Web hosting console FAQ

What is a temporary domain name?

After you purchase a web hosting instance, Alibaba Cloud automatically assigns a temporary domain name to your host. This domain name is provided for free by Alibaba Cloud and has its ICP filing and DNS resolution completed. If you cannot use your own domain name for reasons such as a pending ICP filing, you can use the temporary domain name to test your website.

Keep the following points in mind when using a temporary domain name:

• The temporary domain name is intended only for website testing before your official domain's ICP filing is approved. To ensure your website runs properly and can be promoted, complete the ICP filing and bind your official domain name as soon as possible.

• The temporary domain name cannot be deleted.

Follow these steps to access your website using the temporary domain name:

1. Open a web browser.

2. Enter the temporary domain name and press Enter.

   The format of the temporary domain name is: hostname.my3w.com

   For example, if your hostname is testli123, the temporary domain name is testli123.my3w.com.

3. On the verification page, enter the required information and click Confirm Access.

   You can access the website only after successful verification. The verification page will not appear again for four hours.

Can one instance host multiple websites?

No.

Although you can bind multiple domain names to a web hosting instance, it has only one IP address. Because all domains must resolve to this single IP, one instance cannot host multiple independent websites.

Does web hosting support Java?

No.

To see the programming languages supported by web hosting, see Purchase a web hosting instance.

If you need to run a Java-based website, we recommend purchasing an ECS instance. For more information, see What is ECS?.

Does web hosting support the GD library?

Linux-based web hosting supports the GD library, but Windows-based web hosting does not.

Does web hosting support HTTPS?

Yes.

You can enable HTTPS encrypted access by applying for a free personal test certificate or by uploading an existing certificate. For more information, see Enable HTTPS encrypted access.

Is the Yaf framework supported?

Yes.

Yaf (Yet Another Framework) is a PHP framework written in C and implemented as a PHP extension. You can configure the Yaf framework by using the custom extension feature of web hosting. For detailed instructions, see Procedure.

Are ftp_get() and ftp_put() functions supported?

Is reverse proxy supported?

No.

Web hosting is a managed service with a pre-installed environment for common website development. It does not support direct modification of PHP or Nginx files, and you cannot configure a reverse proxy. For a list of modifiable parameters, refer to the information displayed in the management console. If you require server configuration changes, we recommend purchasing an ECS instance. For more information, see What is ECS?.

Is PEAR supported on Linux hosts?

Linux-based web hosting supports PEAR applications. However, the pre-installed operating system environment does not include the PEAR extension library. You can use PEAR features by downloading the extension library to the htdocs directory of your host.

Are AspJpeg and AspUpload supported on Windows hosts?

Windows-based web hosting does not support the AspJpeg and AspUpload components.

What extensions are pre-configured on Linux hosts?

Linux-based web hosting instances come with various common extension components pre-configured. Supported PHP versions vary by product type. For example, Enhanced web hosting does not support PHP 5.2. The default extension components also differ slightly across PHP versions. The following table lists some common extension components.

What causes CDN acceleration to fail?

CDN acceleration may fail for the following reasons:

• Your domain is not registered or has not completed its ICP filing, which prevents the creation of an accelerated domain. For more information about domain names, see Alibaba Cloud Domain Name Service.

• You have exceeded the default limit of 50 accelerated domains allowed on the Alibaba Cloud CDN platform.

• Your domain is on a blacklist or has an invalid format, which prevents the creation of an accelerated domain.

If none of the above conditions apply, confirm that you have completed all the required steps for using CDN. For more information, see Introduction to CDN.

How is CDN acceleration billed?

After you enable CDN acceleration for a domain on your web hosting instance, the traffic generated by CDN is billed separately. By default, only the pay-by-traffic billing method is supported, and you cannot change the billing method in the CDN console after activation. For more information, see CDN billing overview.

Why is my website slow after enabling CDN?

Many factors can cause slow website access after enabling Alibaba Cloud CDN. These include issues with the user's local network, large amounts of content on the website, or problems with CDN nodes. For more information, see Slow website access after enabling Alibaba Cloud CDN.

Why is the upload file size setting missing on Linux hosts?

Cause: On the Advanced Environment Settings > PHP.INI Settings page, the Upload file switch is set to Disabled.

Solution: On the PHP.INI Settings page, ensure the Upload file switch is set to Enabled. When it is enabled, the PHP function settings section will display the upload_max_filesize setting(MB): option, which allows you to set the file upload size limit. For detailed instructions, see Related documentation.

Why do Linux logs lack line breaks on Windows?

Cause: The newline character in the Linux operating system is \n, while in the Windows operating system, it is \r\n. Because the two systems use different newline characters, website logs downloaded from a Linux web hosting instance do not have line breaks when opened on a local Windows host. As a result, the log data is displayed as a single line or appears as garbled characters, which makes it difficult to view and analyze the logs.

Solution:

This procedure uses EditPlus as an example. You can use any text editor that supports different line endings. The interface may vary depending on the editor you choose.

1. Download and install a text editor.

2. Download the website log from your Linux-based web hosting instance and save it to your local machine.

   For instructions, see Download or delete website logs.

3. Open the log file on your local machine using the EditPlus text editor.

4. In the top menu bar, select Document > Word Wrap.

   Note

   You can also use the shortcut Alt+Shift+W in EditPlus to perform this action.

How to view PHP configuration with phpinfo()?

After purchasing a Linux-based web hosting instance, you can view its PHP configuration details, including PHP compilation options, extensions, PHP version, PHP environment variables, and operating system information. This helps you verify whether the PHP environment meets your website's requirements.

