Instructions for Registering a Cloudways VPS Account [Free]
Instructions for Registering a Cloudways VPS Account [Free]
1. How to Register a Cloudways VPS Account You'll access https://platform.cloudways.com/signup and then click on GET STARTED FREE to begin.
You need to provide the following information:
- First name: Enter your first name.
- Last name: Enter your last name.
- Email: Enter your commonly used email address, as it will be needed for account verification.
Select appropriate data for the remaining fields according to your preferences.
Then, make sure to check the "I agree to the Cloudways…" box and click on START FREE to proceed.
Due to the prevalence of spam and fraudulent activities, Cloudways requires account verification to activate your account.
The system will display a notification to send an email to Cloudways to request account activation.
You will use the email you registered with to compose a message with the subject "New Account Activation" and a similar content like "Hi Cloudways team, Could you help activate my account on Cloudways?" and send it to av@cloudways.com.
Cloudways will automatically respond with an email requesting you to provide some identity verification information, including:
- Photo of ID card, passport, or driver's license.
- Phone number.
- Website or Facebook profile.
Simply respond to the email with the requested information attached, and Cloudways will proceed to activate your account.
2. How to Create a VPS on Cloudways.
After activating and logging into your Cloudways account, you'll encounter an interface similar to the image below.
In case you don't see it exactly as shown, you can click on the "+" button and select "Add Server."
You'll enter the following information to initiate the VPS setup:
- WordPress: Choose the latest version available.
- Name your managed app: Set the name for your application; you can choose any name you prefer.
- Name your managed server: Assign a name to your VPS; any name you like will do.
- Name your project: Provide a project name; you can use any name you prefer.
- Select VPS Provider: Choose a VPS provider from options like DigitalOcean, Linode, VULTR, AWS, or Google CloudPlatform. In this demo, I'll choose DigitalOcean.
- Server size: Select the server configuration; for this demo, I'll choose a VPS with 1GB of memory.
- Location: Choose the server location; for this demo, I'll select Singapore.
- At the bottom of the window, you'll see the cost for the selected VPS. For example, my chosen VPS will cost $10 per month.
Once done, click the "LAUNCH NOW" button to initiate the VPS setup.
Please be patient and wait a few minutes for everything to be installed and configured!
Next, I'll guide you on how to move a WordPress website from another host to Cloudways and how to point your domain to Cloudways.
3.Guidelines for Migrating a WordPress Website to Cloudways VPS
Now your VPS is ready.
You can let your website run normally on the old host and proceed with migrating it to Cloudways. After migration, you can view your website on Cloudways without needing to point your domain.
Once you've successfully migrated and confirmed everything is in order, you can proceed with pointing your domain to Cloudways, which I'll explain in the following steps.
First, access the WordPress admin page of your website on the old host. Install a plugin called "Cloudways WordPress Migrator."
The information you need can be obtained from your Cloudways account. Refer to the instructional video below to learn how to retrieve these details. Once you have them, click on "MIGRATE" and wait for the plugin to work. The waiting time will depend on the amount of data your website contains.
After the website migration is complete, you can view the results by clicking on "Go to Cloudways" or by logging into your Cloudways account and navigating to the "Access Details" section. Click on the link under the "Application URL" to see your migrated website.
After verifying that your website is functioning well on Cloudways, you can proceed to point your domain to the VPS in order to officially launch your website on Cloudways.
4. How to Point a Domain to Cloudways VPS
Follow these steps to point your domain to your new website on Cloudways.
- Return to the Cloudways dashboard and navigate to the "Domain Management" section.
- Enter your domain name in the "Primary Domain" field.
After that, click "Save Changes" to save your settings.
The next step involves logging into your domain registrar's admin panel (such as Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.) to modify the DNS records.
You will need to edit or create an A record to point to the IP address of your VPS on Cloudways.
5. How to Install an SSL Certificate on Cloudways VPS
Next, I will guide you through installing an SSL certificate on your Cloudways VPS using the free Let's Encrypt service.
Return to the Cloudways dashboard and find the "SSL Certificate" section.
You need to enter your email address and domain name, then click on "Install Certificate" to install the SSL certificate.
Let's Encrypt SSL certificates on Cloudways are free for a lifetime. You only need to install them once, and the system will automatically renew them in the future.
6. Conclusion:
With these steps, you have successfully completed the process of registering an account on Cloudways, setting up a VPS, migrating a website to Cloudways, and installing an SSL certificate for your website.
As you can see, Cloudways provides a user-friendly control panel for managing your VPS, similar to cPanel for shared hosting.
Cloudways has simplified the usage of VPS. If you are familiar with shared hosting, you will find managing a VPS with Cloudways much easier.
By using Cloudways, you have access to their 24/7 support team. Don't hesitate to contact them if you encounter any issues.
If you have any questions or comments, please let Richy Tuan know. Thank you for visiting Khánh's blog!
No comments