# Order your first server, step by step > Every step of the VPSNine order form, from the operating system to the review, what each choice does, and what happens after you pay. Source: https://vpsnine.com/help/order-your-first-server ยท Updated: 2026-10-21 To order a server, open **Create server** on your servers page (or go to [my.vpsnine.com/servers/new](https://my.vpsnine.com/servers/new)), answer the short steps one at a time, and press **order** on the review. The invoice opens next; once it's paid, the server is built and its page shows every step as it happens. ## What you need - A VPSNine account with a [confirmed email address](https://vpsnine.com/help/verify-your-email). The order form asks you to confirm it first. - An [SSH key in your account](https://vpsnine.com/help/manage-ssh-keys-in-the-panel), or the decision to use a root password instead. Keys are the safer way in. - A way to pay: Bitcoin, PayPal or account credit. [Payment methods](https://vpsnine.com/help/payment-methods) has the details. ## How the form works The form asks one thing at a time. The row of numbered steps at the top shows where you are; done steps turn green, and you can click any of them to go back without losing what you picked. **Your server**, beside the form, sums up every choice with the total, and each line in it links to its step. Without JavaScript, every step shows on one page and **update total** works out the price. The choices and checks are the same. ## Location Every server runs in New York for now, with its own IPv4 and IPv6 address. There's nothing to pick; press **Next**. ## Operating system Each distribution is a card, and each version a button on it. The recommended version is marked. Without a strong preference, take Ubuntu LTS or Debian; [Choose a Linux distribution](https://vpsnine.com/help/choose-a-distribution) has the longer answer. [Screenshot: The order form at the operating system step: a card for Debian and one for Ubuntu with 24.04 LTS picked, and the Your server summary with the total on the right] The step row at the top, the choices in the middle and the running summary on the right stay put for the whole order. ## One-click app (optional) Pick an app to have it installed on the first boot, or leave it on **None** for a plain server. Apps that don't run on the system you picked are hidden, and an app that needs a bigger plan says so. [Screenshot: The one-click app step with Docker picked, above the other apps grouped as containers, web servers and sites, databases, developer tools, VPN and networking, monitoring, game servers and more, down to AI models] Each app says what it installs. Notes in brackets name the systems or the smallest plan it needs. [One-click apps](https://vpsnine.com/help/one-click-apps) lists them all, with how to follow the install once the server is up. ## Plan Pick Budget, Standard or Extreme. Each card shows the vCPUs, memory and NVMe disk, the monthly price, and what paying yearly saves. [Choose a plan](https://vpsnine.com/help/choosing-a-plan) and [How much RAM does my VPS need](https://vpsnine.com/help/how-much-ram-does-my-vps-need) help if you're torn. [Screenshot: The plan step with three cards, Budget at $7.99, Standard at $12.99 picked, and Extreme at $24.99, each with its specs and yearly saving] The yearly saving on each card is against twelve monthly payments. ## Billing **Monthly** is billed each month and you can cancel any time. **Yearly** bills twelve months at once, for less. Either way there's no setup fee, and the [money-back guarantee](https://vpsnine.com/help/money-back-guarantee) covers your first order for 14 days after you pay. You can switch between them later, from the next renewal, on the server's [Settings tab](https://vpsnine.com/help/server-settings). ## Add-ons (optional) When add-ons are on sale, this step lets you add RAM, vCPUs, NVMe disk, transfer or IPv4 addresses on top of the plan, each up to the plan's limit. The total updates as you change them. You can change add-ons later too: see [Add-ons](https://vpsnine.com/help/add-ons). ## How you log in Tick each SSH key you want on the server. None is ticked for you. Then choose a root password: **No password: SSH keys only** (recommended), **Generate one for me**, or **Use my own**. [Screenshot: The How you log in step with the SSH key maya-laptop ticked and ci-deploy not, and the three root password choices below with No password picked] Tick at least one key or set a root password. A root password also lets you log in on the serial console. A server needs at least one key or a root password. A generated password is shown once, on the page after you order, so have your password manager ready. [Set a root password](https://vpsnine.com/help/root-password) explains the three choices. ## Hostname Type the