PHP 7.4 to 8.3
Choose the PHP version per domain in the control panel. Run an older app on 7.4 and a new project on 8.3 on the same account.
Free PHP and MySQL hosting for 30 days
Web hosting with full PHP support and a MySQL database, from a UK-based provider. Run WordPress, a forum or your own PHP code on PHP 7.4 to 8.3. Your first 30 days are free with no card needed, then it’s £0.99 a month if you stay.
- No card to start
- No setup fee
- Then £0.99/month
What it costs, from day one
Nothing to pay for the first 30 days, and no card needed to start. After that, £0.99 a month if you decide to stay.
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Today
£0
Create your account and get a complete hosting account. No card details are asked for.
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Days 1 to 30
£0
Build your site and use every feature. Nothing is charged during the free period.
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Day 31 onwards
£0.99/month
Only if you choose to continue. Pay the first monthly invoice and your hosting carries on unchanged.
No setup fee, no hidden charges and no price rise after the first year. A domain isn’t included: bring one you already own (how to connect it). How the 30 free days work
What is PHP hosting?
PHP hosting is web hosting where the server can run PHP, the programming language behind most of the web’s dynamic sites.
A plain HTML page is sent to the visitor exactly as it is stored. A PHP page is different: the server runs the code first, usually fetching something from a database, and sends back the finished page. That is how a blog shows your latest posts, a forum shows new replies and a contact form sends you an email.
What PHP is used for
WordPress, Joomla and Drupal are written in PHP, and so are phpBB, SMF and MyBB forums and shop software such as WooCommerce. If you are installing one of those, you need PHP hosting even if you never write a line of code. Developers use the same environment for their own sites, small Laravel or Symfony projects, APIs and internal tools.
What “free PHP hosting” usually leaves out
Permanently free hosts that offer PHP tend to limit it: an old PHP version you can’t change, no error log, disabled functions, a custom panel, or adverts on your pages. Traxio takes a different route. You get the complete hosting account free for 30 days, with nothing switched off, and then it’s £0.99 a month to keep it. The what is PHP? guide goes into more detail.
What’s included for PHP sites
Everything below is part of every account, from the first day of the free trial.
A MySQL database with phpMyAdmin
One MySQL (MariaDB) database is included, with phpMyAdmin for browsing tables, running queries, importing and exporting. Extra databases are £0.99 one-off.
DirectAdmin control panel
Manage domains, databases, email, PHP settings and cron jobs in your browser. DirectAdmin hosting covers the panel in full.
Softaculous one-click installs
Install WordPress, Joomla, forums and 400+ other PHP apps in a couple of clicks, database and admin account included.
Free SSL
An HTTPS certificate is issued and renewed automatically once your domain points to Traxio, so logins and forms are encrypted.
FTP, SFTP and a file manager
Upload with the browser file manager, or connect from your computer with FTP or SFTP. SSH and Git are available too.
Error logs and PHP settings
Read your PHP error log, and adjust settings such as memory_limit and upload size within the server’s limits.
Cron jobs and Composer
Schedule scripts from one-minute intervals, and run Composer over SSH or deploy a vendor folder you built locally.
PHP and MySQL, working together
Most PHP applications keep their content in a MySQL database: posts, pages, members, orders and settings. PHP reads and writes that data on every request, which is why a PHP host needs a real database alongside it, not just somewhere to store files.
On Traxio you create the database and its user in DirectAdmin, then give your application the database name, username and password, with localhost as the host. One-click installs do all of that for you. For your own code, the guides on creating a MySQL database and connecting PHP to your database walk through it, and phpMyAdmin lets you check what’s stored.
The account includes one database, which is enough for one WordPress site, forum or app. A second application usually wants its own database, which is a £0.99 one-off add-on.
Who PHP hosting on Traxio suits
Shared PHP hosting is the right tool for a lot of projects and the wrong one for a few. Better to know which before you build.
A good fit for
- WordPress, Joomla and other PHP CMS sites
- Forums such as phpBB, SMF and MyBB
- Blogs, portfolios and small business sites
- Small shops, such as WooCommerce
- Students and people learning PHP and MySQL
- Small Laravel, Symfony and custom PHP projects
- Staging copies and test sites
Not a good fit for
- Sites with heavy or spiky traffic
- Apps that need root access, Docker or a daemon
- Real-time apps that need WebSockets
- Video processing or other heavy CPU work
- Ruby applications
- Anything needing a guaranteed support response time
The limits are published as numbers: 3GB of NVMe storage and 100GB of bandwidth a month, with fair-use CPU and memory. That’s comfortable for a typical PHP site. If your project will be busy, a VPS will serve it better, and we’d rather say so now. Developers can read hosting for developers for the environment in workflow terms.
