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This guide explains how to activate or deactivate maintenance mode on a website hosted by Infomaniak Hosting.
Maintenance mode allows you to display a customized message to your visitors, for example, during the resolution of a technical issue. It is also possible to configure IP addresses that can bypass this page.
Activating Maintenance Mode
To set up a page with your chosen message:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Edge
- Click on the icon at the top right of the interface (or navigate through the left side menu, for example)
- Choose Website (universe Web & Domain)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
Then choose:
- A/B: click on Manage then Enable Maintenance
- C: click on Enable Maintenance then Customize
- D: click on Page Editor then Maintenance Page > Customize
Then, to customize the maintenance page:
- Layout the text as desired
- Configure the display using the elements on the right
- Click Save to keep your ongoing edits
- Click Save & Activate to publish the page
Allowing IP Addresses
It is possible to display a site even with maintenance mode active. To do this, it is necessary to specify the IP addresses of computers that should be able to bypass maintenance mode:
- Activate maintenance mode following the procedure above
- Go to the maintenance page configuration page (see above procedure)
- Under Maintenance on the right, click on Insert my IP address to allow your computer to display the site without maintenance mode. It is also possible to manually enter the IP addresses to allow
- Click Save and Publish
Deactivating Maintenance Mode
To deactivate the message displayed on your site during maintenance:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Edge
- Click on the icon at the top right of the interface (or navigate through the left side menu, for example)
- Choose Website (universe Web & Domain)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on Manage then Disable Maintenance or directly on the button in the red banner
Alternative Method for WordPress
It is not recommended to activate the above Infomaniak maintenance page and then work in WordPress. It is recommended to install a WordPress extension (there are dozens available) dedicated to putting WordPress into maintenance mode within the CMS itself or by adding the code
<?php $upgrading = time(); ?>
in a new empty file named .maintenance (the period before the file name is important) placed on the server at the root of your site, which disables all your pages except the WordPress home page.
This guide allows you to create subdomains with web hosting, including Cloud Server. However, this function is not possible with Starter hosting (the 10 MB hosting included with each domain name).
Subdomains make it easier to organize hosting. For example, the address vlog.domain.xyz is a shortcut for the address domain.xyz/vlog. In other words, the address vlog.domain.xyz points to the vlog folder located at the root of the website domain.xyz. In this example, vlog is the subdomain of domain.xyz.
Step 1: Add the Subdomain as an Alias for Your Website
- Follow the alias adding procedure but please read points 2 and 3 below carefully
- In the Alias domain name field, enter the complete subdomain address (e.g., vlog.domain.xyz)
- If your domain or its DNS zone is managed by Infomaniak, enable the following two options: Update DNS entries for this domain and Replace existing entries. If not, create an A record with your registrar with the following information:
- Field: the complete URL of the subdomain (e.g., vlog.domain.xyz)
- Target: the IPv4 address (A record) of your site (how to display your site's A record)
Step 2: Modify the htaccess File of Your Website
Important: The following instructions are provided for reference only. You may need to adapt the code to make it work in your situation.
Using your FTP software or our FTP Manager, add and adapt the following code to the htaccess file located at the root of your website:
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^(.*)\.domain\.xyz [NC]
RewriteCond %{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%1/ -d
RewriteCond %1::%{REQUEST_URI} !^(.*?)::/\1/?
RewriteRule "^(.*)$" "%{DOCUMENT_ROOT}/%1/$1" [L]
Explanation for the third line: https://stackoverflow.com/a/15981056
Replace on the first line:
- domain with your domain name
- xyz with the extension of your domain (ch, fr, etc.)
Now, the address vlog.domain.xyz should display the content of the vlog folder located at the root of your website. If it doesn't, check if the vlog folder exists at the root of your website.
While Infomaniak offers all the SSL certificates you may need:
- Let's Encrypt certificates for personal sites: install a Let's Encrypt certificate (only possible for sites hosted with Infomaniak)
- DV (Domain Validation) certificates from Sectigo for professional/personal sites that are not registered as businesses, and EV (Extended Validation) certificates from Sectigo for registered businesses: order an EV or DV certificate from Sectigo, the world's leading certificate authority (compare these SSL certificates: prices, guarantees, included services, etc.)
You can also install an SSL certificate obtained elsewhere (intermediate certificate from a certification authority of your choice), custom certificates, or self-signed certificates.
This guide explains how to generate a CSR (Certificate Signing Request). This is an encrypted block of text that uniquely identifies who you are and which domain name you want to protect with the certificate.
