cPanel Tutorial

cPanel is a web based control panel tool, which will help you manage your hosting account through a web interface instead of a console. With cPanel you are able to accomplish your tasks faster and even non-professionals can easily and painlessly operate their website via cPanel.

The cPanel tutorial is part of the rich collection of web hosting tutorials, which SiteGround experts have prepared for everyone. Find out how to start your website, how to promote it, how to deal with cPanel, webmail and FTP.

cPanel offers a rich set of features, ranging from adding an email address to managing sub-domain names. This tutorial will focus on the tasks involved with putting together and maintaining a web site.

CPanel Tutorial includes detailed instructions about:

• How to set the Preferences in your cPanel;
• How to manage Mail accounts and services with cPanel;
• How to use the tools in the Files section: File manager and FTP manager;
• How to use the tools in the Security section: Pass protected directories, IP Deny manager, and HotLink protection;
• How to manage Domains via cPanel: Parked domains and Addon domains;
• How to use the Logs tools for checking statistical data;
• How to manage Databases via cPanel: there is a special MySQL tutorial, for managing MySQL databases;
• How to use the tools in the Software/Services section;
• How to use the Advanced tools, such as Cron Jobs;
• How to make Website backup via CPanel;
• How to check the cPanel ports.

SiteGround has long experience in providing web space for CPanel managed sites. Our web hosting service is an excellent choice for any website since it offers the richest set of features, cPanel-expertized support team and lots of FREE PHP tools like blogs, galleries, CMS, shopping carts, etc.

cPanel Tutorial: Preferences

This section allows the customers to modify the style of cPanel, to set shortcuts, to change the default language, to enter contact details and to check the built-in Getting Started Wizard and Video Tutorials.

Below you may see what to expect from each sections:

• Getting Started Wizard - this section introduces the main features of the web hosting. There are several topics in it.

• Video Tutorials - The section includes video tutorials on the cPanel options. Also, every cPanel section has built-in Video tutorials.

• Update Contact Info - allows you to update the contact information, which will be used by the cPanel scripts.

• Change Style - allows you to change the default cPanel visual style.

• Change Language - you can change the default language of cPanel.

• Shortcuts - allows you to create shortcuts to the most used features of your cPanel on your desktop.

cPanel Tutorial: Mail

The Mail area functions allow a user to do many different tasks with email accounts. This includes creating email accounts, removing accounts, forwarding email, etc. The following part of this documentation will familiarize you with the use of the Email Manager to accomplish the many different tasks that are associated with email accounts, and email account maintenance.

Mail Options in the CPanel

• Email Accounts - here you are able to create e-mail accounts, define passwords and quotas for them. You can separately manage the e-mail accounts for a chosen domain.
• WebMail - here you can access the two web mail programs (Horde and Squirrelmail) included in cPanel. These programs will allow you to read your email through a browser window without having to make any changes to your local computer.
• SpamAssassin - is an automated email filtering system that attempts to identify spam messages based on the content of the email's headers and body.
• Forwarders - using e-mail forwarders will allow you to send copies of all your messages from one e-mail account to another. You can also send the messages from all the accounts with one domain to the corresponding ones with another domain.
• Auto Responder - setting auto responder emails
• Default Address - feature will "catch" any mail that is sent to an invalid email address for your domain.
• User Level Filtering - here you can manage filters for each user. Each user filter is processed after the main account filters.
• Account Level Filtering - allows you to manage the filters for the main account. There you can also test the existing filters.
• Email Delivery Route - allows you to view how the mail server will treat a message when sending to or delivering to a specific address.

