Frequently asked questions

Advanced users can host several websites on the same hosting plan. To do this, you will need to attach another domain name or subdomain to this hosting plan. The procedure for attaching or detaching domains is explained in this guide: Hosting multiple websites on your Web Hosting plan

Did you choose OVH because you need to create a website very quickly, but don’t have the technical expertise or understanding of HTML required to create websites on your own? With OVH, you can build your website using well-known tools such as WordPress, Joomla!, PrestaShop and Drupal.

Set up your website in one click without having to fill out any tricky forms. All you need to do is focus on the content of your website, so you can get it online as soon as possible. Follow our guide here:
Setting up your website with 1-click modules

To get your website online, there are a few steps to follow, which you can find in this guide:
How to get my website online

In order to log in via FTP, you can use free software such as FileZilla. Just follow this guide:
Logging in to a web hosting plan via FTP

To change the password for your hosting plan, go to your Control Panel and click on the name of your web hosting plan in the left-hand column.

Then go to the "FTP - SSH" tab, where the list of FTP users will be displayed. Click on the little cogwheel to the right of the SSH column, and then click "Change the password".

The password will change in a few minutes.

If you have issues with FTP hosting, please see this guide:

Recurring FTP problems

When you install a web hosting plan, OVH sets up a holding page while you are uploading files to your website. You will probably see this message if you've uploaded your files to the "www" folder but you haven't deleted the content that OVH placed there.

To correct this, you need to delete or rename the "index.html" file saved by OVH in your hosting space. You could simply rename it so you can reactivate it at any time and use it as a holding/under construction page.

NB : make sure you upload your website files to the "www" folder, so that they are visible.

When your hosting plan is installed, the database that is included is not automatically set up on your solution.
As a result, you will not get these details automatically by email.
You have to create your database first.

Log in to your customer account, and select the name of the web hosting plan in question. Go to "Databases", then "Create a database".

Select "MySQL" and the database size available with your solution. Enter the information required, then click "Next" to finish creating your database.

A few minutes later you will get your database details by email.
If your database has already been created, go to “Database", click on the small cogwheel to the right of your database, and then click "Change the password". Please note: in this instance you will also have to change your database password in your website's configuration file.

Before you begin, please be aware that certain rules apply to changing the owner of a domain name.

For .fr/.re/.tf/.pm/.yt/.wf/.eu/.be extensions, you have to follow the steps described here:

• Changing the owner of a geographic domain.

The following guide explains how to change the owner of a domain name with extensions such as .com/.net/.org/.info/.biz :

• Changing the owner of a generic domain.

For more information on changing the domain name owner, you can view the technical details for domains, available here:

• General information on the various domain name extensions.

Select the domain extension from the list on the left, then click "Details" on the right.

These guides will explain how to transfer a domain name:

• Transferring a geographical domain name.
• How to transfer a generic domain name (.com, .net, .org, .info, .biz).

There are several ways to redirect a domain name.
This guide will help you: Redirecting a domain name managed by OVH.

Need help creating your email address? Follow this guide:

• Creating an email address.

There are several reasons this message could appear:

• You have used up all the email accounts included in your hosting plan.
• You don't have a web hosting plan, therefore you don't have any associated email accounts.
• You can't create an email account via your billing account. Please make sure that you're logged in to your account as the administrator or technical user.

To solve the issue, either order a plan that allows you to create an email account, or log in again with the correct NIC handle.

Need help sending an email? Follow this guide on how to use Roundcube:

• Using Roundcube.

Various guides are available to help you configure your email address using various email clients.
You can see our guides via this link:

• OVH email guides.

This guide will help you to manage the contacts in your services:

• Managing contacts .
• Change the contacts for a service .

Change your account information via the Control Panel.
Go to your NIC handle in the top right, click on "My account" and then "Change".
You can then change your customer account details.

• Change your customer account details .

You can generate a new password for your OVH customer account. Please go to the login page to do so then click "Forgotten your password?", enter your NIC handle and click "Submit".

You cannot update your country via the Control Panel. In order to change it, first you have to:

• Update your postal details.
• Then send an email to the support team with your proof of address, and written confirmation of your request.

The support team can then edit the country in your customer account for you.
You will, however, continue to receive support from the support team based in the country where your account and contracts were first validated.

