Studio setup guides I have web hosting

Install Studio on your web hosting

If your website runs on ordinary web hosting with PHP, Studio can live right there, in a folder called snaps. You upload one ZIP file, open one page, and your Studio is ready at an address like this: yourcompany.com/snaps

Best for
Anyone whose website runs on ordinary web hosting with PHP: cPanel, Hostinger’s hPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin, or a host you reach by FTP.
You need
Maxisnap for Windows or Mac, signed in with the account that has Studio, and the login for your hosting control panel or FTP.
Hosting
PHP 8.0 or newer on Apache or LiteSpeed with .htaccess rules turned on. Nearly every shared hosting plan has this.
Time
About 10 minutes.
You get
Your Studio in a folder called snaps on your own website, at an address like yourcompany.com/snaps.
Cost
Nothing extra. Studio uses the hosting you already pay for.

Where to start

You get the Studio download from Maxisnap, make your upload file on its Start Here page, then upload it with your hosting’s File Manager. Maxisnap for Windows and Maxisnap for Mac both work.

Get the Studio download

  • On Windows: in Maxisnap, open Settings → Account → Maxisnap Studio setup wizard, click “Get started”, then “Download dashboard”. Maxisnap saves the Studio ZIP to your Downloads folder and opens that folder.
  • On a Mac: in Maxisnap, open Settings → Welcome & Help → Studio Setup Guide, click “Get Started”, then “Download Dashboard”. Maxisnap saves the Studio ZIP to your Downloads folder.

Extract the ZIP. On Windows, right-click it and choose “Extract All”. On a Mac, double-click it.

What you’ll see The extracted Studio folder: three folders (cloudflare, docs and snaps), the Start Here page and the instructions for AI assistants.

Make your upload file

  1. Double-click “Maxisnap Studio - Start Here.html” in the Studio folder. It opens in your browser.
  2. Add your logo, colours and fonts, or keep the Maxisnap look. You can change all of it later in your dashboard.
  3. Click “Lock in my branding”, or “Download snaps.zip only” to keep the Maxisnap look. Your browser saves snaps.zip with its downloads.

In desktop Chrome or Edge, the page can also update the snaps folder in your Studio download directly: choose the extracted Studio folder when it asks and allow the change. You only need that for uploading by FTP.

What you’ll see The Start Here page: your logo and colours on the left, a live preview of your dashboard and share page on the right, and the “Lock in my branding” button.

Upload snaps.zip to your hosting

Your hosting company gives you a File Manager in its control panel. Pick yours for the exact steps. When you are done, public_html contains a folder called snaps with index.php inside.

cPanel
  1. Sign in to cPanel and open File Manager Most hosts link it from your account page as “cPanel”, then “File Manager”.
  2. Open public_html That is your website’s main folder. On some hosts it is called www or htdocs.
  3. Upload snaps.zip Click Upload, choose your snaps.zip, then go back to public_html.
  4. Extract it Right-click snaps.zip, choose Extract, and extract into public_html. You should now see a folder called snaps.
Hostinger
  1. Open hPanel, then Websites, then Dashboard Pick the website you want Studio on.
  2. Open File Manager and go to public_html It is under Files in the left menu.
  3. Upload snaps.zip Use the upload icon at the top right and choose your snaps.zip.
  4. Extract it Right-click snaps.zip and choose Extract. Leave the folder name empty so it extracts straight into public_html.
Plesk
  1. Open Files in Plesk Choose your domain, then Files.
  2. Open httpdocs That is your website’s main folder in Plesk.
  3. Upload snaps.zip Click the plus button, then Upload File.
  4. Extract it Tick snaps.zip, then choose Extract Files.
DirectAdmin
  1. Open File Manager Under System Info & Files.
  2. Open domains, your domain, then public_html
  3. Upload snaps.zip Use Upload files to current directory.
  4. Extract it Click snaps.zip and choose Extract.
FTP / SFTP
  1. Open your FTP app FileZilla, WinSCP or Cyberduck, with the FTP details your host gave you.
  2. Find the snaps folder to upload It is in your Studio folder. If you made a branded snaps.zip, extract it first (right-click it, Extract All) and use the snaps folder inside.
  3. Upload the snaps folder into public_html Include the hidden .htaccess files. In FileZilla: Server, Force showing hidden files.
  4. Check the result public_html should now contain a snaps folder with index.php inside.
What you’ll see Your hosting’s File Manager showing public_html, with the new snaps folder next to your website’s own files.

Open your Studio once to finish

The first visit to your Studio runs a short setup. It checks your hosting and gives you your Admin key.