Please, take a look at our Email tutorial for further details about how to manage your email accounts:

• Learn how to create email addresses.
• Learn how to access and check your emails via webmail.
• Learn how to configure your email client and more about the email protocols, POP3, IMAP and SMTP.
• Learn more about email security - spam protection, email filtering, and tracing email addresses.
• Find more about email domain forwarding, email forwarders, autoresponders, and catch-all email.
• Find how to change the MX Record of your email account.

cPanel Tutorial: Files

Files section in CPanel

• File Manager - allows you to manage your site through HTTP, rather than an FTP tool or other third-party application. You can upload, create or delete files, organize files in folders, and change file permissions. While not as sophisticated as most FTP tools, File Manager is free and gives you all the basic functionality necessary to manage your site.
• Legacy File Manager - you can check how the Legacy File Manager works here.
• Disk Space Usage - this tool shows the total disk space usage of your accounts and the disk space usage of the separate directories and files.
• FTP accounts - using this cPanel feature, which is available under the Files area, allows you to create, manage and delete separate FTP accounts, access your web site's files through a protocol called FTP. You will need a third party FTP program to access your files. You can check our comprehensive FTP tutorial here.
  You can define to which directory the FTP account has access. You can also alter its quota. The Configure FTP Client feature displays the proper settings for an FTP client so you can easily configure it
  At the end of the FTP accounts page there are the raw access logs for the FTP connections.

Your domain should be pointed to the server for the raw logs to work.

• FTP Session Control - This function allows you to check who is currently logged into your site through FTP. You can also terminate any FTP connections to your site in order to prevent users from accessing your files without your permission.

• Anonymous FTP - This allows an access to your anonymous FTP directory without having a password to login. This may be useful if you have files that you wish to be publicly available for download.

Please note that allowing anonymous access any part of your system may be considered a security hole. Thus it is not recommended.

• File Permissions - All files on UNIX (including Linux and other UNIX variants) machines have access permissions. In this way the operating system knows how to deal with requests to access the files.

cPanel Tutorial: Files - File Manager

The File Manager allows you to manage your site through HTTP, rather than an FTP tool or other third-party application. You can upload, create or delete files, organize files in folders, and change file permissions. While not as sophisticated as most FTP tools, File Manager is free and gives you all the basic functionality necessary to manage your site.

• How to access the File Manager?
• Creating a new folder
• Uploading files in File Manager
• Creating a new file
• Editing a file
• Extracting/Compressing a file

How to access the File Manager

To access the File Manager, click on the File Manager icon in the Files section of your cPanel.

Then you will be able to pick the directory for which to open File Manager:

The File Manager in the x3 theme appears as follows:

Creating a new folder

Folders are a very useful way of adding organization and structure to your web site. They make the maintenance of the site much easier, as you can easily list the files in every folder. Most web sites include at least an /image folder to keep all the image files separate from the HTML files.

Step 1: Click on the New Folder link.

Step 2: Enter the name of the new folder and define the location where it will be created.

Step 3: Click on the [Create] button. The new folder will appear in the chosen location.

Uploading files in File Manager

You can start uploading files through File Manager by clicking on the [Upload] icon.

How to upload files in File Manager:

Step 1: Navigate to the folder where you want to upload your files.

Step 2: Click on the [Upload] icon.

Step 3: Click on the [Browse] button next to one of the top fields.

Step 4: Search for and double-click on the first file to upload. The upload will start automatically.

Step 5: Repeat the above steps for each file you want to upload. You can open more upload boxes by clicking on the Add Another Upload Boxes link.

Step 6: Click on the Overwrite existing files tick box if you want to overwrite existing files with the same name.

You can download files from the server to your personal computer through the Download option.

You can copy and move files between the accounts folders through the Copy and Move File functionality. You can Rename and Delete the existing files through the corresponding options.

Creating a new file

For small text files it can be easier to create them online, rather than on your home computer and uploading the file. You can create HTML, Perl, Shell, or plain TXT files.

To create a new file please, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Click on the New File link.

Step 2: Enter the name of the file to be created. Please mind to add the correct extension. For example if you create a Perl file, the extension will be .pl.

Step 3: Select the type of document from the drop-down list. Each type of file adds specific information to the text file:

• Text Document - No text is added to the file.
• HTML Document - No text is added to the file.
• Perl Script - Automatically adds the path to Perl to the top of the file. Make sure to double-check that the path is correct.
• Shell Script - Automatically adds the path to the Shell executable to the top of the file. Make sure to double-check that the path is correct.

Step 4: Pick the destination where the file should be saved and click on the [Create New File] button. The file is created.

