Frequently Asked Questions

Plans & Pricing

What's included in every plan?

Every Propagate Hosting plan includes free SSL certificates, email hosting on your domain, automated backups, global DNS, and access to our Web Hosting Panel. We don't sell these as add-ons; they come standard. See the full feature list for details.

Are there any hidden fees or price increases at renewal?

No. The price you sign up at is the price you pay every month. We don't do introductory rates that double or triple at renewal. One price, every month, no asterisks.

Are domain fees included in my hosting plan?

Domain registration and renewal fees are separate from hosting. If you already own a domain, you can point it to us at no additional cost. If you need to register a new domain, that fee is billed separately and depends on the domain extension (.com, .org, .net, etc.).

Domain fees are not refundable under any circumstances. Once a domain is registered or renewed, that cost cannot be recovered. This is because domain registrations are committed immediately with the registry on your behalf.

Do I own my domain name?

Yes, absolutely. Your domain belongs to you. If you register a domain through us, you are the registrant of record. If you ever decide to leave Propagate Hosting, you can transfer your domain to any other registrar. We will not hold it hostage. This is also why domain fees are non-refundable: the domain is yours, and we can't un-register it on your behalf.

Do you offer discounts for nonprofits, religious organizations, or educational institutions?

Yes, 15% off all plans. Nonprofits must provide a 501(c)(3) determination letter or EIN verifiable through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Religious organizations must provide documentation of religious status. Educational institutions must provide accreditation documentation. Students, teachers, and educational staff can also receive a discount; no documentation required, just reach out to us.

Is there a money-back guarantee?

Yes. New accounts in good standing receive a 30-day money-back guarantee. Contact us at hello@propagatehosting.com within 30 days of signup to request a refund. Domain registration and renewal fees are non-refundable regardless of the reason for the refund request.

Domain Names

Can I use a domain I already own?

Yes. You can point any domain you already own to Propagate Hosting by updating your nameservers to ns1.propagatehosting.com and ns2.propagatehosting.com. There's no charge for this; you just keep your domain registration with your current registrar.

Can I register a new domain through Propagate Hosting?

Yes. We offer domain registration for common extensions. The domain fee is separate from your hosting plan and is billed at registration and annually at renewal. You are the owner of record and can transfer the domain to any registrar at any time.

What happens to my domain if I cancel my hosting?

Your domain is yours regardless of your hosting status. Canceling hosting does not affect your domain registration. If you registered the domain through us, it remains yours until it expires or you transfer it elsewhere. We'll give you everything you need to point it to a new host.

Can I transfer my domain away from Propagate Hosting?

Yes, any time. We'll provide your authorization code (EPP/transfer key) and unlock the domain for transfer. Domains must be at least 60 days old to transfer per ICANN rules. There is no transfer-out fee.

Migrations

Can you move my existing site to Propagate Hosting?

Yes. Our Migration Center handles most site migrations automatically: free of charge, with no downtime, typically in about 30 minutes. For WordPress sites, migrations are almost always fully automated.

What if I built my site with a proprietary website builder?

Sites built with proprietary builders like Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, or GoDaddy Website Builder cannot be migrated automatically. These platforms lock content into their own format and don't allow export to standard web hosting. If you're on one of these platforms, you'll need to rebuild your site. We can help you with that using our Launch Web Builder or a fresh WordPress install.

Do you offer manual migration assistance?

Yes. For complex sites, large multi-site setups, or anything the automated tool can't handle, we offer manual migration assistance. Contact us and we'll discuss pricing based on your specific needs.

Email

Does hosting include email on my domain?

Yes. Every hosting plan includes professional email hosting on your domain: IMAP, POP3, SMTP, webmail, spam filtering, aliases, and forwarding. There's no additional charge for email.

How many email accounts can I have?

The number of mailboxes depends on your plan. All plans support professional email; the higher-tier plans include more storage and mailboxes. See the full plan comparison for specifics.

Support

What kind of support is included with my hosting plan?

