Domain formula: what’s included and how to switch to Starter hosting

Procédure

The domain plan is the service delivered with a domain name ordered on its own from LWS. It includes a small 1 GB web space for an HTML site, 2 1 GB email addresses, an SSL certificate and full domain management, but neither PHP nor a database. To install WordPress or any PHP site, switch to a hosting plan such as Starter with “Change plan”: you only pay the price difference until your domain renewal date, calculated automatically.

What the domain plan includes

The domain plan is managed in the same LWS Panel as a Starter hosting plan, with fewer tools and smaller quotas.

The tools not included appear in grey in the domain dashboard. Clicking on them opens the “Change plan required” window, which offers upgrading to a higher plan.

Your site

As long as you have not put a site online, your domain displays an LWS waiting page saying “Congratulations! Your domain has been successfully created at LWS”. To replace it with your own HTML site, upload your files with FTP software such as FileZilla: the credentials are in the “Files” section, “FTP account(s)” tool. The procedure is described in the help article publishing a site via FTP with FileZilla, Cyberduck or WinSCP.

Your email addresses

You can create 2 1 GB addresses in “Email addresses”, “Emails” tool. The domain plan does not allow creating aliases. To receive messages sent to an address that does not exist on your domain, activate catch-all: on the address line, open “Actions”, choose “Catch all”, check “Enable” then click “Save”. Details are in the help article activating catch-all on your LWS mail service.

For more space in a mailbox, you need a Mail Pro plan, as on a Starter hosting plan: follow the help article changing the quota of an email address from the LWS Panel.

Switching from the domain plan to Starter

The Starter plan adds what the domain plan lacks: PHP, 10 MySQL databases, WordPress installation with the Auto-installer and WP Manager, the file manager and 25 email addresses of 2 GB. The quota details are in the help article quotas for shared web hosting plans. The same procedure lets you choose Perso, Standard or Performance.

1. Open your domain management

   In your LWS customer area, “Domain(s) & Hosting(s)” list, click “Manage” on your domain’s line. If the “Please wait 6h to 24h” window appears, click “OK”.

2. Click “Change plan”

   The tool is in the “Support, plans and options” section, at the bottom of the dashboard. The “Change my plan” link in the “Information” block on the right opens the same page.

   

3. Keep the “LWSPanel PHP Hosting” range

   In the “Choose a type of plan you want to upgrade to” list, leave “LWSPanel PHP Hosting” selected by default. This is the range for Starter, Perso and Performance.

4. Select the “Starter” plan

   Tick the button on the “Starter” line. The “Plan change fee” column shows the amount excluding tax to pay for this change.

   

5. Confirm your choice then click “Validate”

   If a “Confirm your migration choice” block appears under the table, retype the requested phrases exactly in the input fields (“backups OK”, then “Delete everything”). The “Validate” button remains inactive until they are retyped exactly. Then click “Validate”.

   This block is an old warning: it still announces the deletion of all your data, whereas it is kept if your domain uses LWS DNS servers. If your domain uses other DNS servers, make sure you have backed up your files and emails before retyping the phrases.

6. Pay the quote

   You arrive on the plan change quote page. Once payment is received, the change is validated within two hours.

How the price is calculated

The displayed price is calculated based on the monthly price difference between your current plan and the selected plan, and on the time remaining before your domain expires. You pay it in one go: no other fees are due until the renewal date. The next renewal is then billed at the price of the new plan.

Example recorded on 24/10/2026 for a domain expiring on 22/10/2027: Starter at €5.99 excl. tax per month, i.e. €50.84 excl. tax for the plan change. The exact amount for your domain is shown in the “Plan change fee” column, and the “i” next to each price gives the details.

Check that the change was successful

Open your domain management again. The change is complete when:

• you have received the confirmation email and the new plan appears in your customer area, in the “Information” block of the dashboard;
• the “File Manager”, “Auto-installer” and “WP Manager” tools are no longer greyed out;
• your site displays and your emails arrive as before.

Frequently asked questions

Related articles

• Changing a shared hosting plan from your LWS customer area
• LWS Starter: shared web hosting
• Publish a site via FTP with FileZilla, Cyberduck or WinSCP
• Activate catch-all on your LWS mail service
• Back up or restore your emails