  1. Open your Studio’s address in your browser, such as https://yourcompany.com/snaps/.
  2. Check the list at the top: your PHP version, a writable folder and image thumbnails. Thumbnails are optional; without them, Studio shows full images.
  3. Copy the Admin key the page suggests. Keep the key somewhere safe, like your password manager. You sign in to your dashboard with it, and anyone who has it can use your Studio.
  4. Click “Create my dashboard”. Studio signs you in and opens your dashboard.
What you’ll see Studio’s setup page: a short checklist of your hosting, your suggested Admin key with copy and new-key buttons, and the “Create my dashboard” button.

Connect Maxisnap and try it

  • Maxisnap for Windows: open Settings → Account → Maxisnap Studio setup wizard, click “Get started”, then “Next” until step 4, “Connect Maxisnap”. Paste your Studio’s address and key, click “Test connection”, then “Next”, then “Finish & Save” on the last page. The Admin key from setup works, and so does an upload code from People & access in your dashboard.
  • Maxisnap for Mac: open Settings → Welcome & Help → Studio Setup Guide and choose “I already have a dashboard”. Paste your Studio’s address and key, click “Test Connection”, then “Next”, then “Finish & Save”.

Capture something and click “Upload” in the editor. On Windows, Ctrl+Alt+7 captures a region and uploads it straight away. The share link lands on your clipboard.

Next steps: add your team in the dashboard under People & access (everyone gets their own code and role), and change your logo or colours any time under Branding.

If something goes wrong

Your Studio address shows “404 Not Found”

The address and the folder don’t match yet. In your File Manager, check that the snaps folder sits directly inside public_html (on some hosts www, htdocs or httpdocs) and that it contains index.php. A folder inside a folder, such as public_html/snaps/snaps, means the ZIP was extracted one level too deep: move the inner snaps folder up one level.

If index.php is in the right place and Studio’s setup page or share links still show 404, your hosting is ignoring Studio’s .htaccess rules. Ask your host to allow .htaccess files with URL rewriting (mod_rewrite) for that folder. On an nginx server, your web developer adds the rules from the Developer guide in your Studio download.

You uploaded with FTP and pages show errors or 404

FTP apps often skip hidden files, and Studio’s .htaccess files are hidden. In FileZilla, choose Server, then Force showing hidden files, and upload the snaps folder again. Uploading snaps.zip and extracting it with your hosting’s File Manager avoids this.

The setup page says PHP 8.0 or newer is required

Your site runs an older PHP version. Most hosting control panels have a setting to choose the PHP version for a website: choose the newest version your host offers, or ask your hosting company to do it. Then reload the setup page.

The setup page says the folder is not writable

This folder is not writable, so setup cannot save. Set the folder to writable (chmod 755) and reload.

In your File Manager, right-click the snaps folder, open its permissions and set them to 755. Then reload the setup page. If that is not allowed, ask your hosting company to make the folder writable for PHP.

Setup says the form expired

This setup form expired. Reload this page and try again.

The setup page was open for a long time. Reload it, copy the new Admin key it shows, then click “Create my dashboard”.

Setup says the dashboard has already been set up

This dashboard has already been set up. Sign in with its existing key.

Setup has already run in this folder, so Studio is installed. Open your Studio address and sign in with the Admin key from that first setup.

Your hosting already has a snaps folder

That is probably an existing Studio. Don’t upload over it. To update it, follow “How to update.txt” in the snaps folder of the new download: it keeps your captures, people, branding and settings. To set up a second Studio, use another folder name.

You lost your Admin key

Studio keeps it in a file called your-settings.php in the snaps folder on your hosting. Open that file with your File Manager’s viewer or editor: the key is the value after dashboard_key. Don’t share that file, and don’t delete it.

Large videos fail to upload

Your hosting’s PHP limits are smaller than the file. Ask your hosting company to raise upload_max_filesize and post_max_size for your site, or raise them yourself if your control panel has a PHP settings page. Studio’s own limit is 500 MB per file unless you changed it.

Uploads or branding changes fail with a storage message

Studio could not save this change. Check your hosting file permissions and storage, then retry.

Studio cannot write to its folders. Check that the uploads and data folders inside snaps are writable (755 is usual) and that your hosting plan still has free disk space.

Changes don’t show after an update

Your hosting or its CDN may be showing an old copy of the pages. Clear your hosting’s cache and its CDN cache from the control panel, then sign in again.

Your logo or font is refused on the Start Here page

Please choose a logo under 150 KB.

Save the logo as a smaller PNG or SVG file and choose it again. Custom font files must be under 600 KB each.

Still need help?

Email us and a person will write back, usually within one business day. These details help us answer in one go:

  • The setup option you chose and the step you are on.
  • A screenshot of the screen, with any error message in full.
  • Where your Studio is going: a new or existing Cloudflare account, or the name of your web hosting company.
  • Your Maxisnap version: on Windows in Settings, then About; on a Mac under Maxisnap, then About Maxisnap.

Please don’t send your Admin key, a Cloudflare key or a password. We don’t need them to help you.

Email support@maxisnap.com

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