What is Database?
Overview
What is database? A database is what stores and organizes your website or application's data — user accounts, passwords, product catalogs, orders, and every other piece of information your app needs to read and write. Nearly every dynamic website, from a WordPress blog to a custom Node.js backend, depends on a database engine running on the server behind it.
CloudStick's Databases section gives you a built-in, graphical way to install and manage that database engine directly from the dashboard — no SSH or command-line work required. This guide explains what a database actually does, which engines CloudStick supports, and how CloudStick lets you manage them without touching a terminal.
Your server must already be connected and active in CloudStick before you can install or manage a database engine. If you have not yet connected a server, see How to Deploy Your Own Server first.
Step 1: Why Websites and Applications Need a Database
Think of a database as the filing system behind your website. Your site's pages, themes, and code define how things look and behave, but the actual content — the data — lives separately, in a structured, searchable store that your application queries every time it loads a page.
User data: Login credentials, profiles, and permissions for anyone with an account on your site.
Content: Blog posts, product listings, orders, comments — anything a user or admin creates through the application.
Application state: Settings, configuration, and session data the app needs to function correctly.
Without a database, an application would have nowhere reliable to persist any of this — every page would be static, and nothing a visitor submits could be saved.
Step 2: Database Engines Supported by CloudStick
A database engine is the software that actually stores and serves that data — MySQL, PostgreSQL, and similar programs. Different applications and frameworks are built around different engines, so it helps to know which one yours expects before you install anything. CloudStick supports the four engines developers rely on most.
MySQL: The most widely used relational engine, and the default choice for WordPress, most PHP applications, and general-purpose web apps.
MariaDB: A MySQL-compatible fork with the same SQL syntax and drivers, preferred by teams who want an open-source-first relational database.
PostgreSQL: A feature-rich relational engine favored for applications that need advanced data types, strict standards compliance, or complex queries.
MongoDB: A NoSQL, document-oriented database suited to applications that store flexible, JSON-like records rather than fixed table schemas.
Not sure which engine to pick? Check your application or framework's documentation — most specify a required or recommended database engine.
Step 3: How CloudStick Manages Your Databases
CloudStick makes database installation and management simple through its graphical dashboard — you select the engine and version you need and install it with one click, and every server's installed engine and database count is visible from its System Overview.
Log in to your CloudStick dashboard and open the server you want to manage.
In the server panel's System Overview, the Databases card shows the currently installed engine and the number of active databases at a glance.
Click the Databases card, or the Databases icon in the left-hand navigation, to open the Databases section and install an engine, create a database, or manage database users.
What You Can Do from the Databases Section
Install an engine: Choose MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or MongoDB and the version you need — CloudStick provisions it automatically.
Create databases and users: Set up a new database with a dedicated user and privileges in a guided form. See How to Create a Database in CloudStick.
Manage visually: Browse and edit data through CloudStick's visual database manager, or access phpMyAdmin, without SSH.
Back it up: Enable automated database backups with a configurable schedule and retention period.
Once an engine is installed, it is ready immediately — you can start creating databases and database users straight away, without touching a terminal.