PHP Startpage Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

PHP Startpage hosting on xCloud gives you a self-hosted start page of links to your services on your own domain. Deploy PHP Startpage 0.10.0 and xCloud runs the pinned community image with a persistent user_includes volume for your config.json and custom files, publishes it over HTTPS in minutes, and writes a small starter config so the page works at once. It has no login.

Deploy your PHP Startpage

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is PHP Startpage?

Self-hosted PHP Startpage is a small start page that shows your services and bookmarks as cards. The upstream README describes a PHP-based startpage that runs in Docker, and its features list covers a JSON-based configuration file, custom header links, footer and CSS, dark mode, card search, HTTP status checks, a mobile-friendly layout and icon packs. It is a self-hosted alternative to browser start pages such as Start.me, and the repository carries an MIT licence.

On xCloud the template runs docker.io/loganmarchione/docker-php-startpage 0.10.0, pinned by digest, as one Apache and PHP container with no database. Your config.json and optional files live in the user_includes volume. The page and the config file are publicly served, so keep passwords out of that folder, and there is no in-app editor.

From Sign-Up to a Live Start Page In Just 3 Easy Steps

A start page normally means a PHP and Apache container, a volume for the config, a domain and a certificate before the first link appears. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick PHP Startpage from the OneClick catalog. Choose your domain and target server — there are no extra fields to fill in.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the community PHP Startpage image, pinned by immutable digest, as a single container with no database, seed a short starter config.json into the user_includes volume if none exists, and publish the page over HTTPS on your domain.
Step 03
Replace The Starter Links
Open your HTTPS PHP Startpage URL and see the starter page. Then connect over SSH, copy config.json out of the container with docker cp, add your own groups and links, copy it back and reload the page — no restart needed.

Everything PHP Startpage Does, On Your Own Server

PHP Startpage runs in full here: a card-based start page on your own domain, driven by one file you control.

One JSON File Defines The Page
config.json holds the page title, groups, links, icons and notes, so changing the page means editing one file.
Optional Status Checks
Set "stat": true on a link and PHP checks its HTTP status each time the page loads, showing a green check, orange lock or exclamation, or red X.
Dark Mode And Card Search
The page defaults to dark mode with a toggle for light, and a search box filters cards by title.
Mobile-Friendly Layout
Bootstrap ships inside the image rather than loading from a third-party CDN, so the page adapts to phones without outside requests.
Your Own Header, Footer And CSS
Optional header_links.html, footer.html and style.css files in user_includes add navbar links, a footer and custom styling.
Four Icon Packs Built In
Bootstrap Icons, Font Awesome (free), Homelab SVG assets and Simple Icons are included in the image; switch packs by changing an icon path in config.json.

Everything You Need To Run Your Start Page 24/7

Managed hosting for PHP Startpage, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

PHP Startpage 0.10.0 deployed instantly
Community image pinned by digest
Config kept on a persistent volume
Kept behind xCloud nginx
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With PHP Startpage

A PHP startpage for your services
A home-lab owner or small team lists their internal tools and bookmarks as cards in groups, on a page at their own domain that opens in any browser.
Check whether services are up
An admin sets stat to true on a link so each page load checks that service from the server, following up to five redirects, then sees which cards are reachable.
Customise the look without a build
A user adds a footer.html, header links or a style.css to the user_includes folder, picked up when present, to restyle the page without touching the image.
Keep a start page as one file
Someone who wants zero database and zero admin interface edits one JSON file with docker cp, reloads the page, and backs up a single folder.

PHP Startpage Screenshots

PHP Startpage in dark mode showing groups of service cards with green, orange and red HTTP status icons, from upstream's demo configuration

PHP Startpage card search filtering the page to the OPNSense card, from upstream's demo configuration

PHP Startpage in dark mode on a phone-sized screen

PHP Startpage vs Alternatives

Start.me: Choose PHP Startpage as a Start.me alternative when you want a link page you host and own. It is a simple card grid from one JSON file, with no accounts and no hosted dashboard service behind it.
Homer: In a PHP Startpage vs Homer comparison, Homer has its own OneClick page. PHP Startpage reads one JSON file and can run server-side status checks on each page load.
Heimdall: Heimdall is a self-hosted application dashboard with its own OneClick page. PHP Startpage has no in-app editor and no login: you edit the JSON file directly.
Homarr: Homarr is a self-hosted dashboard with its own OneClick page. PHP Startpage is a file-based page with no database, with optional up and down checks.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for PHP Startpage hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

More headroom if the start page sits alongside many other apps.

$59.99per month

16 GB RAM
6 vCPU cores
200 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. PHP Startpage itself is licensed by its maintainer under the MIT License.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy PHP Startpage on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

1 server
10 sites

Start free

Starter

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

6–10 servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Run Your Own Start Page?

PHP Startpage on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

Is PHP Startpage free and open source?

Yes. The docker-php-startpage repository carries an MIT licence, so the page software costs nothing in licences. xCloud bills for the dedicated Cloud VPS. This template adds no paid tier, and the page is just your own JSON file.

Can I run PHP Startpage with Docker?

Yes, and upstream runs it in Docker by design. This template does it for you: the community loganmarchione image at 0.10.0, pinned by digest, with a user_includes volume behind HTTPS. It is PHP Startpage Docker hosting with no database and no compose file to write.

Docker hosting on xCloud

How much RAM does a PHP Startpage cloud server need?

Tiny: 128 MB of RAM, 1 CPU core and 1 GB of disk cover a PHP Startpage cloud server. The 6 GB Cloud VPS sold here leaves room for other apps on the same machine.

How do I edit the PHP Startpage config?

There is no in-app editor. Connect over SSH, use docker cp to copy config.json out of the container's user_includes folder, edit it, copy it back, and reload the page. No restart is needed. Optional footer.html, header_links.html and style.css are picked up when present.

Does PHP Startpage check if my services are up?

Yes, optionally. Set stat to true on a link and the server checks it each time the page loads. The check follows up to five redirects, does not verify TLS certificates, and waits up to five seconds, so many checked links make the page slow.

Is PHP Startpage private?

No. There are no accounts and no login, so anyone who can reach the domain can see the page, and config.json is served at the user_includes path, where the folder listing is also readable. Add Basic Auth at your own proxy and keep passwords out of it.

How do I back up PHP Startpage?

Take a backup of the user_includes volume, which holds config.json and the other custom files, or copy the files out with docker cp. There is no database, so that folder is the whole page. Test a restore by redeploying with the copied files.

Backups in xCloud

How do I update PHP Startpage?

Updates are deliberate. The image is pinned to 0.10.0 by digest, and upstream rebuilds its tag weekly, so the digest is what keeps installs reproducible. Back up user_includes, read the upstream changes, then adopt a newer PHP Startpage template version when one is published, and reload the page.

What does PHP Startpage show on first start?

On first start the template writes a small starter config.json with two links, with status checks disabled, into the user_includes volume. A file that already exists is never overwritten. The page is usually ready within about 15 seconds, and the app reads no environment variables, so everything lives in that file.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.