How the 30-day free trial works
No card, no cut-down version and no automatic charge. You decide on day 31.
1
Sign up without a card
Create your account and get the full hosting service straight away. No payment details are asked for.
2
Use your own domain
Point a domain you already own at Traxio’s nameservers. Hosting doesn’t include a domain. How to connect it
3
Install or upload your PHP site
Use Softaculous for WordPress or a forum, or upload your own PHP files and create a database in DirectAdmin.
4
Decide on day 31
Pay the £0.99 invoice to carry on, or let it lapse. Nothing is charged unless you pay it yourself.
Simple web hosting for £0.99 a month
One plan with everything included. Your first 30 days are free with no card required, then it’s £0.99 a month if you choose to continue — with no setup fee and no price rise at renewal.
The hosting is self-managed through DirectAdmin, with a large knowledge base and an AI help desk that escalates to a person when needed. That’s how the price stays this low.
Traxio web hosting
- 3GB NVMe disk spaceIncluded
- 100GB bandwidth a monthIncluded
- DirectAdmin control panelIncluded
- Free SSL, issued and renewed automaticallyIncluded
- An email account on your own domainIncluded
- One-click WordPress and 400+ appsIncluded
- FTP, SFTP and a browser file managerIncluded
- A MySQL database with phpMyAdminIncluded
- PHP 7.4 to 8.3, switchable per domainIncluded
- Cron jobs and daily offsite backupsIncluded
First 30 days£0.00
Then, per month£0.99
No setup fee. No VAT or card fees added.
PHP hosting questions
Is this PHP hosting really free?
For your first 30 days, yes. You get the complete hosting account, including PHP, MySQL and free SSL, and you don’t need a card to start. After that it’s £0.99 a month if you want to keep it. It isn’t free forever, and we don’t put adverts on your site to pay for it.
What happens after the 30 free days?
You’re emailed an invoice for £0.99. Pay it in the client area and everything carries on exactly as it was. If you don’t want to continue, don’t pay: the account is suspended 7 days after the invoice date and closed after 14, so download a backup first if you want your files.
Which PHP versions can I use?
PHP 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3. You choose the version for each domain or subdomain in DirectAdmin, and switching back is immediate if something breaks. How to change the PHP version
Do I get MySQL and phpMyAdmin?
Yes. Every account includes one MySQL (MariaDB) database, managed with phpMyAdmin. If you run a second application that needs its own database, extra databases are £0.99 each as a one-off add-on in the client area.
Can I run WordPress, Joomla or a forum?
Yes. They’re all PHP and MySQL applications, and Softaculous installs WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, forum software and hundreds more in a couple of clicks. WordPress hosting has the details for WordPress.
Do I need my own domain name?
Yes. The hosting doesn’t include a domain, so you use one you already own and point it at Traxio. Do it on the day you sign up, because SSL is issued once the domain points here. How to use your own domain
Can I use Composer, Laravel or Symfony?
Yes. SSH is included with Git available (SSH uses port 26628), so you can run Composer on the server or build locally and upload the vendor folder. Point the domain’s document root at the framework’s public folder. Long-running queue workers are the one limit: use a cron-triggered worker instead.
Which PHP extensions are available?
The common set, including mysqli, PDO, curl, mbstring, gd, zip, json, openssl, intl, xml and opcache. If your application needs something unusual, check the list for your PHP version in the panel before you build around it: shared hosting can’t compile custom extensions per account.
Are the servers in the UK?
No. Traxio is a UK business, but websites are hosted on our DirectAdmin platform in Montreal, Canada. For visitors in the UK and Europe, Cloudflare can serve static files from nearer them. Our hosting platform
Will you help me fix my PHP code?
No. Support covers the hosting and the server: PHP versions, settings, databases, email and so on. It doesn’t cover writing or debugging your own code, which is part of how the price stays at 99p. The help centre has PHP guides for the common errors.
Keep reading
What Is PHP?
The language explained for website owners.
Connecting PHP to MySQL
Database name, user, password and host.
Free DirectAdmin Hosting
The control panel and its published limits.
WordPress Hosting
The most popular PHP application, set up in one click.
Free HTML Hosting
If your site is static, the simpler path.
Hosting for Developers
SSH, Git, cron, Python and Node.js, in workflow terms.
Try Traxio free for 30 days
Then £0.99 a month if you decide to stay. No card required to start.
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