Website activation process

Step 1: Purchase a Cloud Web Hosting instance

Alibaba Cloud offers shared Cloud Web Hosting and dedicated Cloud Web Hosting instances. You can choose an instance that meets your needs based on your budget, website size, traffic, and security requirements.

• For more information about product types and pricing, see Pricing.

• For more information about the website types that Cloud Web Hosting supports, see Supported website building systems for Cloud Web Hosting.

• For more information about the main differences between the two instance types and the supported operating systems and databases, see Purchase a Cloud Web Hosting instance.

After you purchase a Cloud Web Hosting instance, Alibaba Cloud automatically attaches a temporary domain name to it. Alibaba Cloud provides this domain name for free. The domain name has already completed its ICP filing and domain name resolution. You can use the temporary domain name if you want to quickly test your website or cannot use your own domain name for reasons such as an incomplete ICP filing. For more information, see What is a temporary domain name?.

(Optional) Step 2: Register or purchase a domain name

If the temporary domain name meets your needs for testing and serving your website, you can skip this step.

A domain name is a name for a computer or group of computers on the Internet. It consists of a string of names separated by dots. A domain name identifies a computer's location during data transmission. To access a website or web application, you can enter its domain name in the address bar of your web browser. For example, you can use www.aliyun.com to access Alibaba Cloud services.

After you test your website with the temporary domain name, you can register or purchase your own domain name to make your website or web application publicly accessible on the Internet. For more information about how to register or purchase a domain name, see Alibaba Cloud Domain Names.

(Optional) Step 3: Apply for an ICP filing for the domain name

After you register or purchase a domain name, you must apply for an ICP filing if the domain name provides Internet Information Services in the Chinese mainland. Your website can be launched only after the ICP filing is approved. The first application for an ICP filing takes about 20 working days. For more information about ICP filing, see What is an ICP filing.

The ICP filing application for a domain name involves the following cases:

• An ICP filing is required to provide Internet Information Services in the Chinese mainland.

• If your domain name is used for a website after registration, you can go to the Alibaba Cloud ICP Filing system to apply for an ICP filing.

• If your website is for commercial purposes, you must also apply for an ICP license after you obtain the ICP filing. Then, you can launch the service.

• According to the 'Administrative Measures for the Security Protection of International Networking of Computer Information Networks', after your website's ICP filing is approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), you must log on to the National Internet Security Management Service Platform within 30 days of your website launch to submit a PSB filing application.

Step 4: Create and upload the website

• Create the website

  After you have a domain name and a Cloud Web Hosting instance, you can create your website or use a third-party provider to create it.

• Upload the website

  After you create the website, you can use an FTP client to upload the website program to your Cloud Web Hosting instance. Perform the following steps:

  1. You can install an FTP client. We recommend FileZilla. For more information, see Manage website program files using FileZilla.

  2. You can upload the website program to the Cloud Web Hosting instance. For more information, see Upload website files to a Linux Cloud Web Hosting instance or Upload website files to a Windows Cloud Web Hosting instance.

  3. (Optional) To import data from a local database to the Cloud Web Hosting database, see Import database files.

  4. (Optional) To test the website, you can log on to the website using the temporary domain name. Alibaba Cloud provides test samples to help you test your website program. For more information, see Cloud Web Hosting website test samples.

(Optional) Step 5: Resolve the domain name

If the temporary domain name meets your needs for testing and serving your website, you can skip this step.

Before you make your website publicly accessible, and after your domain name is registered and has an approved ICP filing, you must attach your domain name in the Cloud Web Hosting console and resolve it. See the following topics:

• Attach a domain name

• Set up an A record for a domain name

• Set up a CNAME record for a domain name

If your domain name does not use Alibaba Cloud DNS for resolution, you must contact your domain name provider for instructions on how to resolve your domain name.