How to Sign Up for Cloudways and Launch a WordPress Site (2026 Guide)

Cloudways works differently from shared hosting. You do not buy a plan for a term; you launch a cloud server, pay for it by the hour, and get one bill at the start of each month. Signing up takes a few minutes, and the trial does not need a card.

Before you start: what it costs

Cloudways bills per server, and you can put several WordPress sites on one server. As of October 2026, DigitalOcean servers on Cloudways cost:

Server	Standard (SSD)	Premium (NVMe)
1 GB RAM, 1 CPU	$11/mo	$14/mo
2 GB RAM, 1 CPU	$24/mo	$28/mo
4 GB RAM, 2 CPU	$46/mo	$54/mo
8 GB RAM, 4 CPU	$88/mo	$99/mo

Cloudways itself recommends 1 GB only for testing; a live business site or blog usually starts at 2 GB. There is no intro discount and no renewal jump. See the Cloudways price table and renewal price page.

You will also need a domain from a registrar (Cloudways does not sell domains) and, after the trial, a Visa or Mastercard credit card or a PayPal account.

Step 1: Create your account

1. Open the Cloudways sign-up page.
2. Enter your first name, last name, email address, and a password, or sign up with Google, GitHub, LinkedIn, or DigitalOcean.
3. Answer the two short questions about who you are and your monthly hosting budget.
4. Accept the terms and click Sign up.
5. Click the link in the verification email to activate the account.

No card is needed. The 3-day free trial starts when you create your first server. Cloudways manually reviews some new accounts; if yours is flagged, explain what you are building to live chat and it is usually approved quickly.

Step 2: Launch a server with WordPress

Cloudways prompts you to create your first server after you log in (later, use Flexible → My Servers → Add Server). Choose:

1. Application: WordPress (WooCommerce for a store; avoid Multisite unless you need it).
2. Names for the app and the server.
3. Cloud provider: DigitalOcean is the cheapest and a good default. Trial accounts cannot launch AWS servers.
4. Database: MariaDB is the recommended default. This cannot be changed later.
5. Server type: Basic (shared CPU) suits most small sites. Trial accounts can only choose Basic.
6. Server size: start small; you can scale up later.
7. Location: the data center closest to your visitors. It cannot be changed later without cloning to a new server.

Check the monthly and hourly price shown at the bottom and click Launch Now. The server is ready in a few minutes, with WordPress already installed.

Step 3: Log in to WordPress

In Flexible → My Servers, open the server, click the www icon, and choose your app. Under Access Details you will find the temporary Application URL and the Admin Panel address, username, and password. Change the admin email and password after your first login.

Step 4: Add your domain

1. In the app's Domain Management, click Add Domain, enter your domain, and click Save Changes (the www version is added automatically).
2. Use the three-dot menu next to it to choose Make Primary, then Set as Primary.
3. At your registrar or DNS provider, add two A records (@ and www) pointing to the server's Public IP.

Step 5: Install free SSL

Once DNS has resolved, open the app's SSL Certificate page, keep Let's Encrypt, enter your email and domain, add the www version with Add Domain, and click Install Certificate. Turn on HTTPS redirection when prompted. Let's Encrypt certificates renew automatically.

Step 6: Upgrade before the trial ends

The trial lasts only 3 days; servers on accounts that are not upgraded are stopped. To upgrade, click your avatar, choose Billing, open the Settings tab, click Add Payment Method, and add your card and billing address. Cloudways places a $1 temporary authorization. Because billing is postpaid, your first bill arrives on the 1st of the next month.

What to check after you sign up

• Billing: Track current usage under Billing → Overview.
• Leaving later: Stopping a server does not stop billing; see our Cloudways cancellation guide.
• Moving an existing site: See our Cloudways migration guide.

Still comparing? See Cloudways against SiteGround, Hostinger, and Kinsta.