diff --git a/.env b/.env
index a2d402c..5b5d3a2 100644
--- a/.env
+++ b/.env
@@ -1,9 +1,26 @@
-# Add Environment Variables
+# Environment variables for django/web service.
+SECRET_KEY=5(15ds+i2+%ik6z&!yer+ga9m=e%jcqiz_5wszg)r-z!2--b2d
+DB_NAME=django_db
+DB_USER=todo
+DB_PASS=pass
+DB_HOST=database
+# Options are: 5432 for postgres, 3306 for mysql, or available remote port for remote database.
+DB_PORT=5432
+# Options are: postgres, mysql or remote for remote database.
+DB_TYPE=postgres
+# You must specify this if you set DB_TYPE = remote. Available options are;
+# For postgres: django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2
+# For mysql: mysql.connector.django
+# DB_ENGINE=mysql.connector.django
 
+# For mysql
+DB_ROOT_PASSWORD=password
 
-SECRET_KEY=5(15ds+i2+%ik6z&!yer+ga9m=e%jcqiz_5wszg)r-z!2--b2d
-DB_NAME=postgres
-DB_USER=postgres
-DB_PASS=postgres
-DB_SERVICE=postgres
-DB_PORT=5432
\ No newline at end of file
+
+# Expose ports on host, e.g. Set HOST_NGINX_PORT=80.
+# You will need to change the port if already used on host.
+# Note that the production deployment only exposes the database & nginx port.
+HOST_WEB_PORT=0
+HOST_NGINX_PORT=0
+HOST_REDIS_PORT=0
+HOST_DATABASE_PORT=0
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 510d1cb..2c188ee 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -6,3 +6,4 @@ env
 __pycache__
 .venv
 .cache
+.sql
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a02831d..15b448f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -6,14 +6,66 @@ Featuring:
 - Docker Compose v1.23.2
 - Docker Machine v0.16.1
 - Python 3.7.3
+- Postgresql
+- MySQL 5.7
 
-Blog post -> https://realpython.com/blog/python/django-development-with-docker-compose-and-machine/
+Original Blog post -> https://realpython.com/blog/python/django-development-with-docker-compose-and-machine/
 
-### OS X Instructions
+Building on the original repo, this repo adds the following capabilities;
 
