Webfly installation and hosting requirements

Webfly is website software that can run on your own hosting. The reviewed release requires PHP 8.4 or later, a PDO driver for MySQL or PostgreSQL, and HTTPS access. The setup wizard shipped with your purchased release is the final check for that release's requirements.

Ask your hosting provider

Confirm the PHP version, database type, HTTPS certificate and ability to point the document root to the public directory. Required PHP extensions are ctype, curl, dom, fileinfo, filter, hash, mbstring, openssl, pcre, pdo, session, tokenizer, xml and gd. Updates also check zip and zlib.

Installation checks require at least a 128 MB PHP memory limit and 256 MB free disk space. These are installation-check minimums, not a capacity recommendation for a growing site. Media, databases and backups need additional resources. A matching PHP version alone does not establish hosting compatibility.

Prepare for installation

Have your domain and hosting ready. Confirm access to the installation package and license details in your account. Create a database and keep connection details ready. Do not include credentials in public support messages or screenshots.

The setup wizard checks package files, writable directories, server requirements and media access. Some warnings concern updates, email or background jobs; review them before going live.

After installation

Add your business information, logo, menus and content. Test the mobile layout, contact flow and outbound email. Take a current backup and verify the domain/license match. Write page titles and descriptions that reflect your actual content.

With a hosted plan

The hosted yearly plan provides hosting, SSL and theme installation through Webfly. After payment approval, continue in My services in your account; you do not need to upload installation files or create an installation database. See Pricing for the current scope and renewal terms.

If you already have a website, choose Prepare in preview first before installation starts. Your new site is prepared at a password-protected Webfly address excluded from search engines. Your existing website stays on its current hosting because you have not redirected the primary domain yet. Prepare the content in the panel, then switch when ready.

Choose Connect with NS or Connect website only. The latter connects the website through A records while DNS management and email can remain with the existing provider. Use the primary-domain and www records displayed in your account. Preserve MX, mail-server and SPF/DKIM/DMARC records; ask your provider before changing anything if email depends on the primary domain's IP address.

On an installed preview site, Check DNS and switch to primary domain verifies the routing. When it matches, Webfly prepares SSL, the site address and license for the primary domain, preserving content entered in preview. Afterwards, check publication status and the contact flow in the panel. DNS propagation and SSL preparation mean a fixed completion time or zero downtime cannot be guaranteed.

Read the guide to replacing your website while keeping the existing site online for the steps, screenshots and email checklist. Contact support if you are unsure whether your own hosting is suitable.