Install WordPress on OVHcloud shared hosting

This page describes the manual installation of WordPress on an OVHcloud shared web hosting plan. Manual installation is preferable to automatic installation: you choose the WordPress version, you know where the files are and you can act when something goes wrong.

The screen labels quoted below were checked on 18 August 2026 in the official OVHcloud documentation. The OVHcloud Control Panel exists in two versions, and some menu labels differ between them. The screenshots are not all recent: their labels were checked, their visual styling was not. They also show the French interface, since they come from a French installation.

Do not use the 1-click module

The 1-click modules tab of the Control Panel installs WordPress for you. You choose neither the installed version nor the location of the files, and troubleshooting is harder afterwards. The procedure below installs WordPress yourself.

Requirements

• An OVHcloud account and access to the Control Panel: https://www.ovh.com/manager (this address redirects to the new Control Panel domain).
• An OVHcloud shared web hosting plan. The current plans are: Free hosting, Starter, Perso, Startup, Pro, Performance, Agency, Agency Plus and Agency Max.
• A domain name and its DNS zone, preferably on the same OVHcloud account as the hosting plan.
• A file transfer program that supports SFTP, for example FileZilla.
• A stable, supported PHP version available on the chosen plan. WordPress recommends PHP 8.3 or newer, and MariaDB 10.11 or MySQL 8.0 as a minimum.

SSH access does not exist on every plan

Only the Pro, Performance, Agency, Agency Plus and Agency Max plans allow SSH access and several FTP users. On the Free hosting, Starter, Perso and Startup plans, you only have FTP and SFTP, which makes technical work slower.

1. Choose the hosting plan

Compare the plans on the OVHcloud web hosting page. Two criteria matter for WordPress:

• SSH access, available from the Pro plan onwards;
• the number and size of the included databases, since WordPress uses one.

Shared hosting is a shared infrastructure. Included databases are limited to 30 simultaneous connections, and the MySQL version of a database included with the hosting plan cannot be changed after creation.

Expected result: you have chosen a plan whose specifications cover your needs, including SSH access if you want to work from the command line.

2. Order the hosting plan

Place the order from the web hosting page, using the order button of the chosen plan.

Screenshots from 2023

The six screenshots in this step date from 2023. The order funnel shown, in four steps from selection to payment, is the one from that time. Its labels appear in French on the screenshots. The plan names, specifications and prices displayed are no longer current: refer to the web hosting page for the current values.

On the first screen, choose the option for no pre-installed module (Sans module pré-installé on the screenshot). WordPress will be installed in step 8, with the version you download yourself.

Further down the same screen are the CDN options and the SSL certificates. The SSL Let's Encrypt certificate is included.

The next screen offers a domain name. If you already have one, skip the step: it will have to be linked to the hosting plan, which step 3 describes.

Check the summary before paying.

Delivery is not immediate.

You then receive an email containing the login details for the storage space: host name, username, password and port.

That email states port 21, which means plain FTP. Use SFTP on port 22 instead, as described in step 7.

Expected result: the hosting plan appears under Web Cloud > Hosting plans in the Control Panel, and you have received the email with the login details.

3. Link the domain name to the hosting plan

If the domain name and the hosting plan were ordered together, they are already linked: go to step 4.

Otherwise, in the Control Panel, go to Web Cloud > Hosting plans, select the hosting plan, then the Multisite tab. Click the Actions button above the table of domain names, then Add a domain or sub-domain.

The Multisite tab also shows the publication folder linked to each domain. Note it down, it is used in step 8. For a single website, that folder is www.

[Screenshot to take: the Multisite tab of the hosting plan, the table of domains and the Actions button.]

Expected result: the domain name appears in the table of the Multisite tab, with its publication folder.

4. Enable the SSL certificate

Enable the certificate before installing WordPress: the website address is stored in the database during the installation, and it is simpler for it to already be in HTTPS.

In the SSL certificates tab of the hosting plan, select the domain name or subdomain under the Enable SSL certificate heading, then click Enable Let's Encrypt SSL.

[Screenshot to take: the SSL certificates tab, the Enable SSL certificate heading and the Enable Let's Encrypt SSL button.]

Expected result: the domain appears in the table of the SSL certificates tab with the Let's Encrypt type, and the https:// address answers in a browser.

5. Check the runtime environment and the PHP version

In the General information tab of the hosting plan, find the Global PHP version entry. To change it, click the ... button to its right, then Modify configuration.

OVHcloud offers three runtime environments: Legacy, Stable and Stable64. Only Stable64 accepts PHP 7.4 and the 8.x versions. Choose Stable64 and a PHP version still supported by the PHP project, in line with what WordPress recommends.