Absolutely. However, you must correctly configure your current domain name in order to use our email and hosting solutions.

Email solutions :
Select one of the following email configurations:

• mx0.ovh.net: no protection.
• mx1.ovh.net and mx2.ovh.net: basic anti-spam, with different priorities;
• mx3.ovh.net and mx4.ovh.net: anti-spam + antivirus, with different priorities;
• redirect.ovh.net: used to redirect your emails to another address (you cannot use this to manage a domain's POP accounts. OVH DNS servers must be used in this configuration).

Then forward the configuration to your current provider to update it on your current DNS zone.

Web hosting plans :

• Recover your web hosting plan's IP address.

Then forward it to your current provider to update it on your current DNS zone. Follow this guide to get your IP address:

• Recovering your web hosting plan's IP address .

View the "Retrieving my hosting system IP address" and "IP and clusters summary table" sections.

Web hosting, also known as "online" or "internet hosting", is a service that consists of a disk space to put your website online, so that it can be permanenently accessed on the internet.

A web hosting plan (also sometimes referred to as "shared hosting") is based on a common architecture which is managed by the hosting service provider. This means that everything is taken care of for the customer.

A domain name generally corresponds to a website address. The Domain Name System, or DNS, enables requests to be redirected to this domain, the correct hosting system or other associated services, such as emails.

There are generic domains, (such as .com .net .org), which are not attached to any zone, and geographical extensions, (such as .fr .eu .asia). Nb - around 700 new extensions will soon be released: .web, .uk, .shop, .london, .sex, etc.

A web hosting plan means that the customer does not have to worry about the platform (or architecture) that their website is stored on. As it's a shared platform, the management tools are also shared, which means they're easy for novices to use as they have been designed to be used by all.

With dedicated servers, the customer also manages the machine, which is theirs, offering more freedom in terms of resource usage and configuration. However, this means that they will need to manage more settings, and anticipate the possible impact on their website.

The cloud is based on the principle of a virtualised platform and/or resources allocated to your website. It provides increased flexibility in terms of your configuration, which generally is customised to suit your requirements when virtualised. The management and customisation features are mainly derived from dedicated servers, and are thus more sophisticated.

Since 1999, our qualified support team has been helping you set up your web projects. 18 million applications and 150,000 servers hosted make OVH the number 1 hosting provider in Europe, and number 3 globally.

We develop web solutions that give you many configuration options; for example, modules that allow you to set up an online store or a blog. It's also really easy to manage your services via the OVH Control Panel.

Our high-security global fibre optic network provides a faultless internet hosting service. As a result, over 700,000 customers have already put their trust in us, in France and in our 16 subsidiaries.

Web hosting plans are generally used by customers who want an easy way to manage a professional website, a personal blog or even several websites, without having to worry about the hosting platform. However, experienced users tend to opt for a dedicated server so that they can manage everything themselves, including the machine.

These hosting plans suit a wide range of needs, and are able to support a large number of projects. Because of this, they are suitable for a wide range of user profiles, from individuals to large companies.

You can create a website before ordering a web hosting plan by using a website builder, or the services of a specialised agency. The website then simply needs to uploaded to the active hosting package.

You can also create your website directly on the hosting plan, either using programming tools, or one of the many modules (CMS) provided: WordPress, PrestaShop, Joomla! and Drupal

Adult content can be hosted as long as it is legal, and as long as the online application complies with standard regulations for websites containing content reserved for a restricted audience (e.g. access to minors is prohibited). However, you can only host adult content on OVH web hosting plans PERFORMANCE.

Customers will also be advised of their responsibilities and duties regarding content on placing their order, when they accept the terms and conditions.

You can use up to 1,000 domain names on the Personal and Professional plans, and there's no limit on the Performance range.

As for websites, you can create and host as many as you like (within the limits of the contractual conditions and the features of your solution). The "recommended maximum number of websites" that we provide is a simple recommendation, related to the resources of each plan.

The "power" of a hosting package can be defined, in simple terms, by the processor resources (Core CPU) and the RAM of the machine (server).

On shared hosting solutions, all these resources were shared indiscriminately without priority. On the other hand, with web hosting plans, Personal and Professional plans are prioritised differently, whereas the Performance range has resources guaranteed and adaptable.