Procedure:

PHP configuration information varies by PHP version. The information you see may differ from the examples shown. This procedure uses a Linux-based web hosting instance with PHP 5.6 as an example.

1. Connect to your Linux-based web hosting instance by using FileZilla.

   For instructions, see Manage website files with FileZilla.

2. In the website's root directory /htdocs, right-click an empty space and select Create new file.

3. In the Create empty file dialog box, enter a filename (for example, test.php) and click OK.

4. Select the test.php file you created, right-click it, select View/Edit, enter the following code, and save the file.

   <?php
   phpinfo();
   ?>

5. In a browser, enter http://your-domain-name/test.php and press Enter.

6. The page returned by the phpinfo() function displays the PHP configuration information.

   The phpinfo() page contains sections like the one below. You can search this page to confirm whether your PHP environment meets your application's requirements.

   The phpinfo() page displays detailed configuration parameters in a table format, including the PHP version, system information, build date, configuration command, and server API.

How to download logs from the past 180 days?

1. Log in to the Cloud Web Hosting management page.

2. Find the web hosting instance for which you want to view logs and click Manage in the Actions column.

3. In the left-side navigation pane, choose File Management > Site Log.

4. On the Site Log page, click the Archived Log tab.

   If you have not performed a system update, a Note dialog box appears, prompting you to enable archived logs. Click OK.

5. Click System Update. In the dialog box that appears, click OK.

   After the system update is complete, you can view the downloadable log files in the archived log list. Additionally, access logs are automatically stored in the wwwlogs directory of the site. You can use an FTP client to download these log files and view their details.

   Important

   The system update requires a server restart, which will cause a brief interruption to your website. Do not leave the page or perform any other actions during the update, which takes about 30 to 300 seconds.

6. Connect to the web hosting instance by using an FTP client.

   For instructions, see Manage website files with FileZilla.

7. Download the logs to a specified local path.

   Type	Actions
   Access log	In the www directory under the logs directory of the site, right-click the access log that you want to download, and then click Download(D). Note In the wwwlogs directory, you can view and download access logs and error logs.
   FTP log	In the ftp directory under the site's logs directory, right-click the FTP connection log that you want to download, and then click Download(D). Note You can only view FTP connection logs from the previous day. For example, the FTP log file for February 16, 2023, will contain connection information only from February 15, 2023.

Forgot your WordPress admin password?

If you forget the administrator password for your WordPress site and cannot recover it by email, follow these steps.

1. Log in to the Cloud Web Hosting management page.

2. Find the web hosting instance where WordPress is installed and click Manage in the Actions column.

3. In the left-side navigation pane, click Database information.

4. Log in to the database.

   For instructions, see Log in to a database by using the web-based DMS.

5. Under the Tables tab for your database, find and click the wp_users table.

6. In the wp_users table, find the user_pass field.

   Note

   When you open the wp_users table, you will see the user_login (login username) and user_pass (login password) fields. The value in user_pass is MD5-hashed, so you cannot see the plaintext password.

7. Change the value of the user_pass field to a known MD5 hash (the encrypted string of your new password).

   For example, if you want to set the new administrator password to hello, change the value of the user_pass field to the MD5 hash of hello, which is 5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592.

   Note

   You can quickly generate an MD5 hash from a plain text password by using an online MD5 generator.

8. Optional: After successfully logging in to the WordPress admin dashboard, you can reset your password again to a more complex one.

Error: "token cannot be empty" when changing OS

Symptom

When you try to change the operating system of your host in the web hosting management console, you receive the error message "token cannot be empty".

Cause

This issue is likely caused by excessive data in your browser cache.

Solution

1. Clear your browser cache.

   The following steps use Google Chrome as an example:

   1. Open Google Chrome. In the upper-right corner of the page, click the icon and then click Settings to go to the browser settings page.

   2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Privacy and security.

   3. In the Privacy and security section, click Clear browsing data.

   4. In the dialog box that appears, go to the Basic tab and select the content to clear and the time range.

      Note

      To clear hosted app data, autofill form data, and more, click the Advanced tab and select the content and time range you want to clear.

      You can select checkboxes such as Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, and Cached images and files. From the Time range drop-down list, select a time range to clear.

   5. Click Clear data.

2. Log in to the web hosting management console again and try to change the host's operating system.

   • If the issue is resolved, the troubleshooting is complete.

   • If the issue persists, proceed to the next step.

3. Try changing the host's operating system again using a different web browser.

   If the issue persists, submit a ticket.

How do I submit a ticket?

You can submit a ticket in any of the following ways:

• Log in to the Submit Ticket page.

• Log in to the web hosting management console. In the top navigation bar, choose Tickets > Submit Ticket.

• Log in to the web hosting console. In the upper-right corner, choose User Actions > Submit Ticket.

How to apply for a purchase contract?

Before applying for a web hosting contract, keep the following points in mind:

• Your account must have completed real-name verification.

• You need the order number for your web hosting purchase.

• You can only create one official contract with an electronic seal per order.

For instructions on how to apply for a purchase contract for web hosting, see How to apply for a contract.

How to change the bound phone number and email?

If you need to change the phone number or email address associated with your account, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the web hosting management console.

2. Find the Cloud Web Hosting instance that you want to manage and click Manage in the Actions column.

3. On the Site Information page, in the Account information section, change the phone number or email address.

   • Phone number: Next to Bound Phone Number, click [Replace binding]. Follow the prompts on the page that appears to complete the process.

   • Email: Next to Bound Email, click [Replace binding]. Follow the prompts on the page that appears to complete the process.

4. Click OK.