As of 18 August 2026, the OVHcloud documentation lists the following versions on shared hosting plans: 5.4 to 7.0 with Legacy or Stable, 7.1 to 7.3 with Stable, and 7.4 to 8.5 with Stable64. The 5.x and 7.x versions are no longer supported by the PHP project.

Changing the PHP version through an .htaccess file is no longer possible on the current plans. The configuration goes through the Control Panel or through the .ovhconfig file at the root of the storage space.

[Screenshot to take: the General information tab, the Global PHP version box and the Modify configuration window.]

Expected result: the General information tab shows the Stable64 environment and a supported PHP version.

6. Create the database

In the Databases tab of the hosting plan, click Create a database. If a database already exists, go through Actions then Create a database.

Fill in the three screens:

1. Database type (its size), engine and version. Databases included with a web hosting plan are only available with the MySQL engine.
2. User (6 characters at most in addition to the prefix already filled in) and password. The database name is identical to the user name.
3. Summary, then Confirm.

This screenshot dates from 2023 and only offers MySQL 5.6, which is no longer a supported version.

[To be completed: the MySQL versions actually offered at creation time, to be noted from the Control Panel. Choose the most recent one that WordPress supports, since the version of a database included with the hosting plan cannot be changed afterwards.]

Creation can take up to 15 minutes. The user name and the database name cannot be changed afterwards.

From the table in the Databases tab, note the address of the database server. On OVHcloud shared hosting, the database is not on the same machine as the files: the host to enter in WordPress is not localhost.

Expected result: the database appears in the table, and you have four pieces of information: server address, database name, user name, password.

7. Retrieve the access details for the storage space

In the FTP - SSH tab of the hosting plan, note the address of the FTP and SFTP server, the user name and the port. Port 21 is for FTP, port 22 for SFTP and SSH. If you have forgotten the password, use the ... button to the right of the user row, then Change password.

SFTP encrypts the exchanges between your computer and the hosting plan. Use it rather than FTP.

On the plans that allow it, SSH access is enabled from this tab: the ... button to the right of the user, then Edit, then, in the Connection protocols section, the FTP, SFTP and SSH choice. The SSH server address has the form ssh.clusterXXX.hosting.ovh.net:

bash

ssh yourlogin@ssh.clusterXXX.hosting.ovh.net -p 22

[Screenshot to take: the FTP - SSH tab, the connection information box and the table of users.]

Expected result: you connect to the storage space with your SFTP program and you see the publication folder noted in step 3.

8. Transfer the WordPress files

Download the archive of the latest stable WordPress version and extract it on your computer. You obtain a wordpress folder.

In FileZilla, open the File menu, then Site Manager....

Create an entry with the information noted in step 7: host, user name and password. Choose the SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol protocol and port 22.

The screenshot above shows an FTP connection, as it was configured when the screenshot was taken. Select SFTP instead.

Start the connection. The left side of the window shows your computer, the right side the hosting plan. Go to the wordpress folder on the left, to the publication folder on the right, select every file on the left, then use Upload in the context menu.

Transfer the contents of the wordpress folder, not the folder itself. Before uploading, check that the destination folder is empty, so as not to overwrite an existing website.

Expected result: the index.php file and the wp-admin folder are present at the root of the publication folder.

9. Run the installation

Open your website address in a browser. WordPress lists the database connection details it needs, then you open the form with Let's go!.

Enter the database name, the user name, the password and, in the database address field, the server address noted in step 6 instead of localhost.

If WordPress cannot write the wp-config.php file, it displays its contents: save it on your computer and transfer it to the root of the publication folder, then start the installation again.

When the database connection works, WordPress confirms it. Click Run the installation.

Then enter the site title, the administration user name, a password and an email address. Do not use admin as the user name.

The password is masked on this screenshot. Write yours down, it is not displayed again.

The Log In button opens the login screen, at the /wp-admin/ address of your website.

Expected result: WordPress announces the end of the installation and you log in at the /wp-admin/ address of your website.

10. Check after the installation

• The website answers in https:// and the address configured in WordPress is indeed in https://.
• The PHP version reported by WordPress under Tools > Site Health matches the one set in step 5.
• Updates for WordPress, themes and plugins can be applied from the administration.

Expected result: a WordPress installed, reachable in HTTPS, on a supported PHP version.

When shared hosting is no longer enough

Shared hosting shares its resources and limits the number of simultaneous database connections. If your website reaches those limits, see managed WordPress server hosting.