Your Hosting Dashboard - cPanel Overview Print

Welcome to cPanel

cPanel is the control panel for your hosting account. Think of it as mission control - everything you need to manage your website, email, and databases is right here. This guide walks through each section so you know what does what.

Files

• File Manager - Browse, upload, delete, and edit files on your server directly in the browser. Your website files live in public_html.
• FTP Accounts - Create FTP logins so you or others can upload files via an FTP client like FileZilla.
• Backup - Download a full backup of your site (files + databases) or restore from a previous backup.
• Disk Usage - See what's taking up space on your account.

Databases

• MySQL Databases - Create and manage databases. You'll need these for WordPress, Joomla, or any dynamic website.
• phpMyAdmin - A tool for advanced database management. Good for running SQL queries or fixing database issues.
• Remote MySQL - Allow external applications to connect to your database.

Email

• Email Accounts - Create and manage email accounts (e.g., [email protected]). Set passwords, quotas, and auto-responders here.
• Forwarders - Send incoming email from one address to another (e.g., forward sales@ to your personal Gmail).
• MX Entry - Control where your domain's email is delivered. Leave this alone unless you're switching to Google Workspace or another email provider.
• Spam Filters - Turn on spam protection and adjust how aggressive the filtering is.
• Autoresponders - Set up automatic replies like "I'm out of the office."

Domains

• Domains - Addon domains, parked domains, and subdomains. This is where you host multiple sites on one account.
• Redirects - Send visitors from one URL to another (e.g., yourdomain.com/old-page to yourdomain.com/new-page).
• Zone Editor - Advanced DNS control. Add or edit DNS records like A, CNAME, MX, and TXT records.

Software

• PHP Selector - Choose which PHP version your site uses (7.4, 8.0, 8.1, etc.). Most sites work best with the latest stable version.
• SSL/TLS - Install or manage SSL certificates. We usually set up a free AutoSSL for you.

Security

• IP Blocker - Block specific IP addresses from accessing your site.
• Hotlink Protection - Stop other websites from linking directly to your images and using your bandwidth.
• SSH Access - Enable secure command-line access to your account (advanced users only).
• Leech Protection - Limit how many times a password-protected directory can be accessed (for paid membership sites).

Metrics & Advanced

• Awstats / Analog - See your site traffic stats: visitors, page views, referrers, search terms.
• Cron Jobs - Schedule automatic tasks (e.g., run a script every night). Useful for maintenance or backups.
• Indexes - Control how directory listings appear when someone browses a folder without an index file.
• Error Pages - Customize the look of 404, 403, and other error pages.

If you ever get lost, just hover over any icon in cPanel - a tooltip explains what it does. Or drop us a ticket. We're happy to point you in the right direction.