# Hostinger Hosting

> Use when managing websites on Hostinger hosting — hPanel navigation, WordPress staging environment, LiteSpeed Cache configuration, PHP version management, SSH access (port 65002), DNS zone editor, SSL/TLS certificates, email setup (IMAP/SMTP settings, SPF/DKIM/DMARC), backup and restore, Hostinger CDN, Node.js deployment, cron jobs, Git integration, file manager, database management, migration to/from Hostinger, or troubleshooting Hostinger-specific errors (500, SSL loops, upload limits).

- Skill: `joogy06/hostinger-hosting` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add joogy06/hostinger-hosting`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/joogy06/hostinger-hosting/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Integrations & APIs
- Author: joogy06 (https://skillmd.com/u/joogy06)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/joogy06/hostinger-hosting

---


# Hostinger Hosting

## Overview

Hostinger uses a custom control panel (hPanel, not cPanel), LiteSpeed web server, and NVMe storage. This skill covers hPanel navigation, WordPress-specific features, performance, SSH/developer tools, DNS, backups, SSL, email, security, troubleshooting, and migration.

## hPanel Navigation

### Main Sidebar
- **Home** — Hosting plans, domains, VPS, services overview
- **Websites** — Manage existing sites, add new, migrate
- **Domains** — Domain settings, DNS zone, purchase
- **Emails** — Email services (Hostinger Email, Titan Email)
- **Billing** — Subscriptions, invoices, payment methods

### Per-Website Dashboard Sidebar
- **Dashboard** — Resource usage overview
- **WordPress** — Overview, auto-updates, plugins, themes, staging, security
- **Files** — File Manager, FTP Accounts
- **Databases** — MySQL Databases, phpMyAdmin, Remote MySQL
- **Security** — SSL, Force HTTPS, malware scanner, IP manager
- **Performance** — CDN, object cache, LiteSpeed
- **Advanced** — PHP Configuration, DNS Zone Editor, Cron Jobs, SSH Access, GIT, .htaccess editor, Hotlink Protection, Activity Logs

**AI assistant (Kodee):** Built into hPanel, can toggle maintenance mode, flush caches, tweak LiteSpeed, run migrations.

## WordPress Features

### Staging Environment

**Availability:** Business plan or higher.

**Create:** Websites > Dashboard > WordPress > Staging > Create staging. Enter subdomain name, wait a few minutes.

- Creates full copy (files + database) on a subdomain
- Production and staging are independent (safe to modify)
- **Publish:** Click three-dots menu > Publish (replaces live with staging)
- **Revert:** Option to revert after publishing
- **Limitations:** No multisite support. Only works for domains (not subdomains). External nameservers require manual A record.

### Object Cache

**Based on LiteSpeed Memcached (LSMCD)**, not Redis on shared hosting. Business plan or higher.

**Enable:** hPanel > WordPress > Overview > Core section > toggle Object Cache.

### PHP Version Management

**Location:** Advanced > PHP Configuration.

Select version from dropdown (minimum 8.2 recommended). **PHP Options tab** for: `upload_max_filesize`, `post_max_size`, `max_execution_time`, `memory_limit`.

### Auto-Updates

**Location:** WordPress > Security. Separate toggles for core, plugins, and themes.

### Malware Scanner

Built into hPanel: Websites > Dashboard > Security. Scans for harmful files and suspicious code.

## Performance

### LiteSpeed Web Server

All Hostinger hosting runs LiteSpeed. LiteSpeed Cache for WordPress (LSCWP) plugin pre-installed. Features: page caching, image optimization, CSS/JS minification, lazy load, database optimization. OPcache enabled by default.

### Hostinger CDN

**Availability:** Business plan or higher.

**Enable:** Dashboard > search CDN > Enable. Domain must point to Hostinger nameservers. Auto-resizes/compresses images (WebP). Up to 40% performance improvement.