1. Install a self-signed or custom SSL certificate
To access website management:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Firefox
- Click on the icon in the top right corner of the interface (or navigate using the left sidebar menu, for example)
- Select Website (Web & Domain universe)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on SSL Certificates in the left sidebar menu
- Click the blue Install an SSL certificate button
- Re-select the relevant site at the top of the page, if necessary
- Select I already have an SSL certificate at the bottom of the page
- Click Next
At this stage, your site's traffic is encrypted, but visitors to your site will see a very discouraging security warning upon their first visit. To avoid this, we strongly recommend installing a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate or a professional Sectigo SSL certificate. Compare SSL certificates
2. Generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR)
To access website management:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Firefox
- Click on the icon in the top right corner of the interface (or navigate using the left sidebar menu, for example)
- Select Website (Web & Domain universe)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on SSL Certificates in the left sidebar menu
- Click on the name of the site that currently has a self-signed certificate
- Click on Manage
- Click on Generate a certificate request (CSR)
This page allows you to generate a file that must be submitted to a recognized certification authority to obtain a signed certificate.
Once the page is completed with your information and validated (by clicking on Generate Request), click on the button to Download the .csr file and submit it to the certification authority of your choice to obtain the signed certificate, which you can then import to the same location (read below).
You can also proceed by copying and pasting if you prefer, using the corresponding option. The certificate obtained via this CSR will be valid only for this hosting.
3. Import a certificate / intermediate certificate
To access website management:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Firefox
- Click on the icon in the top right corner of the interface (or navigate using the left sidebar menu, for example)
- Select Website (Web & Domain universe)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on SSL Certificates in the left sidebar menu
- Click on the name of the site that currently has a self-signed certificate
- Click on Manage
- Click on Import a certificate or Import an intermediate certificate and follow the instructions to select the .crt file and import it; you can also proceed by copying and pasting if you prefer
Git and GitHub are available at Infomaniak with all hosting offers on:
and of course the Jelastic Cloud offer which will allow you deep integration of versioning.
This guide explains how to modify the URL of your site containing a Web application (such as Prestashop or Joomla) installed on your Infomaniak Web hosting (via WordPress & Apps). If the application in question is WordPress, refer to this dedicated guide.
Prerequisites
- the domain name to be used must first be added as an alias of the main domain on the concerned site
Modify the address of a WordPress & Apps site
To change the address of the site created with an Infomaniak Web application, to another domain name that already exists in the same customer account:
- log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Firefox
- click on the icon in the top right corner of the interface (or navigate through the left side menu, for example)
- choose Website (universe Web & Domain)
- click on the name of the object concerned in the displayed table
- click on WordPress & Apps in the left side menu
- click on the Configure button of the relevant application
- under Site URL, select the desired Web address from the dropdown menu:
- if you haven't followed the prerequisites above, the desired domain will not appear even if it's registered in the same organization:
- if you've added the domain as an alias of the site, the desired domain will appear and you can select it to replace the previous domain:
- if you haven't followed the prerequisites above, the desired domain will not appear even if it's registered in the same organization:
- click on the Save button
Note: among the URLs listed in the dropdown menu, the preview URL allows you to access your site in case the site's domain name is not yet correctly configured to point to your Web application.
This guide explains the differences between Infomaniak Web hosting offers to help you choose the best hosting solution according to your needs.
Starter Hosting
Free Web hosting
The Starter hosting is offered for free with each domain name registered with Infomaniak. It provides 10 MB of disk space to create a website (basic HTML pages only - no PHP, no database) even without any particular knowledge thanks to the Welcome Page tool.
- Register or transfer a domain name with Infomaniak
- Learn more about the advantages included with a domain name
Shared Web Hosting
The flagship offer for creating your websites
These hosting plans are shared hosting (websites will be hosted on servers whose resources are shared with other clients). To ensure the reliability of our shared services, our servers use on average only 40% of CPU power and are equipped with state-of-the-art professional SSD disks.
Web hosting offers a minimum of 250 GB of disk space and allows you to manage multiple websites with multiple domain names. This offer includes all the technologies commonly used to create professional websites: PHP, MySQL, FTP and SSH access, SSL certificates, Site Creator and easy installation of WordPress or common CMS, etc.
Cloud Server
Professional Web hosting
With a Cloud Server, the resources allocated to you are not shared with other clients and you can customize the hardware and software configuration of your server according to your needs. A Cloud Server also allows you to use components that are not available on shared hosting (node.js, mongoDB, Sol, FFMPEG, etc.).
- a Cloud Server allows you to easily administer your server via the same administration console as web hosting - you manage the sites in the same way
- a VPS allows you to manage your server 100% autonomously with the Windows version or the Linux distribution of your choice (Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE, ...) - strong technical skills are required to use a VPS, including VPS Lite
Public Cloud
Open, proven, and secure IaaS solution
For Infomaniak, it's the infrastructure that powers kDrive, Swiss Backup, and Webmail, services used by millions of users. But Public Cloud is accessible to everyone and provides the resources you need for your projects' development.
With our custom and tailor-made offers, you will have no trouble managing your development budget. No setup fees. No minimum amount. Cancelable at any time. You only pay for the resources actually used with our Public Cloud at the end of each month.