-1. Start new machine - `docker-machine create -d virtualbox dev;`
+1. Is compatible with the original repo and simplifies running the compose stack
+1. Adds flexibility by using environment variables to make the service highly configurable
+1. Allows switching between postgres or mysql database.
+1. Allows the use of an existing database configured by the DB_TYPE=remote & DB_* environment variables
+1. Runs migrations before starting django
+1. Adds live reload capability for the django code
+
+### General Instructions
+
+1. Start new machine - `docker-machine create -d virtualbox dev`
 1. Configure your shell to use the new machine environment - `eval $(docker-machine env dev)`
-1. Build images - `docker-compose build`
-1. Start services - `docker-compose up -d`
-1. Create migrations - `docker-compose run web /usr/local/bin/python manage.py migrate`
+1. (Optional) Update .env to match your requirements e.g. Set HOST_NGINX_PORT=80
+1. Build and Start services - `docker-compose up -d`
 1. Grab IP - `docker-machine ip dev` - and view in your browser
+    Example:
+    ```sh
+    $ docker-machine ip dev
+    192.168.99.101
+    ```
+    The app will be available at http://<IP>:<HOST_NGINX_PORT>
+1. (Optional) If you did not set HOST_NGINX_PORT i.e. HOST_NGINX_PORT=0, show Ports - `docker-compose ps`
+    Example:
+    ```sh
+    $ docker-compose ps
+    dockerizingdjango_nginx_1   /usr/sbin/nginx    Up    0.0.0.0:33126->80/tcp
+    ```
+    In this example, the app is available at http://192.168.99.101:33126.
+
+### Advanced Usage
+To use existing remote database, change the following in .env;
+1. DJANGO_DB_* variables to match your remote database
+1. DB_TYPE=remote
+1. Run `docker-compose up -d`
+
+To switch databases, change the following in .env;
+1. DB_TYPE to mysql, postgres or sqlite
+1. If database was already started previously, run `docker-compose stop database && docker-compose rm -f database`
+1. Run `docker-compose up -d`
+
+To clean up, reset or start over
+1. Run `docker-compose down -v`. Note that that this will delete all your containers and volumes defined in the compose file.
+
+### Troubleshooting
+If you encounter this error
+
+```sh
+Cannot start service web: driver failed programming external connectivity on endpoint
+ failed: port is already allocated
+Encountered errors while bringing up the project.
+```
+
+* Modify your env file and change the exposed ports on host
+* Alternatively, shut down services on the host that are bound to the ports
+* Once done run `docker-compose up -d`
+
+
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 85bfdbc..fb4f2da 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -4,47 +4,56 @@ services:
   web:
     restart: always
     build: ./web
-    expose:
-      - "8000"
-    links:
-      - postgres:postgres
-      - redis:redis
+    ports:
+      - "${HOST_WEB_PORT}:8000"
     volumes:
-      - web-django:/usr/src/app
-      - web-static:/usr/src/app/static
+      - ./web:/usr/src/app
+    entrypoint: ["./wait-for-it.sh", "${DB_HOST}:${DB_PORT}", "--strict", "--timeout=300", "--"]
     env_file: .env
     environment:
       DEBUG: 'true'
-    command: /usr/local/bin/gunicorn docker_django.wsgi:application -w 2 -b :8000
+      DB_TYPE: ${DB_TYPE}
+    command: bash -c "python manage.py makemigrations && python manage.py migrate && gunicorn docker_django.wsgi:application --reload --log-level=debug -w 2 -b :8000"
 
   nginx:
     restart: always
-    build: ./nginx/
+    build: ./nginx
     ports:
-      - "80:80"
+      - "${HOST_NGINX_PORT}:80"
     volumes:
-      - web-static:/www/static
+      - ./web/static:/www/static
+      - ./nginx/sites-enabled:/etc/nginx/sites-enabled
     links:
       - web:web
 
-  postgres:
-    restart: always
-    image: postgres:latest
-    ports:
-      - "5432:5432"
-    volumes:
-      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data/
-
   redis:
     restart: always
     image: redis:latest
     ports:
-      - "6379:6379"
+      - "${HOST_REDIS_PORT}:6379"
     volumes:
       - redisdata:/data
 
+  database:
+    build: ./${DB_TYPE}
+    image: ${DB_TYPE}_db
+    environment:
+      # POSTGRES SPECIFIC
+      POSTGRES_DB: ${DB_NAME}
+      POSTGRES_USER: ${DB_USER}
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASS}
+      # MYSQL SPECIFIC
+      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${DB_NAME}
+      MYSQL_USER: ${DB_USER}
+      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASS}
+      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
+    ports:
+      - "${HOST_DATABASE_PORT}:${DB_PORT}"
+    volumes:
+      - mysql-vol:/var/lib/mysql
+      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data/
+
 volumes:
-  web-django:
-  web-static:
+  mysql-vol:
   pgdata:
   redisdata:
diff --git a/mysql/Dockerfile b/mysql/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..30d16c5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mysql/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+FROM mysql:5.7
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/nginx/sites-enabled/django_project b/nginx/sites-enabled/django_project
index 1285c6c..eabffec 100644
--- a/nginx/sites-enabled/django_project
+++ b/nginx/sites-enabled/django_project
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ server {
     charset utf-8;
 
     location /static {
-        alias /usr/src/app/static;
+        alias /www/static;
     }
 
