Hosting & Server Management
Server setup and management on DigitalOcean and cPanel. Nginx, SSL, DNS, Cloudflare, backups and monitoring, every account in your name.
Server setup and management on DigitalOcean and cPanel. Nginx, SSL, DNS, Cloudflare, email, backups and monitoring, all registered in your name.
Most of what breaks on a server was set up once, in a hurry, by somebody who has since moved on. I set it up properly, document it, and leave every account in your name so you are never locked out of your own infrastructure.
My rate is $14 per hour. Initial server setup is a fixed-price build, quoted up front so the number does not move unless the scope does. Ongoing management runs as a monthly block you can scale up or down. You pay the hosting provider directly, at their prices, with no markup from me.
What I set up and run
Server provisioning
A droplet or instance sized to the actual workload, not the biggest one the salesperson suggested. Nginx configured properly, PHP-FPM tuned, MySQL with sensible limits, and a firewall that only opens what needs opening.
SSL and Cloudflare
Certificates through Let's Encrypt with auto-renewal, or Cloudflare origin certificates. Set to Full Strict, not Flexible. Flexible SSL is the most common cause of redirect loops I get called in to fix, and it also means the hop between Cloudflare and your server is unencrypted.
DNS and domains
Records, subdomains, nameservers and transfers. Email authentication done properly, which means SPF, DKIM and DMARC, so your invoices stop landing in spam.
Deployment
Git-based deployment so changes ship with a push rather than an FTP client and a prayer. Staging environments where it makes sense, so nothing untested reaches production.
Backups and monitoring
Automated daily backups stored off the server, with restores tested. Uptime, SSL expiry, disk usage and error-rate alerts that reach a person.
The platforms, and when each one fits
I do not resell hosting, so the recommendation is whichever one fits the workload and the budget.
The sweet spot for most applications: predictable pricing, enough control, and no surprise bill at the end of the month.
Fine for a brochure site with no application behind it. Cheap, and somebody else patches the server.
In front of any of them for DNS, caching and certificates. The free tier covers most sites.
Start to finish
- 01Size the boxA droplet or instance matched to the actual workload rather than the largest one on the page, with the monthly cost written down before anything is provisioned.
- 02Provision and hardenEverything under the application goes on first and is locked down before a single file is deployed.
- 03Certificates and DNSBoth are in place before launch, along with the mail records that stop your invoices landing in spam.
- 04DeploymentWired up before the first real release, so nothing after that goes out by hand.
- 05Backups and monitoringSwitched on at launch, not after the first incident, and the restore is tested once rather than assumed forever.
- 06Hand overEvery account in your name, credentials transferred, and a written runbook for the things you may need to do without me.
Everything goes in your name
Your DigitalOcean account. Your domain registrar. Your Cloudflare. Your repository. I get access, not ownership.
This matters more than it sounds. The single worst position to be in is discovering your previous developer owns the hosting account, and your site now depends on someone who has stopped replying. If you replace me next year, you change one password and carry on.
Recent work
Before hiring
DigitalOcean or shared hosting?
I will recommend the cheapest option that actually fits the workload, and I take no margin on any of them.
Can you migrate my existing site?
Yes, including DNS cutover planned to minimise downtime. Migrations run to a staging copy first so we verify before switching.
Do you handle email hosting?
Setup and DNS records, yes. I generally recommend Google Workspace or Zoho over self-hosted mail, because running your own mail server is a deliverability problem you do not need.
What if the server goes down?
Monitoring alerts me. Response is covered under a management block or billed hourly.
Can you fix a server someone else configured?
Yes. I audit it first and tell you whether it is worth repairing or rebuilding.
Built with this service
Other ways I can help
I build software, and I measure whether it works.
The same questions I research are the ones I ask on client builds: is it reliable, is it fast, is it easy to use, and is it secure. Those four drove satisfaction in my ICT portal study, and they shape how I scope and test every project.