Create your first server

Every website on Netkeel runs on one of your servers, so the first step is to create one.

Before you start

Add a payment method under Billing. The Create server button works only once your account has a card on file.

Create the server

1. Open Servers in the sidebar and click Create server.
2. Under 1 Name, type a name such as my-server. Use lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens, starting and ending with a letter or number.
3. Under 2 Application, keep the stack selected. Then choose the web server:
   • Nginx + Apache (recommended) supports .htaccess rules from plugins and from sites moved from other hosts.
   • Nginx only is slightly lighter. .htaccess files are ignored, so you set redirects and rules in the panel.
4. Under 3 Region, pick the cloud provider, then a region. Regions are grouped by continent, and you can search by city or country.
5. Under 4 Server size, pick a plan family tab (for example Standard), then a size. Each card shows memory, vCPUs, disk and the price per month and per hour. Sizes marked Out of stock cannot be chosen; hover one to see where it is in stock.
6. Check the Summary on the right. Monthly cap is the most the server can cost in a month.
7. Click Create server.

Tip

Not sure which size to pick? A smaller server is fine to start with. You can upgrade it to a bigger plan later without moving your websites.

While the stack installs

The panel says “Server creation started. The complete stack will install in the background.” The server’s card shows Installing stack and refreshes on its own. When it shows Online, the server is ready for websites.

Billing starts when the server is created, so you pay for the install time too, by the hour.

If the card shows Setup failed with “The stack never finished installing”, delete that server and create a new one.

Next step

Add your first website to the new server.