All hosting plans include support for hosting-related issues: server problems, email configuration, DNS, SSL certificates, control panel questions, and anything directly related to the hosting infrastructure. If your site is down, your email stopped working, or something on our end broke, that is covered at no extra charge.

What is not included in hosting support?

Application-level support is not included in your hosting plan. This includes things like WordPress customization, theme or plugin changes, new page builds, design updates, content edits, and troubleshooting issues caused by your application code or third-party plugins. These services are available by quote. Contact us to discuss your needs and get an estimate.

How do I get help?

Email us at hello@propagatehosting.com or use the contact form. Every request is read and answered by a real person, not a bot, not an offshore script-reader.

SSL Certificates

What kind of SSL certificate is included for free?

Every hosting plan includes a free Let's Encrypt wildcard SSL certificate. It covers your root domain and all subdomains (e.g. shop.yoursite.com, blog.yoursite.com), activates automatically when your domain points to us, and renews every 90 days without any action on your part. It requires your domain to use our nameservers, which is the standard setup for any site hosted here.

Do I need to buy an SSL certificate?

For most sites — personal sites, blogs, portfolios, nonprofits, and small business sites — the free Let's Encrypt certificate is all you need. You only need a paid certificate if you have a specific reason: you can't use our nameservers, you need a commercial warranty, or your compliance requirements specify a certificate from a commercial CA like GeoTrust.

What paid SSL certificates do you offer?

We offer three paid options from GeoTrust:

• GeoTrust Simple SSL — Single-domain, domain-validated certificate with a $10,000 warranty. Does not require our nameservers. Issued in minutes.
• GeoTrust RapidSSL Wildcard — Wildcard certificate covering all subdomains, with a $10,000 warranty. Does not require our nameservers. Issued in minutes.
• GeoTrust Extended SSL — Extended validation (EV) certificate with business identity verification and a $1,500,000 underwritten warranty. Requires 1–5 business days for issuance and business registration documentation.

See the SSL certificates page for full details and pricing.

What is the difference between domain validation and extended validation?

Domain validation (DV) means the certificate authority confirmed you control the domain — nothing more. It's sufficient for most websites and is what Let's Encrypt and the GeoTrust Simple SSL and Wildcard certificates use. Extended validation (EV) means GeoTrust also verified your organization's legal identity through business registration documents. EV certificates display your organization's verified name in the certificate trust chain and carry a higher warranty. They're used by businesses where that extra layer of trust is important to customers or required by compliance rules.

Technical

Which PHP versions do you support, and is it safe to use older versions?

All plans support PHP 5.3 through 8.5, and you can switch versions at any time from your Web Hosting Panel. However, versions below PHP 8.2 are end-of-life (EOL) and no longer receive security patches from the PHP project. That includes all PHP 5.x and 7.x releases, as well as PHP 8.0 and 8.1.

We make legacy versions available so you can keep an older application running while you plan an upgrade — not as a long-term solution. Running EOL PHP on a public-facing site exposes you to known, unpatched security vulnerabilities. We strongly recommend PHP 8.2 or later for all sites. If your application requires an older version, please prioritize updating it as soon as possible.

Managed WordPress

What is managed WordPress hosting?

With managed WordPress, we handle the technical maintenance so you can focus on your site. That includes automatic core and plugin updates, a staging environment for safe testing, malware scanning, and performance optimization, all configured specifically for WordPress. See WordPress Wrangler for details.

Do I need managed WordPress or can I use regular hosting?

Regular web hosting works fine for WordPress. Our standard hosting plans support WordPress with one-click installation. Managed WordPress adds automation and performance optimizations. It's most valuable if you don't want to manually manage updates and security, or if you need a staging environment.

Billing & Account

How do I cancel?

Contact us at hello@propagatehosting.com and we'll cancel your account. There's no contract and no cancellation fee. We'll make sure you have everything you need (files, databases, domain transfer codes) before your service ends.

What payment methods do you accept?

We accept major credit and debit cards. Payment processing is handled securely by our payment processor. We do not store card numbers on our servers.

Can I upgrade or downgrade my plan?

Yes. Contact us and we'll make the change. Upgrades take effect immediately; downgrades at the next billing cycle.