Guides

The problems of hosting on Windows Server, solved in plain English

Each guide explains a problem people actually search for, shows the fix by hand where there is one, and shows how ServerMaid avoids it altogether. Written by the people who built the product, from the servers they run.

Set up my server Start from nothing: the walkthrough

Getting started

From nothing to your own server

Host your PHP app on a Windows VPS

Laravel, Symfony or plain PHP: the server part in one click, then deploy your code the way you already do.

Self-host your websites on your own server

Why developers self-host, what you take on, and which parts ServerMaid carries for you.

Set up Windows servers fast, identical every time

Scaling out without drift: every new server from the same plan, watched from one account.

Looking for a Windows hosting control panel?

Why ServerMaid does the server engineering instead of handing you switches, and when a full panel still makes sense.

Windows Server 2012 to 2025 website migration

IIS 8, PHP 5.x and MySQL 5.5 sites moved to Windows Server 2025 and fixed on the way; 2012 has had no free updates since October 2023.

Windows Server 2016 to 2025 website migration

IIS 10, PHP 7 and MySQL 5.7 sites moved to Windows Server 2025 before support ends on 12 January 2027.

Move websites off Windows Server 2012 or 2016

2012 is out of support and 2016 follows in January 2027. Move the sites, fix old MySQL dumps, and get a plain list of any PHP that needs a developer.

Upload a PHP website and its database in one zip

Files, database and connection settings in one upload, with a plain question before every change.

Install IIS, PHP and MySQL on Windows Server 2025

Every step of the manual install, from IIS roles and URL Rewrite to PHP NTS, FastCGI and MySQL 8.4, and the one-click way.

Configure PHP FastCGI on IIS

Instance limits, request recycling, PHP_FCGI_MAX_REQUESTS, timeouts, PHPRC and the php.ini settings that matter.

Host multiple websites on Windows Server IIS

Host-name bindings, SNI certificates, and one folder, application pool and database per site.

Secure Remote Desktop on a Windows VPS

Allow only your addresses, require NLA, set lockout policy, and keep a way back in when your IP changes.

Plesk alternatives for Windows Server

SolidCP, Windows Admin Center, IIS by hand and ServerMaid compared honestly, and which fits what you host.

ServerMaid vs Plesk on Windows Server

An honest comparison of price, website limits, security and upkeep, and when Plesk is still the better choice.

Windows Server configuration drift

How IIS, PHP and security settings drift after updates and hand fixes, and how to find and repair it.

Domain name to live website, step by step

Register the domain, rent a Windows Server, connect once, click BUILD MY SERVER, add the site, point the DNS. No skills required.

Leaving shared hosting for a Windows VPS

Why people leave, what stops them, and a migration checklist that keeps the old site live until the new one is ready.

Running a server without a sysadmin

What you actually pay a specialist for, and which of it ServerMaid does for you every day.

Hosting a website from home

An honest guide to what a home setup needs, when it is the right call, and when a small rented server is better.

Security

Keeping the server yours

RDP brute-force attacks

Thousands of failed logons a day because Remote Desktop is open to the world. Close it to everyone but you, without locking yourself out.

PHP2Shell: patch PHP on IIS today

Two critical PHP flaws fixed on 21 October 2026. Which versions are safe, the by-hand fix and its traps, and how ServerMaid servers patch themselves within the hour.

CVE-2026-115560: PHP upload progress, no fix yet

Another PHP flaw two days after PHP2Shell, with no fixed release. How to switch session upload progress off on IIS, the .user.ini catch, and how ServerMaid keeps it off.

Locked out by a firewall rule

How lockouts happen, the console rescue command, and the auto-revert timer that makes them impossible.

MySQL open to the internet

How to check whether port 3306 is reachable from outside, close it by hand, and install the database local-only from the start.

IIS folder permissions

What the application pool needs on each folder, the icacls command, and why Everyone full control is how sites get hacked.

PHP and websites

Making PHP behave on IIS

WordPress on Windows Server and IIS

Permalinks, permissions, the FastCGI runtime, a database of its own and free SSL*, from one form. One checkbox, the WordPress module (included in every Agency licence), installs the latest WordPress from wordpress.org, already hardened: file editor off, PHP refused in uploads, xmlrpc.php refused.

FastCGI process exited unexpectedly

What the error and its hexadecimal codes actually mean, how to see PHP's real error, and the fix.

Upgrading PHP safely

PHP end of life without moving every site at once: lines side by side, one website at a time, with rollback.

* Free SSL certificates need the Websites and SSL module (included in Agency and Enterprise licences) on a licence within its twelve-month period. Certificates come from Let's Encrypt; new websites get one while the licence is in date, and certificates already issued keep renewing.

Keeping it running

When something goes wrong

Expired SSL certificate on IIS

Replace it today, understand why renewals silently stop, and never install one by hand again.

IIS website stopped working

The usual suspects after a Windows update or a change, and how Repair finds and fixes the difference.

Backups that were never restored

How backups quietly fail on Windows Server, how to test yours by hand, and how ServerMaid proves every set.

How ServerMaid works

Skip the problems altogether

One file on the desktop, one click, a hardened production web server with free SSL* and verified backups. Every step previewed and explained.

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