How To Install Sendy

I have to tell you that installing Sendy correctly is not a five-minute job.

What’s more, if you don’t know anything about SFTP, SSH or MySQL, then the learning curve can be steep.

My lack of tech skills meant I had to hire a Fiverr tech ace to get Sendy up and running properly on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Ever since, I have been determined to help other ordinary UK bloggers get started with Sendy and AWS — and not have to rely on IT experts to do so.

I have therefore put together a comprehensive guide to Installing Sendy (and Virtualmin*) on AWS, which I wish was available when I first bought Sendy.

(*Virtualmin is a control panel that makes installing Sendy much easier. Virtualmin makes maintaining your AWS server much easier, too.)   

Install Sendy yourself

The Sendy website offers some basic installation instructions:

However, these instructions assume you already have a web server up and running — which if you wish to use AWS for Sendy is probably unlikely. 

If you already know everything  about 'LAMP stacks', then installing Sendy on AWS or similar will be straightforward. 

But if you, like me, bought Sendy without knowing anything about servers — let alone LAMP stacks — then you will almost certainly struggle.

Trawl around the Internet and you will find many ‘How to install Sendy’ tutorials. They can be quite informative…

…but the two major problems I have found with all of these DIY guides is that: i) they overlook many tech problems, and; ii) they go stale very quickly.

Here is a typical reader comment:  

What often happens when you follow a DIY set-up is that you get half way through the installation... only to find something happens that is not documented in the guide. 

You are then at the mercy of the blog's author to help you out — which I am afraid to say is unlikely given the guides I have read.

I hope my Installing Sendy and Virtualmin on AWS guide will be different.

You see, I am not some tech writer interested only in publishing a blog post for a fee — and who then quickly moves on to writing the next article.

In contrast, I actually use the exact same Sendy/Virtualmin/AWS set-up as described in my guide. As such, I will need to know about any problems that you incur. I want to keep this website as helpful as possible.

Hire ‘Sendy Ben’

You can of course hire professional assistance to get Sendy up and running.

Here are two options. I have tried them both, and both work.

First, you can hire Ben Ho to install Sendy on AWS for you. Ben is the actual developer behind Sendy.

He charges $79 (around £66) for the service. And he’s quick. From my email request to full installation took less than seven hours.

But there are drawbacks to Ben’s service.

For one thing, he does not install SSL certificates, which is not great if you wish to have some added security on your server.

Furthermore, Ben does not install a control panel such as Virtualmin. If you are new to servers, a control panel provides you with a much more user-friendly way of managing your server.

Trust me, having a control panel such as Virtualmin is a GOOD IDEA.

You see, the alternative is maintaining your server through what is called the command line. Basically you will be facing something like this:

…rather than enjoy something like this:

To enjoy SSL and a control panel, you can get in touch with the Fiverr tech ace who installed Sendy and Virtualmin on AWS for me.

Introducing Tharindu Kumara

Meet Tharindu. He is a Fiverr tech ace from Sri Lanka:

He got my Sendy up and running on AWS, and also installed SSL and the Virtualmin control panel for me. 

Here is my Fiverr review:

(He overlooked a small matter when installing my Sendy, but fixed it soon after.)

You can see from his Fiverr page that I am not the only impressed customer. He has plenty of five-star reviews.

If my Installing Sendy and Virtualmin on AWS guide is not for you, then I recommend you get in touch with Tharindu via Fiverr. He certainly knows his stuff, and can be a helpful contact just in case you ever face any server difficulties in the future.

Depending on his workload, it should take him a day or two to get you up and running.

But why pay for assistance when you can try for free?

Before considering professional help, I would strongly recommend you at least try to complete my Installing Sendy and Virtualmin on AWS guide.

Only modest tech skills are needed. You will need to make a few decisions before starting, and the whole process could take a few hours.

Nonetheless, successfully complete the guide… and you will have learned a lot about your Sendy/Virtualmin/AWS set-up. Believe me, the experience will put you in good stead for maintaining your set-up in the future.

​Furthermore, my guide is FREE. And your AWS charges should be minimal, too, assuming you currently enjoy the AWS 12-month FREE tier.

​You can click here to get started with my Installing Sendy and Virtualmin on AWS guide.

​If you have any questions or comments about this page, please let me know so I can keep this website as helpful as possible.

Happy blogging!

Maynard Paton

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