What is Containerisation?
Containerisation means packaging your application, its libraries, and its environment configuration into a single self-contained unit—a container. Containers run the same way across machines, eliminating environment drift, setup inconsistencies, and deployment surprises.
It’s like creating a portable box for your app: if it works in the box on one machine, it will work the same on any other.
Why This Matters
If your team has ever said “it works on my machine,” containerisation solves that. It brings predictability and consistency across your environments.
- Developers spend less time debugging setup issues
- Staging matches production with fewer surprises
- Onboarding new team members becomes faster
- You reduce manual steps and environment-specific quirks
Containerisation also lays the foundation for cloud-native deployment and orchestration—if and when you need it.
What We Do
We handle full Docker containerisation for your application. That includes:
- Writing or refactoring your
Dockerfile
- Creating
docker-compose.yml
files for multi-service setups (e.g., app + database + cache) - Setting up local development environments that mirror production
- Handling environment variables and secure secrets
- Optimising images for performance and size
- Providing clear documentation for your team
- Optional integration into your CI/CD pipelines
Everything is tailored to your app and your team’s workflow—no generic boilerplates.
Technologies We Use
- Docker
- Docker Compose
- GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Bitbucket Pipelines
- AWS ECS, Fargate (optional)
- Kubernetes (optional, on request)
- Vortex(Opens in a new tab/window) – our open-source Drupal project template for clean, Docker-ready Drupal builds
Kickstart your next Drupal project with Vortex, our battle-tested, Docker-ready starter kit.
Who This Is For
This service is ideal if:
- You’re tired of “works on my machine” bugs
- You want consistent, reliable environments from dev to prod
- Your team is growing and you need faster onboarding
- You’re preparing to migrate to the cloud or CI/CD
We’ve helped solo developers, digital agencies, and government teams build robust containerised setups they can trust.
Real Example
A government client was running a Drupal site with Apache, MySQL, and Solr across separate machines. We containerised the full stack with Docker Compose, reducing local setup time from 4 hours to under 15 minutes. New developers could now start contributing on day one.
FAQs
Do I need Kubernetes?
No. For most teams, Docker and Docker Compose are enough. We only recommend orchestration platforms when scaling demands it.
Will this change how my team works?
Yes—and that’s a good thing. But we ease the transition with clean docs and optional team walkthroughs.
Can you integrate this with CI/CD?
Absolutely. We often combine this with pipeline setup to fully automate builds, tests, and deploys.