Welcome to Cloudways! Whether you’re launching a new ecommerce store or moving to an existing one, this guide will walk you through everything you need to get started.
You’ll learn how to launch your store, migrate it, set up domains, secure your store, improve performance, and scale your business — all with simple steps.
Table of Contents:
Getting Started Guide for Ecommerce Store Owners
Whether you’re launching a brand-new ecommerce store or moving an existing one to Cloudways, this guide will walk you through every step.
From choosing your application to optimizing performance and securing your store, everything you need to get started is covered here.
1. Choose and Launch Your Ecommerce Application
Cloudways makes it easy to launch popular ecommerce platforms.
Click here to read the full KB article.
You can choose from:
WooCommerce
Magento
OpenCart
Custom PHP-based applications
How to launch your store:
Simply select your preferred ecommerce application from the Cloudways Platform and use our 1-click installation process.
Your store will be up and running in just a few minutes, no complicated setup required.
2. Migrate Your Existing Ecommerce Store to Cloudways
If you already have an ecommerce store running on another hosting provider, Cloudways offers several options to migrate your store easily and quickly:
Click here to read the full KB article.
For WooCommerce Stores:
Use our free Automated WordPress Migrator plugin to migrate your WooCommerce store in just a few simple steps.
For Stores Hosted on Other Platforms:
You can move your store from platforms such as:
Kinsta
WPEngine
SiteGround
cPanel
GoDaddy
Self-managed hosting (AWS, Google Cloud Platform, DigitalOcean)
Other hosting providers
White-Glove Managed Migration:
If you don’t want to handle migration yourself, you can use our white-glove managed migration service. The best part?
Your first five website migrations are absolutely free! Our expert team will handle everything for you to ensure a smooth transition.
Planning to migrate 50 or more websites? We offer attractive discounts on bulk migrations. Reach out to us at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help.
3. Configure Your Domain and DNS Settings
Once your store is launched or migrated to Cloudways, it’s time to point your domain name to your new hosting environment.
Click here to read the full KB Article.
Steps to configure your domain:
Update your domain’s DNS settings to point to your Cloudways server.
If you need help, you can refer to Cloudways support article or contact our support team.
Securing your domain with SSL:
Protect your customers’ data by installing an SSL certificate.
Cloudways offers free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates, which you can install from your Cloudways dashboard in just a few clicks.
Having a secure site builds trust with customers and ensures their payment and personal information stays safe.
Click here to learn more about installing Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate.
4. Set Up Email Services for Subscriptions and Order Confirmations
To send important emails to your customers, such as order confirmations, shipping updates, or subscription notifications, you need to configure email services.
Available email options:
Elastic Email Add-on: Perfect for sending transactional emails such as subscriptions, order confirmations, and password resets. (Click here to read the full KB Article)
Rackspace Email Add-on: Provides a reliable mailbox service so you can create a professional email address for your domain (for example, [email protected]). (Click here to read the full KB Article)
5. Optimize Your Ecommerce Store’s Performance
A fast and reliable store is key to delivering great customer experiences. Cloudways offers several built-in tools to optimize your store’s speed and performance:
Caching:
Enable Varnish caching and Redis caching directly from the Cloudways platform to speed up your site.
Click here to read the full KB Article.
Breeze cache plugin:
If you’re using WordPress or WooCommerce, install the Breeze cache plugin to further boost performance with optimized caching settings.
Click here to read more about Breeze Cache Plugin.
Content Delivery Network (CDN):
Integrate with Cloudflare CDN to ensure your content loads quickly for customers across the world.
Click here to read more about Cloudflare CDN.
Optimizing performance helps reduce page load times, improves SEO rankings, and increases customer satisfaction, which means more sales!
6. Secure Your Ecommerce Store
Protecting your store is extremely important for both you and your customers. Cloudways provides a suite of powerful security features:
Malware Protection & Firewall: Safeguard your store from malicious attacks.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Add an extra layer of security when logging into your Cloudways account.
Automated Backups: Create regular backups of your store and restore them anytime if needed.
Automated Disk Cleanup: Keep your server clean and optimized.
7. Create Staging and Development Environments
Want to test changes without affecting your live store? You can create staging environments directly on Cloudways.
Staging environments let you test updates, new themes, or plugins safely.
Once everything looks good, you can push changes to your live store with ease.
Click here to read the full KB Article.
Tip: Creating staging environments is completely free with Cloudways!
8. Monitor and Scale Your Store
Sales events and holidays can bring in a lot more traffic than usual. With Cloudways, you can easily keep an eye on your store’s performance and scale up resources when needed, so your customers always get a smooth, fast shopping experience. Cloudways makes it easy to:
Monitor store performance:
Use Cloudways Monitoring tools to check server health, app performance, and resource usage.
Click here to read the full article.
Scale resources on demand:
Upgrade your server specs (CPU, RAM, storage) as your store grows or traffic spikes — without downtime.
Click here to read the full article.
This flexibility ensures your store is always fast and responsive, even during busy periods.
9. Useful Ecommerce Workflows, and Tools
Cloudways provides a range of additional tools to help you run your ecommerce business smoothly:
Manage and Access Database Securely: Use database management tools to keep your data organized.
Access web files through SSH / SFTP: Securely manage and update your site files.
GeoIP Support: Use GeoIP to customize content and experiences based on customer locations.
Team Collaboration: Add team members and assign roles — free with Cloudways.
Server Transfer Feature: Easily transfer your server to another Cloudways user (great for agencies and freelancers). For example, if you're an agency that has built a website for a client, you can use this feature to transfer the entire server directly from your Cloudways account to your client's account, making handover smooth and professional.
10. Track Your Hosting Budget & Earn Rewards
It’s easy to keep track of your spending and earn rewards with Cloudways:
Billing & Usage Monitoring: Monitor your current month’s usage and billing directly in your dashboard.
Referral Program: Refer Cloudways to your friends and get a $50 signup bonus for each referral.
Affiliate Program: Set up stores for your clients through your affiliate link and earn $125 per sale.
Final Thoughts
That’s it! you’re ready to start selling on Cloudways! Whether you’re launching a new store or migrating an existing one, Cloudways offers powerful tools and flexible services to help you succeed.
Need Help?
If you need assistance, feel free to:
Visit the Cloudways Support Center
Chat with us: Need a Hand > Send us a Message
Or create a support ticket anytime.
We're here 24/7 to help you!