### Resource Limits

**Web Hosting:**

| Parameter | Single | Premium | Business |
|-----------|--------|---------|----------|
| Websites | 1 | 3 | 50 |
| Storage (NVMe) | 10 GB | 20 GB | 50 GB |
| Bandwidth | 100 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| CPU Cores | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| RAM | 1 GB | 2 GB | 3 GB |
| PHP Workers | 25 | 40 | 60 |
| PHP Memory | 1024 MB | 1536 MB | 2048 MB |
| Email Accounts | 1 total | 2/website | 5/website |

**Cloud Hosting:**

| Parameter | Startup | Professional | Enterprise |
|-----------|---------|--------------|-----------|
| Websites | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Storage (NVMe) | 100 GB | 200 GB | 300 GB |
| CPU Cores | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| RAM | 4 GB | 6 GB | 12 GB |
| PHP Workers | 100 | 200 | 300 |
| PHP Memory | 3072 MB | 6144 MB | 12288 MB |

### Compression & Protocols

- **Brotli** enabled by default (GZIP as fallback)
- **HTTP/2** and **HTTP/3 (QUIC)** supported via LiteSpeed

## SSH & Developer Tools

### SSH Access

**Availability:** Premium plan and above (NOT Single).

**Port:** `65002` (custom, not standard 22)

```bash
ssh u123456789@185.x.x.x -p 65002
```

**Enable:** Advanced > SSH Access > Enable. Username: `u{account_number}`. Password: same as FTP password. SSH key auth supported.

### WP-CLI

Available via SSH. Full command set accessible after connecting.

### Git Integration

**Location:** Advanced > GIT.

- Supports public and private repos
- Configure: Repository Address, Branch, Install Path (default: `/public_html`)
- Webhook support for GitHub continuous deployment
- **Limitation:** Deploys files only — no build steps

### Composer

Available via SSH for PHP dependency management.

### Node.js

**Availability:** Business and Cloud plans. Deploy manually or from GitHub. Configured via hPanel.

### Cron Jobs

**Location:** Advanced > Cron Jobs.

Two types: **PHP** (for .php files) and **Custom** (for scripts with special characters, use .sh file). Timezone: UTC+0.

## DNS Management

### DNS Zone Editor

**Location:** Advanced > DNS Zone Editor (domain must use Hostinger nameservers).

**Default Hostinger nameservers:** `ns1.dns-parking.com`, `ns2.dns-parking.com`

### Supported Records

| Record | Purpose |
|--------|---------|
| A | Domain to IPv4 |
| AAAA | Domain to IPv6 |
| CNAME | Alias to another domain |
| MX | Mail server |
| TXT | SPF, DKIM, verification tokens |
| SRV | Service location |
| CAA | SSL certificate authority auth |

**Default TTL:** 14400 seconds (4 hours).

### Cloudflare Integration

Update nameservers at Domains > select domain > Change Nameservers. Then manage DNS in Cloudflare, not hPanel. **SSL mode must be "Full" or "Full (Strict)"** to avoid redirect loops.

### Email DNS Records

```
SPF (TXT):    v=spf1 include:_spf.mail.hostinger.com ~all
DKIM (CNAME): Auto-configured for Hostinger Email
DMARC (TXT):  v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com
MX:           mx1.hostinger.com (priority 5), mx2.hostinger.com (priority 10)
```

**Only one SPF record per domain.** Only one email provider per domain at a time.

## Backup & Restore

| Plan | Frequency | Retention |
|------|-----------|-----------|
| Premium | Weekly | 6 weeks |
| Business | Daily | 7 days |
| Cloud | Daily | 7 days |

**Location:** Files > Backups.

- Generate on-demand backups (files, database, or both)
- Download or restore from backup date
- Can restore files and database separately
- Restoration overwrites current files/database (10-15 min for large sites)

## SSL/TLS

### Free SSL (Let's Encrypt)

Auto-installed on all websites. Lifetime free with auto-renewal. Domain-validated (DV).

**Custom SSL:** Uninstall free cert first, then Import SSL (paste cert, private key, CA bundle).

### Force HTTPS

**Method 1:** hPanel > Security > SSL > toggle "Force HTTPS"

**Method 2:** .htaccess:
```apache
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]
```

## Email

### Server Settings

**Hostinger Email:**

| Protocol | Server | Port |
|----------|--------|------|
| IMAP | imap.hostinger.com | 993 (SSL) |
| POP3 | pop.hostinger.com | 995 (SSL) |
| SMTP | smtp.hostinger.com | 465 (SSL) or 587 (STARTTLS) |

**Titan Email (premium add-on):**

| Protocol | Server | Port |
|----------|--------|------|
| IMAP | imap.titan.email | 993 (SSL) |
| POP3 | pop.titan.email | 995 (SSL) |
| SMTP | smtp.titan.email | 465 (SSL) or 587 (STARTTLS) |

### Email Limits Per Plan

Single: 1 total. Premium: 2/website. Business: 5/website. Cloud: 10/website.