     location / {
diff --git a/postgres/Dockerfile b/postgres/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0cda63a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/postgres/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+FROM postgres:latest
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/production.yml b/production.yml
index c6f5755..65fede3 100644
--- a/production.yml
+++ b/production.yml
@@ -4,34 +4,26 @@ services:
   web:
     restart: always
     build: ./web
-    expose:
+    ports:
       - "8000"
-    links:
-      - postgres:postgres
-      - redis:redis
+    entrypoint: ["./wait-for-it.sh", "${DB_HOST}:${DB_PORT}", "--strict", "--timeout=300", "--"]
     volumes:
       - web-static:/usr/src/app/static
     env_file: .env
-    command: /usr/local/bin/gunicorn docker_django.wsgi:application -w 2 -b :8000
+    environment:
+      DB_TYPE: ${DB_TYPE}
+    command: bash -c "python manage.py makemigrations && python manage.py migrate && gunicorn docker_django.wsgi:application -w 2 -b :8000"
 
   nginx:
     restart: always
-    build: ./nginx/
+    build: ./nginx
     ports:
-      - "80:80"
+      - "${HOST_NGINX_PORT}:80"
     volumes:
       - web-static:/www/static
     links:
       - web:web
 
-  postgres:
-    restart: always
-    image: postgres:latest
-    ports:
-      - "5432"
-    volumes:
-      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data/
-
   redis:
     restart: always
     image: redis:latest
@@ -40,7 +32,26 @@ services:
     volumes:
       - redisdata:/data
 
+  database:
+    build: ./${DB_TYPE}
+    image: ${DB_TYPE}_db
+    environment:
+      # POSTGRES SPECIFIC
+      POSTGRES_DB: ${DB_NAME}
+      POSTGRES_USER: ${DB_USER}
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASS}
+      # MYSQL SPECIFIC
+      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${DB_NAME}
+      MYSQL_USER: ${DB_USER}
+      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASS}
+      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
+    ports:
+      - "${HOST_DATABASE_PORT}:${DB_PORT}"
+    volumes:
+      - mysql-vol:/var/lib/mysql
+      - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data/
+
 volumes:
-  web-static:
-  pgdata:
+  mysql-vol:
   redisdata:
+  web-static:
diff --git a/remote/Dockerfile b/remote/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a7a0aa8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/remote/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# This is an idle image to dynamically replace any component if disabled.
+
+FROM alpine:3.7
+CMD sleep 1000000d
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/web/Dockerfile b/web/Dockerfile
index dffd83b..b1c56f7 100644
--- a/web/Dockerfile
+++ b/web/Dockerfile
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ FROM python:3.7-slim
 
 RUN python -m pip install --upgrade pip
 
+WORKDIR /usr/src/app
 COPY requirements.txt requirements.txt
+
 RUN python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
 
 COPY . .
diff --git a/web/docker_django/apps/todo/migrations/__init__.py b/web/docker_django/apps/todo/migrations/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/web/docker_django/settings.py b/web/docker_django/settings.py
index 19ec07f..8e9f046 100644
--- a/web/docker_django/settings.py
+++ b/web/docker_django/settings.py
@@ -82,14 +82,26 @@
 #         'NAME': os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'db.sqlite3'),
 #     }
 # }
+def get_engine():
+    '''
+    Set database engine based on DB_TYPE environment variable.
+    Default Engine is 'django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2'
+    This will be overridden by specifying DB_ENGINE environment variable
+    '''
+    db_type = os.getenv('DB_TYPE', 'postgres').lower()
+    if db_type in ('mysql', 'mariadb'):
+        return 'mysql.connector.django'
+    if 'sqlite' in db_type:
+        return 'django.db.backends.sqlite3'
+    return 'django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2'
 
