Welcome to this brief ‘What is cPanel for Beginners’ tutorial. cPanel is short for Control Panel. It’s the place website administrators go to manage their hosting accounts. It has an easy-to-navigate non-technical interface that uses text, icons, and categories. Most shared hosting plans offer this program. It enables users to run and maintain websites and blogs with no technical knowledge.
What Can You Do from cPanel in 2020?
Website administrators can do most things from a cPanel dashboard, including:
- Organise website files and folders (directories)
- Install free software such as WordPress.org
- Create and manage multiple email accounts
- Manage domains; also includes subdomain creation
- Database backups, search, and maintenance
- User account set up and management
- Create new passwords, and change or delete old ones
- View website bandwidth and disk usage
- Much more besides
What users love about the Linux-based cPanel is its foolproof graphical user interface (GUI). The symbols and organised sections make it quick to navigate and locate things. It’s then a simple case of clicking buttons or links and following on-screen prompts to perform a task. And if you do get stuck with something, there’s usually a video tutorial somewhere to guide you.
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Your WordPress hosting company should provide you with a cPanel. You’ll get a login URL, or you can simply add forward slash cPanel after the primary domain name. You can also use an IP address to access your cPanel that came with your welcome email.
https://www.mysite.com/cpanel
Your interface may look like the one below (see Retro cPanel Layout). If not, it’s because you’re using another style. You can select themes within cPanel. It only changes appearance, not content or features. You can switch back in a nanosecond if you don’t like the new look.
To change the theme in cPanel, click your login name on the top right of the screen. In the dropdown menu, select Change Style. You’re then presented with the following screen.
Click any Apply button to select from one of four available cPanel themes.
cPanel runs updates from time to time, but managing sites remains simple after any upgrade. It will always be easy to use once you get familiar with it, and that doesn’t take long.
Retro cPanel Layout
The common Retro layout has two areas. The left column is where you get to view critical data at a glance for your website or blog. The right-side is the place to create, modify, and delete things for your project. The next image shows the top part of a Retro cPanel layout.
A lot of hosts serve up customized versions of cPanel. Some features of cPanel can be removed if the host does not support those features, and many hosts will change the way cPanel looks. Below you can see the full cPanel for Bluehost.
cPanel Security
Every online application needs a secure password, and cPanel is no different. Hacked accounts tend to be the usual culprits, i.e., those with weak login details. The general password practices apply. Make it strong, long, and use a combination of letters and numbers. For extra security, throw in some special characters as well like # ? $ % ’ +, etc., and change it from time to time.
cPanel password generator makes the process quick and simple. The best passwords are impossible to read and difficult to type. Consider a password manager like Dashlane, RoboForm, or LastPass to protect all your online login details.
Use Your Hosting Support
The customer support of major web hosting businesses is quite efficient. Their teams work around the clock, 24/7, 365 days a year. Don’t struggle if you get stuck or think something isn’t working as it should do. Hosting support is there to help, so make sure you use it. Always have the details of your problem to hand before you contact any online help system.
Closing Comments
cPanel has been with us for a long time because it works and works well. If you take a little time to get familiar with your CP dashboard, it will serve you well.
