Quick Start

Create an account#

To create an account, go to my.hostney.com. You will be redirected to our secure login page where you can sign up using your email address and a password. If you prefer a quicker option, you can also sign up with your Google or GitHub account.

Verify your identity#

If you sign up with an email and password (not Google or GitHub), we will verify your identity the first time you log in from a new device or IP address. A 6-digit verification code is sent to your email. Enter this code on the challenge screen to complete your login.

You get 4 attempts to enter the correct code. Once verified, your device is remembered for 30 days. If you enable MFA, this email challenge is skipped entirely.

If you do not see the verification email, check your spam or junk folder.

Set up multifactor authentication#

We strongly recommend enabling multifactor authentication (MFA) to protect your account. MFA requires a temporary code from an authenticator app in addition to your password, making unauthorized access significantly harder.

To enable MFA:

1. Go to Settings under your profile.
2. Click Enable MFA.
3. Enter your password to confirm.
4. You will be logged out and asked to log back in. During login, you will be prompted to scan a QR code with your authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or any TOTP-compatible app).
5. Enter the code from the app to complete the setup.

Once MFA is enabled, the email verification challenge is no longer used – your authenticator app handles login security instead.

Claim your free trial#

Every new customer gets one free 14-day trial. No credit card or payment method is required.

To start your trial:

1. Go to the Accounts page.
2. Find the trial plan and click Start trial.
3. Follow the checkout steps:
   • Select region – Pick a hosting region closest to your audience.
   • Account setup – Enter a label to identify this account in your dashboard (for example, “My blog” or “Test site”).
   • Review – Review your selection and accept the terms of service.
   • Confirmation – Your trial is activated and your account begins provisioning. This usually takes 1-2 minutes.

Each customer can only claim one free trial. If you need more resources or your trial expires, you can upgrade to a paid plan at any time.

Add your first domain#

Once your hosting account is provisioned, add a domain to connect it to your hosting.

1. Go to Websites and click Add website.
2. Enter your domain name (for example,  yourdomainname.com ).
3. You will receive a TXT record to add to your domain’s DNS settings:
   • Type: TXT
   • Name:  _hostney
   • Content: A unique verification code displayed on screen
4. Log in to your domain registrar or DNS provider and add this TXT record.
5. Our system checks for the record every 5 minutes. Once verified, you will receive an email confirmation and the domain moves to your Active websites list.

DNS propagation can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours depending on your DNS provider. The verification challenge expires after 24 hours. If it expires before the record is found, you can submit the domain again.

You can have up to 5 pending domain verifications at a time.

Create your virtual host#

After your domain is verified, create a subdomain (virtual host) to serve your website.

1. Go to Hosting and click Subdomains.
2. In the Create subdomain form, enter the hostname you want (for example,  www ).
3. Optionally set a custom document root path. If left blank, the default path is used ( /public_html/ ).
4. Click Save.

Creating a www subdomain will let visitors access your site at www.yourdomainname.com . You can later configure a domain redirect to automatically send visitors between the www and non-www versions.

The page also displays your server’s IP address. You need to create DNS records pointing your domain to this IP:

• A record for  www  pointing to your server IP
• A record for  @  (root/apex) pointing to your server IP

If you use a third-party DNS provider, you can find your server IP on the Subdomains page or by clicking the info icon on your account in the Accounts page. The account info panel shows your server hostname, IP address, and username.

Once DNS records are pointing to your server, our system will automatically generate a free SSL certificate for your website. This uses Let’s Encrypt and renews automatically.

Change your nameservers (optional)#

For the best experience, you can point your domain’s nameservers to Hostney’s DNS servers. This is optional but gives you full control over DNS records from within the control panel.

Hostney nameservers:

• ns1.hostney.net
• ns2.hostney.net

Before changing nameservers, make sure to recreate any existing DNS records (MX records for email, CNAME records, etc.) in the Hostney DNS zone manager first. Otherwise, those services may stop working during the transition.

To change nameservers, log in to your domain registrar and replace the current nameservers with the ones listed above.

To reduce downtime, lower the TTL on your DNS records to the minimum value your provider allows before making the switch. Wait at least as long as the previous TTL before cutting over.

Upload your website content#

You have several ways to get your content onto the server:

• File manager – Upload files directly through the web-based file manager with drag-and-drop support. You can also upload and extract ZIP or TAR archives.
• FTP – Create an FTP user under FTP users and connect with an FTP client like FileZilla.
• SSH/SCP – Connect via SSH using your SSH keys and transfer files with SCP or rsync.
• Git deployment – Connect a GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket repository under Git for automated deployments.
• Application deployment – Deploy single-page applications or full applications under Applications with automated builds from your Git repository.

Deploy WordPress#

If you want to run WordPress, you can install it in one click:

1. Go to WordPress.
2. Click the Deploy tab.
3. Select the subdomain where you want to install WordPress.
4. Enter your site title and admin email.
5. Click Deploy.

WordPress is installed with the latest version. You can manage updates, plugins, themes, and security from the WordPress management dashboard in the control panel.