 DATABASES = {
     'default': {
-        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql_psycopg2',
+        'ENGINE': os.getenv('DB_ENGINE', get_engine()),
         'NAME': os.environ['DB_NAME'],
         'USER': os.environ['DB_USER'],
         'PASSWORD': os.environ['DB_PASS'],
-        'HOST': os.environ['DB_SERVICE'],
+        'HOST': os.environ['DB_HOST'],
         'PORT': os.environ['DB_PORT']
     }
 }
@@ -116,4 +128,4 @@
 #     os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static'),
 # )
 # print(STATICFILES_DIRS)
-STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static')
+STATIC_ROOT = os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static')
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/web/requirements.txt b/web/requirements.txt
index 004b0d3..f58ccf2 100644
--- a/web/requirements.txt
+++ b/web/requirements.txt
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 Django==2.1.7
 gunicorn==19.9.0
-psycopg2==2.7.7
 redis==3.2.1
+psycopg2-binary
+mysql-connector-python==8.0.16
diff --git a/web/wait-for-it.sh b/web/wait-for-it.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..071c2be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/wait-for-it.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#   Use this script to test if a given TCP host/port are available
+
+WAITFORIT_cmdname=${0##*/}
+
+echoerr() { if [[ $WAITFORIT_QUIET -ne 1 ]]; then echo "$@" 1>&2; fi }
+
+usage()
+{
+    cat << USAGE >&2
+Usage:
+    $WAITFORIT_cmdname host:port [-s] [-t timeout] [-- command args]
+    -h HOST | --host=HOST       Host or IP under test
+    -p PORT | --port=PORT       TCP port under test
+                                Alternatively, you specify the host and port as host:port
+    -s | --strict               Only execute subcommand if the test succeeds
+    -q | --quiet                Don't output any status messages
+    -t TIMEOUT | --timeout=TIMEOUT
+                                Timeout in seconds, zero for no timeout
+    -- COMMAND ARGS             Execute command with args after the test finishes
+USAGE
+    exit 1
+}
+
+wait_for()
+{
+    if [[ $WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT -gt 0 ]]; then
+        echoerr "$WAITFORIT_cmdname: waiting $WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT seconds for $WAITFORIT_HOST:$WAITFORIT_PORT"
+    else
+        echoerr "$WAITFORIT_cmdname: waiting for $WAITFORIT_HOST:$WAITFORIT_PORT without a timeout"
+    fi
+    WAITFORIT_start_ts=$(date +%s)
+    while :
+    do
+        if [[ $WAITFORIT_ISBUSY -eq 1 ]]; then
+            nc -z $WAITFORIT_HOST $WAITFORIT_PORT
+            WAITFORIT_result=$?
+        else
+            (echo > /dev/tcp/$WAITFORIT_HOST/$WAITFORIT_PORT) >/dev/null 2>&1
+            WAITFORIT_result=$?
+        fi
+        if [[ $WAITFORIT_result -eq 0 ]]; then
+            WAITFORIT_end_ts=$(date +%s)
+            echoerr "$WAITFORIT_cmdname: $WAITFORIT_HOST:$WAITFORIT_PORT is available after $((WAITFORIT_end_ts - WAITFORIT_start_ts)) seconds"
+            break
+        fi
+        sleep 1
+    done
+    return $WAITFORIT_result
+}
+
+wait_for_wrapper()
+{
+    # In order to support SIGINT during timeout: http://unix.stackexchange.com/a/57692
+    if [[ $WAITFORIT_QUIET -eq 1 ]]; then
+        timeout $WAITFORIT_BUSYTIMEFLAG $WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT $0 --quiet --child --host=$WAITFORIT_HOST --port=$WAITFORIT_PORT --timeout=$WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT &
+    else
