Web Hosting for Developers, with Git Deploys and SSH

For most developers it comes down to four questions: can I get a shell, can I deploy from Git without FTP, can I test changes on a copy before production, and can I pick my runtime versions without opening a ticket. On Devoster's web hosting the answer to all four is yes, because it runs on the Enhance control panel rather than a locked-down site builder.

What every plan includes:

• SSH and SFTP access, with key or password authentication, landing you inside your website's own isolated container.
• Git deployment from GitHub, manual or on every push, with an optional build step.
• Staging sites: one per website slot, so 5, 10 or 20 depending on the plan.
• PHP version per website, defaulting to PHP 8.3, plus an extension manager and php.ini settings.
• Unlimited MariaDB databases and FTP accounts, phpMyAdmin, and Redis for object caching.
• Node.js applications alongside PHP on the same plan.
• Team access through role-based access control and two-factor authentication, so a contractor gets a login rather than your password.

These run on NVMe storage, in a Europe or US datacenter you choose at no extra cost, with free Let's Encrypt SSL and daily backups kept for 7 days. If you are still comparing hosting models (PaaS, VPS, managed WordPress), our developer hosting comparison covers the wider field. This page is about what you get here.

Git deployment is built into the panel. You connect your GitHub account once, which installs an app that can see only the repositories you select. For each website you choose a repository, a branch or tag, an optional build command and an optional publish directory, then either deploy by hand or switch on continuous deployment so a webhook from GitHub triggers a release on every push.

A typical setup for a Laravel or Node project looks like this:

Production site   tracks main      build: npm ci && npm run build   publish dir: public
Staging site      tracks develop   same build, its own database and .env

Each release is cloned into its own directory under ~/deploys/, and deploys/current is pointed at it only after the clone and build succeed. A failing build leaves production on the last good release. A new push cancels a deployment that is still running. Worker processes restart when a release goes live.

Know the edges before you rely on it. The built-in integration is GitHub only. It covers PHP, Node.js, Laravel, static and custom applications, but not sites created with a one-click installer, so a WordPress project you want under Git should be deployed to a site created from scratch. The GitHub connection is not included in backups or copied when a site is cloned, so reconnect it after a restore.

Source: Enhance GitHub deploy documentation, checked 2026-10-28.

SSH logs you in as your website's user, inside that site's container. Enhance documents that every user-level SSH session, PHP process and cron job runs in the site's isolated namespace, and that one site cannot read another's files, even within the same subscription. In practice that means:

• You can run Git, edit files, tail logs, import and export databases, run WP-CLI on WordPress sites, install Node.js versions per site through nvm, and run build tools inside your resource limits.
• You can schedule cron jobs, and they run inside the same container with the same limits.
• You can't use root or sudo, install system packages, run Docker, or bind to ports below 1024. That is the trade for not having to patch an operating system.

The limits are real and published per plan, so you can size before you buy:

For a developer, Standard is usually the right start: 1 GB of memory leaves room for a Node build or a large dependency install next to the running sites, which 768 MB on Lite can make tight.

Staging. A staging site is a full website that does not count against your site allowance: create one from scratch or clone an existing site, test there, then push it live to a domain from the panel. Staging sites are set to noindex by default, so search engines do not pick up your half-finished work, and they have no email or domain mapping of their own. Connect a staging site to a develop branch and you have a review environment that updates itself.

PHP. The version is chosen per website, not per account, so a legacy client site and a new Laravel app can live on the same plan. New sites start on PHP 8.3. Enhance supports branches from 5.6 up to 8.5; if you need anything outside the current 8.x line, ask support which versions are installed before you migrate. Extensions and php.ini values are managed from the panel.

Databases and caching. Databases are unlimited on every plan and run on MariaDB, managed from the panel or phpMyAdmin. Redis is included for object caching, which WordPress object-cache plugins and Laravel's cache and session drivers can use directly.

Source for staging and PHP behaviour: Enhance staging documentation and supported PHP versions, checked 2026-10-28.

Yes, within limits. On Enhance a Node.js app runs inside the website's container, next to PHP and under the same resource caps. You set a start command (for example npm start) and a port; the panel proxies the site, or a path of it, to that port, and WebSocket proxying can be switched on. In automatic mode the panel starts the app and restarts it whenever it exits, and writes stdout and stderr to a log in your home directory.

That suits an API, a server-rendered frontend or a small Express app. It suits a CPU-heavy job queue less well, because the app shares the plan's memory and CPU with your PHP sites. Note also that only the site's primary domain is proxied to the app, so aliases need a redirect.

If Node is your main stack, Devoster's Node.js hosting is the product built around it, with version switching and process management set up for Node apps.

Source: Enhance Node.js documentation, checked 2026-10-28.

Shared hosting stops being the right tool when you need something the container cannot give you. The usual signals:

• You need root: Docker, system packages, a custom web server config, or a daemon such as Elasticsearch or a message broker.
• A background worker must run continuously and use real CPU, or you need several services talking to each other.
• Your app needs more memory than 2 GB on its own, or predictable CPU that is not shared with your other sites.
• You need PostgreSQL extensions, a specific MySQL build or any database tuning the panel does not expose.

Devoster's VPS plans are KVM virtual machines with full root and NVMe storage in the US, from $3.49/mo (Nano: 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 25 GB) to Starter at $7.99/mo (2 vCPU, 4 GB, 75 GB) and up. They are unmanaged: there is no control panel, and patching, firewalling and backups of your data are your job. Many developers keep client sites on web hosting and run the one app that needs root on a VPS.

• Your repos are on GitLab or Bitbucket and you want push-to-deploy without any glue. The built-in integration is GitHub only.
• Your app is a static frontend with serverless functions. A platform built around preview deployments and edge functions will fit that workflow better than a PHP-first host.
• You need cPanel. We run Enhance; see the Enhance vs cPanel comparison for what that changes.
• You need managed databases with replicas, autoscaling, or regulated-data compliance. We offer none of those on web hosting, and we hold no compliance certifications.

Moving an existing project over? Migration is free, and hosting comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.