Websites, PHP and certificates

A site on a web hosting account is a domain plus a folder inside your account, with a PHP version attached to it.

Adding a site#

You will give us three things:

• The domain, for example example.com.
• The PHP version it should run.
• Optionally the folder inside your account to serve from. Leave it blank and we pick a sensible one.

The site is created and ready. Your plan sets how many sites you can have.

Pointing the domain at us#

Two ways.

Host your DNS with us. Create the zone on the DNS page and we fill in sensible records for you, including the mail records. Then point your domain's nameservers at us at your registrar.

Keep your DNS where it is. Add an A record at your current DNS provider pointing at the address we give you.

Either way, until DNS has propagated the site will not answer. That is usually minutes, occasionally a few hours, and it is your registrar's doing rather than ours.

PHP#

Each site gets its own PHP version, chosen from the versions we support. You can change it on a site later.

PHP runs in a pool of its own, as your account's user, with its file access pinned inside your home directory. So one of your sites cannot read outside your account, and a PHP process on your account cannot touch anyone else's.

Pick the version your application asks for. If you do not know, pick the newest one your framework supports.

Certificates#

Each site can have a free certificate. Turn it on for a site and we obtain and renew it for you. Nothing to remember and nothing to pay.

The page will show you when the certificate was issued, when it expires and who issued it.

You can also turn it off for a site, though there is rarely a reason to.

A certificate can only be issued once the domain actually points at us, because the issuing authority checks that. So point DNS first, then turn the certificate on.

Aliases#

An alias is another domain name that serves the same site. Add example.net as an alias of example.com and both answer with the same files.

Use aliases for a country domain you also own, or for an old name you still want working.

Redirects#

Two kinds.

Redirect the whole site somewhere else. Useful when you have moved and want the old address to send people on.

The www redirect. Decide whether www.example.com should redirect to example.com, or the other way around. Pick one and be consistent, because search engines treat them as separate addresses otherwise.

Changing or removing a site#

You will be able to change the PHP version, the folder, the aliases and the redirects on an existing site at any time.

Deleting a site removes it from the server. Your files stay in your account unless you delete them too, so a deleted site is recoverable by adding it again. See Files and FTP.