Posted on April 15th, 2010cPanel is site configuration and management software primarily used in managing web hosting accounts through an easy to use interface. This type of software allows tasks to be completed much more quickly and makes for creating and managing a website extremely simple.
The basic screens in cPanel are:
- Accessing cPanel
- The cPanel home screen
- Setting preferences
- Files
Logging into cPanel
The most basic step is actually accessing the cPanel interface. To do this, type: https://(your website’s IP address):2083 in an internet browser. After one week of starting the website, replace your IP address with the domain name. Enter your login information (cPanel username and password) and click login. On the first login, a cPanel startup page should appear with the getting started wizard.
Navigating cPanel
Once logged in, the cPanel home screen will appear offering numerous functions. These include; help, logout, trademarks, switch theme, switch account, notices, find, frequently accessed areas, the status menu, the server status page and the preference links. These boxes can all be moved by clicking and dragging the box to a new location. To revert back to the cPanel home screen at anytime, simply click the home button.
The preferences area offers two options, the getting started wizard and all other features. The getting started wizard is available upon first login to set basic preferences. Other features include video tutorials, change password, update contact info, change style, change language, shortcuts and branding editor.
Email Options
The next segment is the mail area. There are many mail options available through the cPanel. The mail options include access to all email accounts, SpamAssassin, Boxtrapper, mail forwarders, webmail, auto responders, default address, mailing lists, account level filtering, email delivery route, user level filtering, important addresses/forwarders, MX entry, email authentication and additional login methods.
Accessing Your Files
The final section of cPanel is the files area which allows the user to manage, upload and move files. More specifically, users can access backup files, a backup wizard, the file manager, the legacy file manager, web disk, disk space usage, FTP accounts, FTP session control and anonymous FTP.
cPanel is one of the most popular web interfaces offered by many of the premier web hosting providers. Due to the numerous functions available, cPanel makes it easy for newcomers and novices to create and maintain a website. As cPanel continues to upgrade and expand, the interface will be more efficient and easier to use.