Start here

Your Bunnyly setup, one hop at a time

Eight short steps from first login to a secure website and email. Most take a few minutes; the domain change can take a few hours.

Start step 1

Hops, a cream Holland Lop bunny with a purple scarf holding a mapPip, a grey bunny carrying a letterBramble, a white lop bunny holding a shield

0 of 8 steps done

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Step 1 of 8Log in and turn on two-factor authentication

Hops: Hi, I'm Hops! I'll walk you through everything in order. Tick each box as you go; your progress is saved only in this browser.

  1. Open your control panel. Enter your username and click Next, then your password and click Login.
Control panel login, step 1: Username field and Next button
Enter your username, then Next.
Control panel login, step 2: Password field and Login button
Enter your password, then Login.
  1. Click the person icon (top right) to open Edit User. If you're still on the temporary password from your welcome email, set a new one here first and click Save.
  2. Tick Enable two-factor authentication and click Save.
  3. Add the QR code the panel shows to an authenticator app on your phone.
  4. Save the 2FA reset code somewhere safe, such as your password manager.
Edit User page with the Enable two-factor authentication checkbox highlighted
Tick Enable two-factor authentication, then click Save.

Bramble: I'm Bramble, the security bunny. The reset code is your spare key: if you lose your phone, it unlocks your account on the 2FA unlock page.

Checklist

You're done when… you log out, log in again, and the panel asks for a 6-digit code from your app.

More detail: Logging in · Two-factor authentication

Step 2 of 8Add your domain

  1. Open the Web tab and click Add Web Domain.
  2. Enter your domain (for example yourbusiness.com), tick DNS Support, and tick Mail Support if you want email there. Click Save.
Add Web Domain form with a domain entered and DNS Support ticked
Enter your domain and tick DNS Support, then Save.

Hops: Already see your domain in the Web tab? Then it's added. Just tick the boxes and hop on.

Web tab listing the added domain
Your domain appears in the Web tab.

Checklist

You're done when… your domain shows in the Web tab and in the DNS tab.

More detail: Add your website

Step 3 of 8Point your domain to Bunnyly

Your domain's nameservers tell the internet where your website and email live. Set them once, at the company where you bought the domain (your registrar).

Diagram: your registrar points the nameservers to Bunnyly DNS (ns1.bunnyly.com and ns2.bunnyly.com), which then answers for your website and your email.
How your domain finds Bunnyly.
  1. At your registrar, open your domain's Nameservers setting and choose custom nameservers.
  2. Enter ns1.bunnyly.com and ns2.bunnyly.com (replace any others) and save.

Hops: This is the only waiting step: usually a few hours, at most 48. Carry on with step 4 meanwhile; things start working by themselves once it goes through.

DNS records list for the domain with NS, A, MX and TXT records
Your DNS records in the DNS tab. You don't need to change them.

Checklist

You're done when… the nameserver check shows ns1 and ns2.bunnyly.com for your domain.

More detail: Nameservers · DNS records

Step 4 of 8Create a mailbox and set up your mail apps

Pip: I'm Pip, your mail bunny! Let's make an address like hello@yourbusiness.com and get it on your phone.

  1. Open the Mail tab, click your domain, then Add Mail Account.
  2. Enter the first part of the address (for example hello) and a strong password. Click Save.
Add Mail Account form with Account and Password fields
Name the mailbox and choose a password.
Common Account Settings box with webmail, hostname and encrypted ports
The panel then shows your settings.
Diagram: your mail app connects to mail.yourdomain.com (IMAP 993, SMTP 587 or 465, or POP3 995); your browser opens webmail.yourdomain.com over https. Both use your Bunnyly mailbox, which sends and receives email from the internet.
How your email flows.
  1. In your phone or computer mail app, add an account, choose IMAP and enter:
Email app settings
SettingValue
Account typeIMAP
Incoming (IMAP) servermail.yourdomain.com
Incoming port & security993 with SSL/TLS
Outgoing (SMTP) servermail.yourdomain.com
Outgoing port & security587 with STARTTLS or 465 with SSL/TLS
POP3 instead of IMAPmail.yourdomain.com, port 995 with SSL/TLS
Username (incoming and outgoing)Your full email address, e.g. hello@yourbusiness.com
PasswordThe mailbox password you chose when creating the mailbox
Outgoing server requires sign-inYes, use the same username and password

Replace yourdomain.com with your own domain. mail.bunnyly.com also works for all of these as an alternative.

  1. In a browser, open webmail. followed by your domain, for example webmail.yourbusiness.com, and log in with your full address.
Webmail login page on a phone
Webmail works on your phone too.

Pip: Receiving works straight away. Sending is switched on per address, on request: here's how to ask.

Checklist

You're done when… your mail app shows the inbox without warnings, and webmail opens with a padlock.

More detail: Create a mailbox · App settings · Webmail

Step 5 of 8Log in to WordPress

WordPress installs itself within about 2 minutes of adding your domain.

  1. In the panel, open the File Manager (folder icon, top right) and open wp-credentials-yourdomain.txt. It holds your WordPress address, username and password.
File Manager home folder showing the WordPress credentials file
Open the wp-credentials file in your home folder.
  1. Go to your domain followed by /wp-login.php (for example yourbusiness.com/wp-login.php) and log in.
  2. Change the WordPress password to one of your own: Users → Profile → Set New Password.
WordPress login page
Log in with the details from the file.
WordPress dashboard after logging in
You're in: the WordPress dashboard.

Checklist

You're done when… you see the WordPress dashboard with your own password.

More detail: Find your WordPress login · Website & WordPress

Step 6 of 8Check your padlock (SSL)

Bramble: Good news: there's nothing to switch on. Every domain gets a free certificate for itself and all its subdomains, and it renews automatically.

  1. About an hour after your nameservers point to us, open your website in a browser.
  2. Check for the padlock and that the address starts with https://. Plain http visits are redirected automatically.
  3. In WordPress, Settings → General: make sure both addresses start with https://.

Checklist

You're done when… your site, webmail and mail app all connect securely without warnings.

More detail: SSL (HTTPS)

Step 7 of 8Know your backups

Bunnyly backs up your websites, email, databases and DNS every night, around midnight US Central time, and keeps the last 3.

  1. Open the Backups tab (the backup icon in the top row) to see your backups.
  2. Click a backup to see what's inside. Use Restore next to an item, or Restore All. A restore runs within about 5 minutes.
  3. Use Download to keep your own copy too.
Backups tab listing a backup archive with Download and Restore actions
Your backups, with Download.
Backup contents with Restore buttons for each item
Restore just what you need.

Hops: A backup appears the night after you sign up, so this step may need tomorrow's visit. Tick it then!

Checklist

You're done when… you can open a backup and see the Restore and Download buttons.

More detail: Backups

Step 8 of 8Know where to get help

Checklist

You're done when… you know where to look before you need it.

More detail: FAQ · Contact

All done!

Hops celebrating in a party hat

Tick every box above and Hops will throw you a party.

Your website, email and backups are set up. Bookmark this page and the FAQ.