Quick start

This walk-through takes a fresh Ubuntu or Debian server to a live WordPress site with HTTPS. Allow about ten minutes, most of it waiting for packages to install.

1. Create your account#

Sign up with your email address (or GitHub/Google). After you confirm your email, Zefily asks you for an approval passkey: a passkey on your phone or laptop that approves high-risk actions such as a root terminal or a reboot. Register it now — you can add a second one later on another device under Settings → Approvals.

Your account starts with an organization. Everything you create — servers, sites, team members, the subscription — belongs to it. You can invite your team later under Settings → Team.

2. Connect a server#

You need a server with a fresh Ubuntu 26.04 / 24.04 or Debian 13 / 12 (see Supported systems), with at least 1 GB of memory.

1. Go to Servers → Add server.
2. Give it a name and choose the web stack after setup (nginx or OpenLiteSpeed with PHP), or install it later.
3. Copy the one-line install command and run it on the server as root.

The installer checks its own fingerprint, verifies the signed agent release and enrolls the server. A minute later the server shows Online, and the baseline setup (firewall, SSH hardening, automatic updates…) runs on its own. Details and alternatives (install over SSH, create the server at a cloud provider) are in Connect a server.

3. Point your domain#

At your DNS provider, create an A record (and AAAA for IPv6) for your domain pointing to the server's address. Certificates are issued as soon as the domain resolves to the server.

4. Install WordPress#

1. Open the server and choose Sites.
2. Under One-click apps, choose WordPress, enter your domain and keep HTTPS on.
3. Click Install.

Zefily creates a Linux user and a PHP pool for the site, a MariaDB database (installing MariaDB if needed), installs the latest WordPress and requests a Let's Encrypt certificate. When the site row shows HTTPS until …, open it. Show admin login in the site row reveals the generated admin user and password.

5. Keep it safe#

• Add a backup plan to your own S3-compatible storage.
• Turn on uptime alerts and connect Slack, Discord, Telegram or email notifications.
• Check updates for all your WordPress sites at once on the WordPress page.

Where to go next#

• Deploy from GitHub for your own code.
• One-click apps for Laravel, PrestaShop, Moodle, Supabase, Nextcloud and more.
• The server page for everything Zefily shows and does for a server.