Create your first PHP site

Create a site, connect a database, and publish your PHP application from the AppLaunch dashboard.

Before you begin

Make sure:

• You have an active PHP + MySQL service on AppLaunch.
• You know which domain or subdomain you want to use.
• Your application files are ready to upload.

1. Open your service

Sign in to AppLaunch, open Dashboard → Services, and select your PHP + MySQL service.

2. Add a domain or subdomain

Open Domains and choose the address people will use to visit your website.

To use a free AppLaunch subdomain:

1. Click Claim Free Subdomain.
2. Choose an available text*.sites.applaunch.org address.
3. Follow the setup steps.

To use your own domain or subdomain:

1. Click Add Domain.
2. Select Add External Domain.
3. Enter the complete hostname, such as textapp.example.com.
4. Add the ownership TXT record shown by AppLaunch.
5. Wait for the record to become public, then click Verify Ownership.

DNS changes may take some time to update, depending on your DNS provider.

For the full ownership and DNS flow, see Connect an existing domain.

3. Create your site

1. Open PHP Sites.
2. Click Create Site.
3. Enter a name for your site.
4. Select your domain from the dropdown.
5. Add the A record displayed by AppLaunch at your DNS provider.
6. Click Verify DNS.
7. Select the PHP version you want to use. PHP 8.3 is marked as recommended in the dashboard.
8. Click Create Site.

When using Cloudflare DNS, set the record's Proxy Status to DNS only while AppLaunch verifies the address and issues its certificate.

Wait for provisioning to finish. Do not repeatedly create the site while its status is pending.

4. Upload your files

Once provisioning is complete, visiting your website should display the default PHP information page.

Open the site, then select Files. You can:

• Drag and drop files.
• Create or edit files directly.
• Rename, move, copy, archive, extract, download, or delete entries.
• Use Access for SSH and SFTP connection details.

Upload your public entry point as textindex.php inside the document root shown under Overview → Site Configuration. See Manage PHP files and access for detailed instructions.

5. Connect a database

Open the site, select Database, then:

1. Open Databases and create a database.
2. Open Users and create a database user. Save an automatically generated password immediately; it may not be shown again.
3. Assign at least one database to the user during creation, or open Privileges and grant the required access afterward.

When connecting from PHP hosted on the same AppLaunch site, use the Internal Host and Internal Port shown under Database → Connection. The current platform values are normally:

• Host: textmysql
• Port: text3306

Do not use the external host from code running inside AppLaunch. For connections from your own computer, use the External Host and External Port shown in Connection.

For complete instructions, including users, privileges, password rotation, allowed hosts, phpMyAdmin, and sample PHP code, open Advanced → Databases.

6. Test your site

1. Visit your domain in a private browser window.
2. Confirm that the application loads over HTTPS.
3. Test features that write to or read from the database, such as signing in, submitting a form, or loading stored data.
4. Open Logs if the site returns an error or a blank page.
5. Create a backup before replacing an existing working application.

Once everything works, remove or replace the default PHP information file. A public PHP information page exposes server configuration details that visitors do not need.

Your PHP application is now live.