The cPanel control panel is the most popular control panel application available for Linux web hosting as it has proven itself to be reliable and cost effective whilst retaining its relatively low price tag. Linux web hosting services are used by a majority of web hosting consumers which is why it is important for hosting companies to deploy a sturdy but easy to use control panel that can be used by even the most inexperienced of users; as well as powering most shared web hosting platforms, cPanel is also the control panel of choice for many VPS server and dedicated server hosting customers.
Creating an Email Account
Creating an email account using cPanel is a fairly simple procedure. To begin with, click the “Email Accounts” icon that is located under the “Mail” title on the homepage.
After that you will then be directed to a page that will contain the relevant form as well as a list of existing email accounts.
In order to create an email account you will need to fill in the following details:
- Email – this is the name that you want to precede your domain name to form the email address, i.e. “example” would be translated to example@example.com
- Password – you will need to password protect your email account to reduce the chances of hackers gaining access and viewing the contents
- Mailbox quota – you may wish to put a limit on the amount of content that a single mailbox will be able to host because the disk usage of each email account will eat into your overall disk space usage.
Once you have clicked “Create Account” you should then receive a conformation message and your new email account will then appear in the list below.
Creating a MySQL Database
To begin with, click the “MySQL Databases” icon that is located under the “Databases” title on the homepage.
You will then be directed to a page that will provide you with a list of your existing MySQL databases and database users. To create a new MySQL database, you will need to fill out the form at the top of the page.
It is simply a case of typing in the name of your new database and clicking “Create Database”; it is important to note that the name of your database will be preceded by your cPanel account name.
If you wish to create a database user then you will need to enter the following details into the form:
- Username – this, like your database name, will be preceded by your cPanel account name
- Password – you should always apply a password to your MySQL database user accounts so that hackers aren’t able to view any of the data stored in your databases through the use of a compromised account.
Once you have created a database and a database user account, you will need to assign the user account to the database and will need to explicitly set the permissions that you wish for that account to have over the database concerned.
File Manager
The file manager in cPanel is one of its richest features and provides you with the ability to manage the files that you have hosted in your web space without the need to more complex options such as FTP.
To access the file manager, you will need to click the “File Manager” icon located under the “Files” title on the homepage.
After that, you will be provided with the option of where you want the File Manager to direct you towards. If you are going to be uploading documents to your publicly accessible web space then you will want to choose “Web Root”.
The File Manager will provide you with a multitude of basic options that you can use to manage the contents of your web hosting account’s disk space.
The File Manager will provide you with access to basic features such as:
- Folder and file creation – if you need to create a new web page or folder on the move then you will be provided with an interface that will allow you to code files on the fly
- Upload and download files – if you’re away from your main computer and require access to a file that is only stored in your web space then you can download it through the File Manager – this works both ways as it means that you can also upload files
- Change permissions – every now and then you may need to tweak the permissions on certain files or folders in order to make your web pages and scripts function properly – this isn’t a big issue as cPanel provides you with the option to do this quickly and easily.
In conclusion, cPanel is one of the most feature-rich web hosting control panels available for the Linux platform and provides you with a multitude of options that you can use to effectively manage your Linux web hosting plan, regardless of whether you’re using Linux shared hosting or Linux dedicated hosting. The cPanel control panel is available for a low cost for dedicated web hosting services if you feel that you need a web based control panel to aid you with the management of your web hosting account; as a shared web hosting customer you should be able to expect cPanel access to be provided as standard with your Linux web hosting plan.