Guide: deploy your own app
You built the app. Now host it on your own Windows VPS
It runs on your laptop. Getting it onto a real server means IIS, the right PHP build, a database nobody else can reach, rewrite rules, permissions, HTTPS and backups, before anyone sees a page. ServerMaid does the server part in one click, so the only thing you deploy is your code.
Server setup £99 £49.50 plus Websites and SSL £79, £39.50 per server for twelve months, unlimited websites. 30-day money-back promise.
What a PHP app actually needs from a server
A PHP app is only as solid as the server under it. It needs an official PHP build wired into IIS through FastCGI, a production php.ini with errors logged rather than shown, a database that listens only on the server itself, and a rewrite rule that sends every route to index.php.
It also needs folders the app can write to without the web server being able to run scripts from them, secrets kept outside the web root, a certificate that renews itself, and a backup you know will restore. Miss one and the app works until the day it does not.
ServerMaid builds all of that the same way every time, shows you the plan before it changes anything, and explains each step in plain English.
How it works
Rent a server, build it, add your app
Rent a Windows VPS
Any provider offering Windows Server 2019, 2022 or 2025. Two gigabytes of memory is the minimum; four is recommended when MySQL runs on the same server.
Build it in one click
Copy ServerMaid and your licence to the desktop and press BUILD MY SERVER. IIS, PHP, MySQL or MariaDB, the firewall, the security baseline and backups are done in a couple of minutes.
Add the website
One form: domain, PHP line, and the rewrite profile your framework needs. ServerMaid creates the folders, application pool, database and account, and a free SSL certificate*.
* 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.
Deploying your app, step by step
- Create the website in ServerMaid. Enter the domain and pick the Front controller rewrite profile for Laravel, Symfony, Slim or any framework that routes through index.php. Plain PHP sites use no rewrite profile.
- Choose the PHP line. Each website runs the PHP version you pick, so one app can stay on 8.2 while the next runs 8.4. The Multiple PHP lines module installs the extra versions side by side.
- Copy your code into the site's wwwroot. Use whatever you already deploy with: a Git checkout, a zip, or your build pipeline copying files over Remote Desktop. Run your dependency install and build steps as you normally would.
- Point your config at the database. ServerMaid created a database and a user that can reach only that database. The credentials are in the site's private folder, which sits outside the web root and is never served.
- Run your migrations and test on a staging copy. The Staging sites module gives any website a copy, hidden from search engines, that you can clone from live and try changes on first.
- Point the DNS and let the certificate issue. Once the domain resolves to the server, ServerMaid issues the free certificate, binds HTTPS and adds the redirect. It renews itself before it expires.
- Watch the health score. Backups of the files, the database and the configuration are scheduled and proved by a restore test. Anything that needs attention is a sentence with a Fix button beside it.
Questions about hosting a PHP app on Windows
Does ServerMaid work with Laravel and Symfony?
Yes. Choose the Front controller rewrite profile when you create the website. It sends every request that is not a real file or folder to index.php, which is how Laravel, Symfony, Slim and most modern PHP frameworks route requests.
Does it deploy my code for me?
No. ServerMaid builds and looks after the server and each website's folders, application pool, database, rewrite rules and certificate. You copy your code in with whatever you already use, and run your own dependency and build steps.
Where do my secrets go?
Each website gets a private folder beside its web root that is never served. The database credentials ServerMaid creates are kept there, and it is the right place for your own configuration files too.
Can different apps run different PHP versions?
Yes. Each website runs the PHP line you choose, and extra lines are installed side by side, so upgrading one app never moves the others.
Can I run more than one app on the server?
Yes. Websites and SSL covers unlimited websites on the server, each isolated in its own application pool with its own database account and certificate.
Your code, on a server built properly
Pick the modules you need, pay for twelve months, and your licence and installer are in your account within minutes. Every build shows the whole plan before it changes anything.