When you sign up for a web hosting package for the first time, you may feel a little overwhelmed with everything, and unsure what you actually need to do. Trying to understand how the hosting control panel works and what does what can be a little daunting, even for more experienced users.
Some large companies will have their own administration panels for their hosting accounts, while others will use cPanel, which is one of the most used control panels for web hosting. cPanel has a ton of different features and options, and to be honest, you probably won’t need to use many of them.
If you are looking for a reliable host in Australia, then check out the reviews you’ll find over at the Fortunelords site, which is packed full of helpful information about web hosts all over the world. Many of the Australian web hosts use cPanel for their hosting accounts, so you will quickly be able to get to grips with it and have your website up and running in no time.
What is cPanel?
It is a very popular control panel for web hosting, and has been operating for over 20 years. It is a system that is very easy to use and provides you with everything you will ever need to securely and quickly host your website.
It is very user friendly when compared to some other control panels that other web hosts may use. Once you’ve got to grips with how it works, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.
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Easily set up new websites
cPanel comes with the ability to create websites using a variety of platforms such as WordPress and Joomla, which are the two most popular web building systems, and which have huge selections of themes available. In addition to these, there are also various other types of sites you can create such as E-Shops with PrestaShop or community forums and message boards with phpBB.
These different softwares can be set up with just one click. You won’t need to worry about downloading or uploading files, creating databases or users. Everything is done automatically for you, saving you a lot of time and stress.
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Easy to use interface
The interface for cPanel is very easy to understand, and the features are put together in sections, such as domains, emails, databases and security. You will quickly be able to find the feature you are looking for, and get it up and running with just a couple of clicks of the mouse.
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Creating an email account is a breeze
If you’ve got your website up and running, you’ll next want to create an email account for it. With cPanel, you can create a brand new email account in just seconds. You can also set up forwarder addresses so any emails that are received in your account could also be forwarded to another email account.
Additionally, you can set up autoresponders, so that when an email is received, a reply is automatically sent to the sender, thanking them for the email and informing them that you will be in contact with them very soon.
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Making backups of your website
You never know when problems may arise, so it’s always best to be prepared. With cPanel you can quickly make backups of your websites with just a couple of clicks. You can back up a single website, or everything in your hosting account including databases and emails.
And in the event of a major issue, it is very easy to put a backup online and restore your website. If you do find yourself in a situation where your site may have been lost, you should speak to your web host, as they will be able to assist you if you are not too sure what you need to do.
Most hosts will take regular backups of entire servers, but it is always a good idea to make your own backups as well, just in case the worst case scenario happens.
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Having a secure website
One of the great features of cPanel is that it incorporates “Lets Encrypt SSL”, which is a system that allows you to create SSL certificates for your website.
In the past you would have to buy an SSL certificate for each of your websites, and the prices could range from $10 – $200, depending on the type of certificate you wanted.
With cPanel and Let’s Encrypt SSL, you can generate certificates for all of your websites at no cost at all. However, take note that not all cPanel hosting will have Lets Encrypt SSL installed on their servers.
Some web hosts would prefer you to purchase an SSL certificate from them, rather than providing you with the ability to generate them for free.
To conclude, cPanel may look frightening at first, but once you realize what features you will actually need to use, and which you won’t, it becomes a lot easier to use. The main sections you will be using on a frequent basis will be for the domains and emails, as well as the uploading of your web files.