Jelastic Cloud
Custom hosting with the technologies of your choice
Jelastic Cloud allows you to create custom development environments with the technologies of your choice (PHP, Node.js, Java, Docker, Ruby, etc.). It's a flexible cloud offering:
- horizontal and vertical resizing of resources
- payment based on actual resource consumption
- easy customization of your infrastructure (redundancy, IP, SSL, load balancing, etc.)
We do not directly provide this VPN service, tunnel or secure network built between two points (VPN = Virtual Private Network).
However, you can consider an alternative solution using our hosting products.
This guide explains how to execute the open-source dependency manager Composer 1 and 2 using an SSH command.
Composer is an open-source dependency manager for PHP that allows managing libraries and packages required for a specific PHP project. It enables developers to define the libraries their application needs and install them consistently, making dependency management easier for complex PHP applications.
Starting from version 2.2 of Composer, it's necessary to have at least PHP 7.2.5 (PHP 5.x is no longer supported and is not recommended for modern projects).
Executing Composer
To use Composer on your hosting, you need to connect to your server via SSH and install Composer on your hosting by specifying the following command:
Composer
... for Composer 1.x !
Composer2
... for Composer 2 !
You can also use the following alias to install the version compatible with the PHP version installed on your hosting:
Composer --version
... which will output, for example, Composer version 2.5.0 2022-12-20 10:44:08
Composer_php5.6 --version
... will output Composer version 1.8.6 2019-06-11 15:03:05
This guide explains how to install a WordPress site with WordPress & Apps without overwriting your current website. The method can be used at the start of a staging process for example.
Staging refers to creating a new version of your website live, on a development or test environment. This copy is used to test changes and updates before applying them to the live site. This allows website owners to test features, security updates, plugins, themes, WordPress updates, and content changes, without the risk of causing downtime or site issues. direct.
Once the tests have been performed and the changes have been committed to the staging copy, it is possible to deploy them to production (on the live site) using automated deployment tools or by making the changes manually.
Install WordPress on a second location
It is recommended to install WordPress on a new site from the same hosting:
- first create the new site by giving it a domain name of the form new.domain.xyz for example
- install WordPress via WordPress & Apps
At this point, the main site (domain.xyz) remains untouched and you can safely work on the new site new.domain.xyz. Both work in parallel.
Replace the old site with the new one
Once ready, if necessary, you can delete the first site in order to reuse its domain name on the new one:
- delete the old site to make the domain available and be able to reuse it
- add domain.xyz as an alias of new.domain.xyz
- reverse alias with main domain
- remove new.domain.xyz which has become an alias
- as a precaution check the main URL of the WordPress site via the dashboard of the WordPress & Apps tool (learn more)
This guide explains what you need to determine if you get a 403 error in order to resolve this issue.
What is error 403?
HTTP error code 403 usually means that access to a resource is denied to the client by the server.
When does this error occur?
The user is not authenticated : the server requires that the user identify himself to access the resource. This may be the case for private pages requiring authentication, for example.
The user is authenticated but does not have the necessary permissions : the server recognizes the user but does not allow him access to the requested resource due to permission or role restrictions. This cause of 403 error can be an incorrect permission problem, on a folder or file. For a folder, the error message is "403 Forbidden", for a file, "failed to open stream: Permission denied". In this case, you must check that the permissions of your folders/files are correct, i.e. minimum 644 for a file and 755 for a folder. Learn more
The user's IP address is blocked or restricted : the server can block access to a specific IP address for security reasons, protection against attacks... Learn more
The requested resource does not exist on the server : in this case, the server returns a 403 error rather than a 404 error to avoid disclosure of confidential information. If you are trying to simply access your home page or part of your site, by indicating an address such as www.domain.xyz or www.domain.xyz/folder/ make sure that there is a home page named "index.html or .htm or .php" placed in the right place (at the root of your FTP space, in the /web directory, or in the /folder/ directory). Learn more
In addition, check that there is no capital letter in the file name, all file or folder names present in your FTP space must be in lower case, without accents or spaces.
Script error : if you were running a script, filling out a form, uploading a file online and you get this type of message:
Access forbidden!
You do not have the right to access the requested object.
Either it is protected or it cannot be read by the server.
If you believe this is a server error, please contact the site manager.
Error 403
the cause may be a filter that prevents unwanted use of scripts by spammers. In fact, our antivirus blocks the upload of files via scripts on our servers or via FTP. This means in concrete terms that when a hacker sends a file identified as a virus via a form, an unsecured script or via FTP, its installation is directly blocked, the file is not uploaded to the server and the upload generates an error 403.
In the event of a false positive, you must contact us by giving us the URL of the page where you encounter this error message so that we can accurately diagnose the origin of the problem.
However, there are many other cases in which you could get a "403 forbidden" message and for very diverse reasons (PHP scripts, perl, mod_security, .htaccess, ...).