directories are immutable after activation.