diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9bf6fac5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+WORDPRESS_DB_HOST=host.docker.internal:3307
+WORDPRESS_DB_USER=dbuser
+WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD=dbpassword
+WORDPRESS_DB_NAME=dbname
+WORDPRESS_TABLE_PREFIX=wp_
+WP_DEBUG=true
+SITE_URL=http://localhost:8080
+
diff --git a/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6bdb9870
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+## Description
+
+Please include a summary of the change and which issue is fixed. Please also include relevant motivation and context. List any dependencies that are required for this change.
+
+Fixes # (issue)
+
+## Type of change
+
+Please delete options that are not relevant.
+
+- [ ] Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
+- [ ] New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
+- [ ] Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
+- [ ] This change requires a documentation update
+
+## Screenshots
+
+## Checklist:
+
+- [ ] My code follows the style guidelines of this project
+- [ ] I have performed a self-review of my own code
+- [ ] I have commented my code, particularly in hard-to-understand areas
+- [ ] I have made corresponding changes to the documentation
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-to-dev.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-to-dev.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a5882831
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-to-dev.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+name: Deploy to WP Engine
+on:
+  push:
+    branches:
+      - main
+jobs:
+  build:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
+      - name: GitHub Action Deploy to WP Engine
+        uses: wpengine/github-action-wpe-site-deploy@v3
+        with:
+          WPE_SSHG_KEY_PRIVATE: ${{ secrets.WPE_SSHG_KEY_PRIVATE }}
+          WPE_ENV: academyafridev
+          SRC_PATH: "wp-content/"
+          REMOTE_PATH: "wp-content/"
+          FLAGS: -azvr --inplace --exclude=".*"  --exclude=wp-content/mu-plugins/
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 2bcb9608..3f9c8036 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -61,20 +61,9 @@ wp-content/mu-plugins/wpe-wp-sign-on-plugin*
 /xmlrpc.php
 /wp-admin
 /wp-includes
-/wp-content/themes/twentyten
-/wp-content/themes/boss
-/wp-content/themes/boss-child
-/wp-content/themes/twentyeleven
-/wp-content/themes/twentytwelve
-/wp-content/themes/twentythirteen
-/wp-content/themes/twentyfourteen
-/wp-content/themes/twentyfifteen
-/wp-content/themes/twentysixteen
-/wp-content/themes/twentyseventeen
-/wp-content/themes/twentyeighteen
-/wp-content/themes/twentynineteen
-/wp-content/themes/twentytwenty
-/wp-content/plugins/akismet*
+/wp-content/themes/*
+!/wp-content/themes/academyAfrica
+!/wp-content/themes/hello-elementor
 /wp-content/plugins/*
 !/wp-content/plugins/index.php
 /wp-content/mu-plugins
@@ -84,6 +73,7 @@ apple-touch-icon.png
 favicon.ico
 wpe-deploy-status-academyafrica
 robots.txt
+wordpress
 
 # large/disallowed file types
 # a CDN should be used for these
@@ -118,4 +108,6 @@ robots.txt
 *.asx
 *.asf
 *.wmv
-*.avi
\ No newline at end of file
+*.avi
+
+.env
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5b2188a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+### Repository Setup Guide
+
+1. **Add SSH Key to WP Engine**
+
+   To get started, add your SSH key to WP Engine. For more information, refer to the [WP Engine SSH Gateway Documentation](https://wpengine.com/support/ssh-gateway/).
+
+2. **Create a Working Directory and Clone the Repository**
+
+   Create a working directory and clone this repository into it.
+
+3. **Download and Restore Backups from WP Engine**
+
+   Download and restore the latest backups from WP Engine using the instructions provided in the [WP Engine Restore Documentation](https://wpengine.com/support/restore/). Unzip the backups into your working directory.
+
+4. **Access the Remote Database Using SSH**
+
+   Use SSH and local port forwarding to access the remote database. Here's an example command:
+
+   ```bash
+   ssh -L 3307:127.0.0.1:3306 -i ~/.ssh/wpengine_ed25519 -o IdentitiesOnly=yes sacademyafrica@sacademyafrica.ssh.wpengine.net
+   ```
+
+   For more details, refer to the [WP Engine Remote Database Access Guide](https://wpengine.com/support/setting-remote-database-access/).
+
+5. **Update Environment Variables**
+
+   Update the environment variables in the `.env` file using the database credentials from WP Engine. You can find the credentials with the following command once you have SSH access to the remote database:
+
+   ```bash
+   grep WPENGINE_SESSION_DB_PASSWORD ./sites/environmentname/_wpeprivate/config.json
+   ```
+
+   To access the admin dashboard from localhost, add the following to `wp-config.php` in the `wordpress` directory after the `WP_DEBUG` line:
+
+   ```php
+   define( 'WP_SITEURL', 'http://localhost:8080' );
+   define( 'WP_HOME', 'http://localhost:8080' );
+   ```
+
+6. **Start Containers**
+
+   Run the following command to start the containers using Docker Compose:
+
+   ```bash
+   docker-compose up -d
+   ```
+
+7. **Access the Site**
+
+   You can now access the site at [http://localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080).
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/contrib/docker-compose/nginx/nginx.conf b/contrib/docker-compose/nginx/nginx.conf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..55b5be5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contrib/docker-compose/nginx/nginx.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+server {
+   listen 80;
+   listen [::]:80;
+
+   server_name localhost;
+   ## Your only path reference.
+   root /var/www/html;
+
+   index index.php;
+
+   location = /favicon.ico {
+      log_not_found off;
+      access_log off;
+   }
+   
+   location = /robots.txt {
+      allow all;
+      log_not_found off;
+      access_log off;
+   }
+   
+   location / {
+      # include the "?$args" part so non-default permalinks doesn't break when using query string
+      try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
+   }
+   
+   location ~ \.php$ {
+      #NOTE: You should have "cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0;" in php.ini\
+      try_files $uri =404;
+      fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
+      fastcgi_pass wordpress:9000;
+      fastcgi_index index.php;
+      include fastcgi_params;
+      fastcgi_intercept_errors on;
+      fastcgi_param  SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
+      fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
+      fastcgi_read_timeout 600;
+   }
+   client_max_body_size 100M;
+
+   location ~ /\.ht {
+      deny all;
+   }
+
+   location ~* \.(js|css|png|jpg|jpeg|gif|ico)$ {
+      expires max;
+      log_not_found off;
+   }
+}
diff --git a/contrib/docker-compose/php/uploads.ini b/contrib/docker-compose/php/uploads.ini
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1169da3d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/contrib/docker-compose/php/uploads.ini
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+upload_max_filesize = 128M
+post_max_size = 128M
+max_execution_time = 600
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d5d6b1e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+version: '3.9'
+
+services:
+  wordpress:
+    image: wordpress:6.3.2
+    restart: unless-stopped
+    env_file: .env
+    ports:
+      - 8080:80
+    environment:
+      WORDPRESS_CONFIG_EXTRA: |
+          define( 'WP_SITEURL', '${SITE_URL}' );
+          define( 'WP_HOME', '${SITE_URL}' );
+          define( 'WP_DEBUG', ${WP_DEBUG} );
+    volumes:
+      - ./wordpress:/var/www/html
+      - ./wp-content/themes:/var/www/html/wp-content/themes
+      - ./wp-content/plugins:/var/www/html/wp-content/plugins
+      - ./contrib/docker-compose/php/uploads.ini:/usr/local/etc/php/conf.d/uploads.ini
+