+        timeout $WAITFORIT_BUSYTIMEFLAG $WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT $0 --child --host=$WAITFORIT_HOST --port=$WAITFORIT_PORT --timeout=$WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT &
+    fi
+    WAITFORIT_PID=$!
+    trap "kill -INT -$WAITFORIT_PID" INT
+    wait $WAITFORIT_PID
+    WAITFORIT_RESULT=$?
+    if [[ $WAITFORIT_RESULT -ne 0 ]]; then
+        echoerr "$WAITFORIT_cmdname: timeout occurred after waiting $WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT seconds for $WAITFORIT_HOST:$WAITFORIT_PORT"
+    fi
+    return $WAITFORIT_RESULT
+}
+
+# process arguments
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]
+do
+    case "$1" in
+        *:* )
+        WAITFORIT_hostport=(${1//:/ })
+        WAITFORIT_HOST=${WAITFORIT_hostport[0]}
+        WAITFORIT_PORT=${WAITFORIT_hostport[1]}
+        shift 1
+        ;;
+        --child)
+        WAITFORIT_CHILD=1
+        shift 1
+        ;;
+        -q | --quiet)
+        WAITFORIT_QUIET=1
+        shift 1
+        ;;
+        -s | --strict)
+        WAITFORIT_STRICT=1
+        shift 1
+        ;;
+        -h)
+        WAITFORIT_HOST="$2"
+        if [[ $WAITFORIT_HOST == "" ]]; then break; fi
+        shift 2
+        ;;
+        --host=*)
+        WAITFORIT_HOST="${1#*=}"
+        shift 1
+        ;;
+        -p)
+        WAITFORIT_PORT="$2"
+        if [[ $WAITFORIT_PORT == "" ]]; then break; fi
+        shift 2
+        ;;
+        --port=*)
+        WAITFORIT_PORT="${1#*=}"
+        shift 1
+        ;;
+        -t)
+        WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT="$2"
+        if [[ $WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT == "" ]]; then break; fi
+        shift 2
+        ;;
+        --timeout=*)
+        WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT="${1#*=}"
+        shift 1
+        ;;
+        --)
+        shift
+        WAITFORIT_CLI=("$@")
+        break
+        ;;
+        --help)
+        usage
+        ;;
+        *)
+        echoerr "Unknown argument: $1"
+        usage
+        ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+if [[ "$WAITFORIT_HOST" == "" || "$WAITFORIT_PORT" == "" ]]; then
+    echoerr "Error: you need to provide a host and port to test."
+    usage
+fi
+
+WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT=${WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT:-15}
+WAITFORIT_STRICT=${WAITFORIT_STRICT:-0}
+WAITFORIT_CHILD=${WAITFORIT_CHILD:-0}
+WAITFORIT_QUIET=${WAITFORIT_QUIET:-0}
+
+# check to see if timeout is from busybox?
+WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT_PATH=$(type -p timeout)
+WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT_PATH=$(realpath $WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT_PATH 2>/dev/null || readlink -f $WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT_PATH)
+if [[ $WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT_PATH =~ "busybox" ]]; then
+        WAITFORIT_ISBUSY=1
+        WAITFORIT_BUSYTIMEFLAG="-t"
+
+else
+        WAITFORIT_ISBUSY=0
+        WAITFORIT_BUSYTIMEFLAG=""
+fi
+
+if [[ $WAITFORIT_CHILD -gt 0 ]]; then
+    wait_for
+    WAITFORIT_RESULT=$?
+    exit $WAITFORIT_RESULT
+else
+    if [[ $WAITFORIT_TIMEOUT -gt 0 ]]; then
+        wait_for_wrapper
+        WAITFORIT_RESULT=$?
+    else
+        wait_for
+        WAITFORIT_RESULT=$?
+    fi
+fi
+
+if [[ $WAITFORIT_CLI != "" ]]; then
+    if [[ $WAITFORIT_RESULT -ne 0 && $WAITFORIT_STRICT -eq 1 ]]; then
+        echoerr "$WAITFORIT_cmdname: strict mode, refusing to execute subprocess"
+        exit $WAITFORIT_RESULT
+    fi
+    exec "${WAITFORIT_CLI[@]}"
+else
+    exit $WAITFORIT_RESULT
+fi