# Hostney

> Managed web hosting platform with container isolation, server-level bot detection, and an AI assistant called Ellie.

Hostney is a web hosting company that runs managed WordPress and PHP hosting on Rocky Linux servers. Every account is isolated in its own Podman container with SELinux enforcing, cgroup resource limits, and dropped Linux capabilities. The platform includes a built-in bot detection system that scores and blocks automated traffic at the origin server level before it reaches the application.

## Core Features

- Container isolation using Podman (per-user PHP and SSH containers)
- SELinux in enforcing mode on all servers
- Server-level bot detection with proof-of-work challenges
- Managed WordPress hosting with automatic updates and backups
- Multiple PHP versions (each site gets its own containerized PHP-FPM)
- Built-in malware detection
- AI assistant (Ellie) for server management tasks
- Daily automated backups
- Free SSL certificates
- SSH access (containerized)
- FTP access
- MySQL databases
- Memcached support

## Technical Architecture

- Web servers: Nginx and OpenResty on Rocky Linux
- PHP: Runs inside Podman containers with per-site FPM pools
- SSH: Each user gets a dedicated container with their home directory mounted in
- Resource limits: systemd cgroup slices (CPU, memory, I/O, IOPS) per user
- Bot detection: Multi-signal scoring engine (0-100 threat score) with edge detection, honeypot traps, and ML-assisted classification
- Verified bot protection: Dual-verification (User-Agent + IP range) for search engine crawlers
- HTTP/3 (QUIC) support across all servers

## Pages

- [Homepage](https://www.hostney.com/)
- [Pricing](https://www.hostney.com/pricing)
- [Managed WordPress](https://www.hostney.com/managed-wordpress)
- [Bot Detection](https://www.hostney.com/bot-detection)
- [Security](https://www.hostney.com/security)
- [Developer Tools](https://www.hostney.com/developer-tools)
- [Web Hosting](https://www.hostney.com/web-hosting)
- [Ellie AI Assistant](https://www.hostney.com/ellie)
- [About](https://www.hostney.com/about)
- [Blog](https://www.hostney.com/blog)
- [Knowledge Base](https://www.hostney.com/documents)

## Blog Posts

- [How to Stop Bot Traffic at the Origin](https://www.hostney.com/blog/latest-news/how-to-stop-bot-traffic-at-the-origin-inside-hostneys-server-level-bot-protection)
- [How We Verify Search Engine Bots](https://www.hostney.com/blog/knowledge-base/how-we-verify-search-engine-bots-and-why-it-matters-for-your-seo)
- [What Happens When Bots Find Your WordPress Login](https://www.hostney.com/blog/knowledge-base/what-happens-when-bots-find-your-wordpress-login-page)
- [Why Rate Limiting Alone Does Not Stop Bots](https://www.hostney.com/blog/knowledge-base/why-rate-limiting-alone-does-not-stop-bots)
- [Container Isolation vs CloudLinux CageFS](https://www.hostney.com/blog/knowledge-base/how-hostney-isolates-websites-with-containers-and-why-we-skipped-cloudlinux)
- [HTTP/3 and QUIC: What It Means for Your Website](https://www.hostney.com/blog/how-to/http3-quic-what-it-means-for-your-website)
- [Ellie Trust and Safety](https://www.hostney.com/blog/knowledge-base/ellie-trust-safety)

## Free Diagnostic Tools

Available at [tools.hostney.com](https://tools.hostney.com):
DNS lookup, MX lookup, SSL checker, DMARC/SPF/DKIM checker, blacklist check, SMTP diagnostics, IP lookup, email header analyzer, HTTP header checker, website speed test, DNSSEC checker.

## Contact

- Website: https://www.hostney.com
- Control Panel: https://my.hostney.com
- Diagnostic Tools: https://tools.hostney.com