### Features

Aliases, forwarding, catch-all, webmail (Hostinger Mail Web App). Compatible with Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail via IMAP/SMTP.

## Security

- 24/7 server monitoring, firewall, mod_security, Suhosin PHP hardening
- WordPress malware scanner (hPanel > Security)
- DDoS protection (RTBH filtering)
- IP blocking (Advanced > IP Manager)
- Directory password protection
- Hotlink protection (Advanced > Hotlink Protection)
- Activity/access logs
- 2FA for hPanel login
- WAF on managed WordPress plans
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified

## Troubleshooting

### 500 Internal Server Error

1. Rename `.htaccess` to `.htaccess_backup`
2. Increase PHP memory: Advanced > PHP Configuration > PHP Options > memory_limit
3. Disable plugins via File Manager (rename `wp-content/plugins` to `plugins_disabled`)
4. Check file permissions (755 dirs, 644 files)
5. Re-upload WordPress core files
6. Check error logs

### Database Connection Error

1. Verify wp-config.php credentials (DB_HOST is `localhost` on shared hosting)
2. Check database exists: Databases > MySQL Databases
3. Verify user privileges
4. Check if database size limit reached

### SSL Issues

- **ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR:** Clear browser cache, check in incognito, use SSL Checker tool
- **Mixed content:** Update HTTP links to HTTPS, use Really Simple SSL plugin
- **Redirect loop:** Rename .htaccess, verify `siteurl`/`home` in wp_options are HTTPS, if Cloudflare set SSL to "Full"/"Full (Strict)"
- **Certificate not showing:** Wait for DNS propagation (up to 48h)

### Upload Size Limits

Change via: Advanced > PHP Configuration > PHP Options > `upload_max_filesize` and `post_max_size`. `post_max_size` must be larger than `upload_max_filesize`.

### Email Deliverability

- Verify SPF, DKIM, DMARC records are set correctly
- Only ONE SPF record per domain (combine if using multiple services)
- DKIM must be CNAME (not TXT)
- Wait 24h for DNS propagation
- Test with mail-tester.com or mxtoolbox.com

## Migration

### Automatic Migration Tool

**Location:** Websites > Add website > Migrate website.

**Supported:** WordPress (single-site), Joomla, cPanel/WHM. **NOT supported:** WordPress Multisite, Blogger, Shopify, Squarespace.

Provide domain name + admin credentials. Hostinger handles the rest.

**What migrates:** Files, database, .htaccess. **Does NOT migrate:** Cron jobs, DNS records, custom SSL, FTP accounts, email.

### DNS Cutover Process

1. Complete migration first (do NOT change DNS yet)
2. Preview with temporary URL / SkipDNS tool
3. Change nameservers: Domains > DNS/Nameservers > "Use Hostinger nameservers"
4. Wait 24-48h for propagation
5. Install SSL certificate
6. Verify all functionality

### Manual Migration

1. Export source DB (phpMyAdmin or mysqldump)
2. Download source files (FTP/SFTP)
3. Create new DB on Hostinger (Databases > MySQL Databases)
4. Import DB via phpMyAdmin
5. Upload files to `public_html`
6. Update wp-config.php: DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, DB_HOST (`localhost`)
7. Update `siteurl`/`home` in wp_options if domain changed
8. Follow DNS cutover process

## Anti-Patterns

| Don't | Why |
|-------|-----|
| Change DNS before migration completes | Visitors see broken/empty site |
| Use standard SSH port 22 | Hostinger uses port 65002 |
| Create multiple SPF records | Only one SPF per domain; combine them |
| Set DKIM as TXT record | Must be CNAME on Hostinger |
| Ignore PHP memory limits per plan | Cannot exceed plan maximum regardless of wp-config |
| Skip staging for major updates | No easy rollback on shared hosting |
| Use Cloudflare "Flexible" SSL mode | Causes redirect loops with Hostinger |
| Attempt multisite migration with auto tool | Not supported; must migrate manually |