Shared Web Hosting

Turn on free SSL

Certificates are issued automatically. What Force HTTPS changes, why it breaks an http link to a CDN, and when to install a certificate you already own.

Move a website in from cPanel or Plesk

Import a whole account from cPanel or Plesk in four steps. What carries across, what never does, and the one conflict that most often blocks an import.

Change the PHP version

Pick a version, restart PHP and confirm the change took effect. Why 8.5 is not automatically the right choice, and what breaks when a site moves a version.

Restore a backup

A restore replaces the live site, not just the broken part. How to restore a whole site safely, and how to take back one file or one database instead.

Create an SSH key

Generate a key pair, add the public half to your site in the panel, and connect over SSH without a password. Which file to keep, and how to remove one.

FTP active and passive mode

A directory listing that hangs forever or a 425 error usually comes down to the FTP mode. What each one does, which to choose, and why SFTP avoids the question.

Turn on Redis

Redis is a persistent object cache for applications that support one. Switch it on if your plugin or tool needs it, and leave it off when nothing does.

Turn on the IonCube loader

Some commercial PHP software ships encoded and needs the IonCube loader before it will run. What it does, and the PHP version where it cannot be enabled.

Set up an FTP account

Create the account, meet the password rules and connect with FileZilla or SFTP. Why the account limit follows your plan, and when SSH is the better route in.

Opcode caching

One switch on the Optimization page keeps compiled PHP in memory. What that is worth in practice, and the one situation where the cache causes trouble.

Add a redirect

Send a path to a new address without touching .htaccess. Which status code to pick, why a 301 sticks inside a visitor's browser, and when to keep an entry.

Enable Brotli compression

Turn on Brotli compression for your PHP output from the panel, add gzip and the security headers to .htaccess, and check both with curl before you call it done.

What free hosting is actually good for

A 1 GB website with no mail or backups counted against it is a real starting point. What a free hosting plan does well, and when you have outgrown it.

Set up cron jobs

Run wp-cron on a real schedule, or have the server call a URL for you. Every interval option explained, and why the edit-from-container toggle is off.

Ahrefs site verification

Verify your site in Ahrefs with any of the four methods it accepts. Where the tag has to go, why it has to stay, and the Joomla step that people miss.

Verify your Meta domain on WordPress

Claim your site in Meta Business Suite without touching theme files. The tag, the file, the DNS record, and the stale advice about the pixel and event setup.

What a hosting storage limit actually measures

Why a 20 GB quota is rarely 20 GB of website, what really fills a hosting account, and why a smaller honest number is worth more than a large misleading one.

Make your site readable by AI agents

What an agent-readiness scan checks, how to pass the three parts worth passing, and the line we drew at level 3 and would not cross.