Problem: outgrown shared hosting
Outgrown shared hosting? Your own Windows server is closer than you think
Slow neighbours, a PHP version you cannot change, limits on everything, and a support ticket for anything unusual. A VPS fixes all of that, and then hands you a blank Windows Server with a Remote Desktop password and nothing else. ServerMaid is the missing step: it builds a hardened production web server in one click and looks after it afterwards, so you get the control of your own server without becoming its administrator.
Server setup £99 £49.50 plus Websites and SSL £79, £39.50 per server for twelve months, unlimited websites. 30-day money-back promise.
Why people leave, and why they hesitate
Shared hosting is fine until it is not: another customer's traffic slows your site, a plugin needs a PHP setting you are not allowed to change, a spike gets your account throttled, or the host decides which PHP version you run and when. A VPS gives you the whole machine for a similar monthly cost.
What stops most people is what comes next. A fresh Windows Server has no web server, no PHP, no database, a firewall that either blocks too little or locks you out, no backups and no certificate. Getting it production-ready by hand is a weekend of half-right blog posts, and keeping it that way is a part-time job. That is the gap ServerMaid closes.
How it works
Rent a server, click once, add your sites
Rent a Windows VPS
Any provider that offers Windows Server 2019, 2022 or 2025 will do. Two gigabytes of memory and ten of free disk is the minimum; four gigabytes is recommended when MySQL is on the same server. Nothing else needs installing first.
Build it in one click
Copy ServerMaid and your licence to the desktop and press BUILD MY SERVER. IIS, PHP, MySQL or MariaDB, folder permissions, firewall, the security baseline, backups and log retention are set up in minutes, with a snapshot first and every step explained. What the build does.
Add each website
One form per site: folders, application pool, database and account, pretty URLs for WordPress or a front-controller framework, and a free certificate* from Let's Encrypt that renews itself. Then copy your files in and move the DNS.
* 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.
Migration checklist
- Export from the old host. Download your site files and a database dump from the control panel. Note which PHP version the site runs on and any settings you changed.
- Build the server. Run ServerMaid's setup and choose the PHP line and database engine you need. Use Advanced Setup if you want to see every choice.
- Create the website in ServerMaid. Enter the domain and www hostname. The DNS check will report that they still point at the old host, which is expected; the certificate waits until they move.
- Copy files and import the database. Files go into the site's wwwroot. Import the dump into the schema ServerMaid created, and take the database credentials from the site's private folder.
- Test before DNS moves. Add a staging copy, or map the domain to the new server in your own hosts file, and click through the site.
- Move the DNS and press Repair. Once the hostnames resolve to the new server, Repair issues the certificate, binds HTTPS and adds the redirect. The old host can be cancelled when you are happy.
- Check the health score. Backups are scheduled and verified, the certificate renewal is tested, and anything that needs attention is a sentence with a fix beside it.
Questions about moving to a VPS
Do I need to know Windows Server to do this?
No. ServerMaid asks where your websites should live and which database to install, shows you the plan in plain English, and builds the server. Adding a website is one form. When something needs attention it tells you what and offers the fix.
Which VPS provider should I use?
Any provider offering Windows Server 2019, 2022 or 2025 with a public address and a console in its control panel. ServerMaid needs outbound HTTPS to fetch PHP, the database engine and certificates, and no inbound port of its own. Use a hosting provider rather than a PC at home: residential broadband addresses change, and a home connection is not built to serve the public.
What about e-mail?
ServerMaid sets up web hosting, not mail servers. Keep your mailboxes with a mail provider, which is what most shared hosts quietly do anyway, and point the domain's mail records there.
Can I host more than one site?
Yes. The Websites and SSL module covers unlimited websites on the server, each with its own folders, application pool, database account and certificate.
What if I stop paying for ServerMaid?
Your server and websites keep working exactly as they are. ServerMaid drops to read-only: it still inspects and reports, it just makes no new changes until a licence is installed. It never switches off anything your visitors depend on.
Your own server, without the weekend
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.