CloudStick is a server control panel for developers and agencies that lets you manage cloud servers on AWS, DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, and Hetzner without using the command line. Plans start at $9/month — the Basic plan covers 1 server with unlimited websites; Pro at $19/month and Business at $49/month cover unlimited servers.

Will features I pay for ever get moved to a higher plan?

No. CloudStick is committed to keeping all features you currently pay for within your existing plan. New features may be added to higher tiers, but existing plan features will never be removed or require a forced upgrade.

What happens to my servers if I cancel CloudStick?

Your servers remain fully operational after cancellation. CloudStick does not host your servers — it manages them. If you cancel, you lose access to the CloudStick dashboard, but your servers continue running on your cloud provider.

Is there a free trial for CloudStick?

Yes. CloudStick offers a 7-day free trial on all paid plans with no credit card required. You can explore every feature and upgrade, downgrade, or cancel at any time during or after the trial.

VPS SETUP

Jun 23/2026

How to Set Up a Production-Ready VPS: The Complete 2026 Guide

10 min read

CloudStick Team

DevOps Engineer

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How to Set Up a Production-Ready VPS: The Complete 2026 Guide

VPS
production setup

Prerequisites & Planning

A production VPS needs planning before you spin it up. Decide upfront on the workload (WordPress, Laravel, Node.js, or a combination), expected traffic, backup strategy, and team access model. These decisions determine the right plan size and the software stack you install.

PREREQUISITE

You need a cloud account (DigitalOcean, Vultr, Hetzner, AWS, or Linode), a local machine with an SSH client, and about 30 minutes. CloudStick Basic plan ($9/month) gives you one server slot, free SSL, unlimited websites, and 4 GB backup storage — enough for most production setups.

Choosing Your Provider & OS

The four most commonly used providers for CloudStick users are DigitalOcean (best documentation), Vultr (best price/performance), Hetzner (cheapest European infra), and AWS Lightsail (easiest billing integration). For OS, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is the default recommendation — it is the most widely supported distribution in the CloudStick agent, with Long-Term Support until 2029.

When sizing: a $6/month Vultr Cloud Compute (1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM) works for a low-traffic site; $12–24/month (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM) covers most production WordPress or Laravel apps under 50K monthly visits; 8 GB RAM and above for WooCommerce stores or multi-site setups.

First Login & Security

After provisioning, the cloud provider emails you a root password or gives you an option to upload an SSH key. Always choose SSH key authentication — never use password-based root login in production.

# Generate your key pair locally (if you don't have one)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your@email.com"
# Copy the public key to your new server
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub root@YOUR_SERVER_IP
# Connect
ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Installing Essential Software

The minimal package set for a production server. Update the package index first, then install the essentials.

apt update && apt upgrade -y
apt install -y curl wget git unzip ufw fail2ban htop build-essential
# Set timezone (replace with your zone)
timedatectl set-timezone UTC
# Enable NTP sync
timedatectl set-ntp true

Keep the base system lean. Install only what the application stack requires — every extra package is an attack surface.

TIP

Create a swap file if your server has less than 2 GB RAM. Run: fallocate -l 2G /swapfile && chmod 600 /swapfile && mkswap /swapfile && swapon /swapfile — then add /swapfile none swap sw 0 0 to /etc/fstab to persist across reboots.

Firewall & Hardening

UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) is the standard on Ubuntu 24.04. Allow only the ports you actually use.

ufw default deny incoming
ufw default allow outgoing
ufw allow ssh
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw enable
# Verify
ufw status

For SSH hardening, edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config: set PasswordAuthentication no, PermitRootLogin no (after creating a sudo user), and Port to a non-standard number only if you understand the tradeoffs. Restart SSH with systemctl restart ssh.

Manage Everything With CloudStick

Once the base OS is hardened, connect it to CloudStick and skip manual management forever. In the CloudStick dashboard, click “+ Add Server”, choose “Connect Your Own Server”, and paste the one-line installation command onto your VPS. The CloudStick agent installs in under two minutes and immediately gives you a web dashboard for creating sites, managing SSL, monitoring CPU/RAM/disk, and configuring the firewall — all without SSH.

CloudStick's SSH Vault stores and organizes your server credentials securely. The firewall manager wraps UFW and CSF in a visual interface, and the EasyPHP extension manager installs PHP extensions with one click rather than manual apt commands.