What managed municipal website hosting includes
Hosting is part of the platform, not a separate purchase from a web host. This is what runs for every site today.
Hosting
One isolated Fly.io application per site, with its own database and file storage, in Toronto by default.
Nightly backups
Database, uploaded files, and code, retained for 30 days, with a documented restore process.
Drupal security updates
Advisories are checked every night, fixed, install-tested, and rolled out across all sites.
PHP runtime updates
A daily job keeps every site on the latest PHP patch release.
Custom domains and HTTPS
Add your domain in the dashboard; certificates are issued for the apex and www addresses.
Staff account protection
Multifactor authentication (authenticator app) is set up on CMS accounts when a site is provisioned.
How do website hosting and security updates work?
Every site is a Drupal 11 application running from the same tested software image. When a security advisory is published, an automated pipeline updates the affected packages, installs a fresh MunicipalSite on a scratch database to prove the fixed software still works, and publishes a new image. It then redeploys every site, runs database updates, and checks that each homepage still loads. The pipeline runs after the nightly backups finish, so every site has a same-night backup before anything changes.
Where is the data, and can we leave?
Sites are hosted in Toronto by default, with nightly backups kept for 30 days. If your procurement has specific data-residency requirements, raise them during the walkthrough. You can leave at any time: the dashboard produces a download of the database, files, and code, and the code is open source under GPL-2.0-or-later.
What hosting does not include
Hosting does not make your content accessible, current, or free of broken links; staff still own what they publish. We have not published an uptime guarantee. Specialist systems such as payments and facility reservations stay with your existing providers and are linked from the site.
Municipal website hosting questions
What is managed municipal website hosting?
It means the MunicipalSite team runs the servers your town’s website sits on, so your staff do not. We host the site, back it up, install security updates, connect your domain, and keep the software current, while staff only edit content.
Where is a MunicipalSite website hosted?
Sites run on Fly.io, in its Toronto region by default, with nightly backups kept for 30 days. If your procurement has specific data-residency requirements, raise them during the walkthrough.
How often are websites backed up, and for how long?
Nightly. Each backup holds the database, uploaded files, and the code that runs the site, and is kept for 30 days. A site can be restored from any retained backup.
How are security updates handled?
An automated job checks the site software for published Drupal security advisories every night, applies the fix, tests that a fresh MunicipalSite still installs and loads, and then rolls it out to every site. Another daily job keeps the PHP runtime on its latest patch release.
Can we use our own domain name?
Yes. You add the domain in the dashboard, point a DNS record at the site, and an HTTPS certificate is issued for the domain and its www version.
Is there an uptime guarantee?
We have not published an uptime guarantee. Ask in a walkthrough and we will tell you plainly what is and is not committed in writing.
Can we take the website and host it elsewhere?
Yes. The dashboard lets you download the database, uploaded files, and code with restore instructions for a Drupal 11 host. The code is licensed GPL-2.0-or-later.
See the hosting side in the dashboard.
In a 30-minute walkthrough we open the dashboard, show a site’s status, domain settings, and export, then answer your hosting and security questions.