server's name, like `web-1` or `web-1.example.com`. It's set inside the server on the first boot and names it in the panel. Use 1 to 63 lowercase letters, digits, dashes and dots; each part starts and ends with a letter or digit. You can give it a friendlier panel name and tags afterwards. ## First boot (optional) Extra packages to install and a setup script to run once, after the system and the app. Leave both empty for a plain server. [Extra packages and setup scripts](https://vpsnine.com/help/setup-scripts) has examples, and the recipes like [Secure server setup](https://vpsnine.com/help/secure-server-setup-script) paste in here. ## Review and order The last step repeats every choice. If something is missing, like a key or a hostname, it's listed here with a link to its step. If you have account credit, the page says it's used first. [Screenshot: The Review and order step with the order button highlighted, a note that account credit is used first, and the summary listing the location, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, the Standard plan, monthly billing, one SSH key and the hostname] Press order once. Pressing it again, or reloading, takes you to the same invoice instead of a second order. Press **order**. ## After you press order 1. **The invoice opens.** If your credit covered the total, it's already paid. If you chose **Generate one for me**, the root password page comes first: save the password, then go on to the invoice. 2. **Pay it** with Bitcoin or PayPal from the invoice. An order invoice not paid within 7 days is cancelled. You can hold up to 3 unpaid orders at once. 3. **The build starts** as soon as the payment confirms. Open the server from your servers page to [watch it build](https://vpsnine.com/help/watch-your-server-build): the page shows each step and the time since your order, and ends with the `ssh` command to copy. 4. **We email you** when the server is ready. [What happens when you order a server](https://vpsnine.com/help/what-happens-when-you-order) covers the billing that follows, from the first renewal on. ## Check it worked Your servers page lists the new server. While it's being built it shows **provisioning**; when it's done it shows **running** with its IPv4 address. Then log in: ```bash ssh root@203.0.113.42 ``` Use the address from the panel; `203.0.113.42` is a placeholder. ## Order from a link Links on [vpsnine.com/plans](https://vpsnine.com/plans), the [app pages](https://vpsnine.com/apps) and the [distribution pages](https://vpsnine.com/os) open the form with the plan, system, app or add-ons already picked. The steps they answered show as done, and the form starts at **How you log in**. You can still go back and change anything. You can build such a link yourself: ```text https://my.vpsnine.com/servers/new?plan=standard&term=yearly&os=ubuntu-24.04&app=docker&addon_disk=40 ``` `plan` is `budget`, `standard` or `extreme`; `term` is `monthly` or `yearly`; `os` is a distribution key from [/os](https://vpsnine.com/os); `app` is an app id from [/apps](https://vpsnine.com/apps); and `addon_ram`, `addon_vcpu`, `addon_disk`, `addon_transfer` and `addon_ipv4` take a number in the add-on's own unit (GB of RAM or disk, cores, TB or addresses). Anything the form doesn't recognise is ignored. If you aren't logged in, the link survives the login. ## Troubleshooting - **"Confirm your email to order."** Open the link in the email we sent when you signed up, or use **send a new link** in the banner at the top of the page. [Verify your email](https://vpsnine.com/help/verify-your-email) has the details. - **The form stops at How you log in.** Tick at least one SSH key, or pick a root password. If you have no keys, [add one](https://vpsnine.com/help/manage-ssh-keys-in-the-panel) in another tab, then reload the form. - **"Use 1 to 63 characters: lowercase letters, digits, dashes and dots."** The hostname has a character it can't use, like an underscore or a space, or a part that starts or ends with a dash. - **"Too many tries in a short time. Wait a while and try again."** Wait a few minutes, then press **order** again. - **"You have 3 unpaid orders."** Pay one of their invoices, or wait for one to lapse after 7 days, before ordering more. ## Next steps - [Watch your server build](https://vpsnine.com/help/watch-your-server-build) - [Connect to your server with SSH](https://vpsnine.com/help/connect-with-ssh) - [Your server's first hour: a checklist](https://vpsnine.com/help/first-hour-checklist) - [Panel tour](https://vpsnine.com/help/panel-tour) ## Doing it on VPSNine The plans and prices are on [vpsnine.com/plans](https://vpsnine.com/plans). Each [one-click app](https://vpsnine.com/apps) and [distribution](https://vpsnine.com/os) has a page with an order link that fills in the form for you.