We have added a monitoring tool to your Control Panel. If you go to the "General information" tab for the web hosting plan in question, you can see your resource usage.

Not yet. Only the "primary domain name" can currently use the exclusive services included.

Later, this distinction will disappear, and all domain names linked to your web hosting plan will come with email accounts.

Yes. DNSSEC is offered free of charge on any domain where the extension is compatible with this service. The option can be enabled/disabled via the OVH Control Panel.

Apache 2.4 integrates new features, some of which are incompatible with old versions. These will require that you update your website, more specifically your .htaccess file.
The following is a list of recommended changes to make your website compatible:

FilterProvider (mod_filter):

Example of Apache 2.2 syntax:

FilterProvider COMPRESS DEFLATE resp=Content-Type $text/html
FilterProvider COMPRESS DEFLATE resp=Content-Type $text/css

Example for Apache 2.4:

FilterProvider COMPRESS DEFLATE "%{Content_Type} = 'text/html'"
FilterProvider COMPRESS DEFLATE "%{Content_Type} = 'text/css'"

We would recommend that you make your .htaccess file compatible with the two versions, as follows:

<IfModule mod_version.c>
    <IfModule mod_filter.c>
        <IfVersion >= 2.4>
            FilterProvider COMPRESS  DEFLATE "%{Content_Type} = 'text/html'"
            FilterProvider COMPRESS  DEFLATE "%{Content_Type} = 'text/css'"
        </IfVersion>
        <IfVersion < 2.4>
            FilterProvider COMPRESS DEFLATE resp=Content-Type $text/html
            FilterProvider COMPRESS DEFLATE resp=Content-Type $text/css
        </IfVersion>
    </IfModule>
</IfModule>

The order process on the website does not allow you to sign up for a web hosting plan without a domain name. However, you can add a web hosting plan to a domain name in your OVH Control Panel, whether the domain is registered with OVH or simply declared on the DNS zone as being registered with a different service provider, or non-existent.

This domain name will be used if it exists, otherwise it will simply be a reference linked to the hosting plan. Even if your domain name and web hosting plan expire, you will be able to renew one or the other independently.

Customers can request for their service to be migrated via the OVH Control Panel. The system will manage the service change; your website and all of your data will be retained, and will remain accessible.

You can do this through the Boost option, if you have the Performance plan or higher. Click on the name of your Performance web hosting plan in the Control Panel, and then go to the "Boost my solution" tab.

When one of your OVH services is near expiry, an email will be sent out a month in advance to notify you, and you will also be sent reminders until the expiry date. A final email will be sent once the service has expired. These emails will contain the list of products near expiry, and a link to create your renewal invoice.

You can also carry out this operation directly via our website, by entering the names of the products you wish to renew.

You will also find a list of services near expiry in your OVH Control Panel under Administration > My services > Auto-renewal, with a button to activate the renewal.

The domain name offered free for 1 year with your OVH web hosting plan will expire a year after its creation date. You can renew this domain at the annual price for the relevant extension, if you wish to retain it. The same goes for the Anycast DNS option linked to your domain, which can be renewed (for £0.83 ex. VAT/year).

If your domain name is not renewed, you will not be able to use it any more (for your website nor the associated email accounts) and it will be deleted. However, you can renew your hosting plan separately, which will remain active (accessible via another domain you have linked it to, for example).

From the OVH website:

On the website's homepage, there is a box that says "Enter your domain name here".

You will need to enter the name (e.g. ovh.com), and click "RENEW".
You can enter several product names in succession, in order to renew them at the same time.

Via your Control Panel:

At the top of the page, click on "Billing", then "My services" on the left-hand menu.
You will then see all of your products, which you can can sort through and select by ticking them in order to renew them.

Via automatic renewal:

In your Control Panel, click on "Billing" at the top of the page, then "My payment methods" in the left-hand menu.
You can then add your preferred payment method: PayPal, bank account or bank card.
Then, in "My services", you will see the list of products that you can choose to renew automatically.

You can get an estimate directly, by simulating an order on the OVH website, but not proceeding with payment at the end of the process.
An order simulation does not represent any kind of financial commitment, so you can do this as many times as you like.

Alternatively, you can contact us by telephone, on +65 6962 8979, or by email on this page.