A payment confirmed by your bank or PayPal does not always activate the service to the second. Here are the checks to run before worrying, and what to do next if the service stays inactive.
1. Check the order status
In your client area, open the order's detail page. A Received status means the payment is not yet confirmed by Smiley Hoster: this is notably the case for a bank transfer, checked manually by the team before being matched to the order. A Paid status, followed by Service created, means the hosting account is being created or has finished being created.
2. Check the delivery time for your type of service
Shared or WordPress hosting activates immediately once payment is confirmed: if the order has shown Paid for several minutes without the cPanel account appearing active, the message shown ("Your cPanel account is being created, this usually takes a few minutes") reflects a creation still in progress rather than a block.
A VPS is delivered within 30 minutes and a dedicated server within 24 business hours: beyond that, the situation is worth reporting. Compare the advertised delivery times on the VPS and Dedicated servers pages with the time actually elapsed since payment was confirmed.
3. Contact support with the right references
If the advertised delivery time has passed, write to support from the Contact page (Billing subject) with the order reference, the payment date and amount, and a screenshot of the confirmation you received. The team checks the payment history linked to your account and unblocks the creation if needed.
FAQ
My bank confirms the transfer: why does the order still show "Received"?
A bank transfer is checked manually by the team before being matched to the order. This check takes a little time after Smiley Hoster receives the funds.
Should I pay a second time if the service does not appear right away?
No. First match the date, amount and reference of the payment to your order, then contact support rather than sending a second payment.
Where can I see if a general incident is delaying activations?
Check the Status page: it reports ongoing incidents that could delay an activation.