Before you start
This tutorial assumes a PHP 8.x application (Laravel, a custom MVC app or a white-label ERP like FORMA) and a Hostinger Business or Cloud plan with hPanel. You'll need the app's ZIP, its SQL dump and your domain pointed to Hostinger's nameservers.
Step 1 — Create the database
In hPanel go to Databases → Management, create a database and user, and save the credentials. Then open phpMyAdmin and import your SQL file (for large dumps, split them or use the SSH method below).
Step 2 — Upload the application
Use Files → File Manager (or SFTP). Upload the ZIP to public_html (or a subdomain folder such as erp.yourdomain.com) and extract it. For Laravel, point the subdomain's document root to the public folder.
Step 3 — Configure the environment
Edit .env (or config.php): database name, user, password, app URL, mail settings. Set APP_DEBUG=false in production.
Step 4 — PHP version and extensions
Advanced → PHP Configuration: choose PHP 8.2+, enable intl, mbstring, zip, gd and raise memory_limit / upload_max_filesize if your app handles documents.
Step 5 — SSL and HTTPS
Enable the free Let's Encrypt certificate under Security → SSL and force HTTPS. Update APP_URL accordingly.
Step 6 — Cron jobs
For reminders, backups or queue workers add a cron in Advanced → Cron Jobs, e.g. every minute: php /home/USER/domains/yourdomain.com/public_html/artisan schedule:run.
Step 7 — Backups
Hostinger keeps weekly/daily backups by plan, but also schedule your own database dump to a separate folder or cloud storage. Test a restore once.
Step 8 — Speed
- Enable LiteSpeed cache / OPcache in hPanel.
- Serve images as WebP and set long cache headers in
.htaccess. - Use Cloudflare (free) in front of the domain for DNS and CDN.
Need it done for you?
We deploy and maintain PHP business apps on Hostinger for our clients every week — hosting & maintenance is part of every project.