Editing a file

Editing an existing file through the File Manager allows you to make immediate changes to your web site, without having to upload a new version of the file. This is useful for small changes, but would be inefficient for large alterations. To edit a file please follow the steps below:

Step 1: Navigate to the folder where the file is located.

Step 2: Click on the name of the file.

Step 3: Click on the Edit link in the top menu of your window. This will open a new window with the contents of the file displayed.

Step 4: Alter the text of the file as you wish.

Step 5: Click on the [Save Changes] button when you have finished altering the file. The file has been saved and any changes will take effect from now on.

You can use more sophisticated editors as the Code Editor and the HTML Editor. You can also click on the View link in the File Manager main menu, but the file will be opened for reading and you will not be able to edit it.

Extracting/Compressing a file

You can extract archive files using the Extract function.

You can also create your own archives. Select the files and folders, which you want to include in the archive and click on the Compress link.

cPanel Tutorial: Files - File Permissions

Changing file/folder permissions

All files on UNIX (including Linux and other UNIX variants) machines have access permissions. In this way the operating system knows how to deal with requests to access the files. There are three types of access:

• Read - Denoted as r, files with read access can be displayed to the user.
• Write - Denoted as w, files with write access can be modified by the user.
• Execute - Denoted as x, files with execute access can be executed as programs by the user.

Access types are set for three types of user group:

• User - The owner of the file.
• Group - Other files which are in the same folder or group.
• World - Everyone else.

The web server needs to be able to read your web pages in order to be able to display them in a browser. The following permissions need to be set in order for your web site to function properly.

• All HTML files and images need to be readable by others. The setting for this is 644 (readable by User, Group, and World, and writable by User), and is set automatically when you upload files.
• All folders need to be executable by others. The setting for this is 755 (readable by User, Group, and World, writable by User, executable by User, Group, and World), and is set automatically when you create a folder.
• All CGI files (all files in the cgi-bin folder) need to be executable by other. The setting for this is 755 (readable by User, Group, and World, writable by User, executable by User, Group, and World), and is not set automatically when you upload files. You need to change file permissions manually.

It is important that none of your files or folders is writable by anyone else. Any file or folder which is writable by others can be erased by them. Generally there is no problem, just be careful how you set your permissions.

To change file or folder permissions:

Step 1: Open your File Manager and navigate to the file or folder that you need to change.

Step 2: Click on the name of the file or folder.

Step 3: Click on the Change Permissions link in the top menu of the File Manager page.

Step 4: Click on as many tick boxes as you require to create the right permission. The permission numbers underneath the tick boxes will update automatically.

Step 5: Click on the Change button when you have finished setting the permission. The new permission level has now been saved and the display updated to show the modified file.

cPanel Tutorial: Files - FTP Manager

The FTP Manager allows a user to do many different tasks involving FTP accounts. This includes creating FTP accounts, removing accounts, anonymous FTP access, FTP session control, and more. The following section of this documentation will familiarize you with using the FTP Manager to accomplish the many different tasks that are associated with FTP accounts, and FTP account maintenance.

Please check our FTP tutorial for more details about using FTP:

• Learn how to use FTP clients, such as CuteFTP and FileZilla;
• Learn how to create and use FTP accounts;
• Learn more about FTP sessions;
• Check the anonymous FTP options.

cPanel Tutorial: Security

cPanel security tools allows the customers to protect different parts of their web sites from unauthorized access.

• Pass protected directories - You can limit access to certain resources of your website by password protecting the directories they are in.
• IP Deny manager - allows you to prevent an IP address, domain name, or block of IP addresses from accessing your web site.
• HotLink protection - prevents other websites from directly linking to files on your website.
• Leech Protect - this tool prevents your users from posting their passwords to a restricted area of your site.

cPanel Tutorial: Security - Password Protected Directories

You can limit access to certain resources of your website by password protecting the directories they are in. To do that, please select the Password Protect Directories icon from your cPanel main page. A list of the directories on your account will appear.

Select the directory you wish to limit access to. In the new page, please create a username and a password for your user. Select a name that will appear in the login screen and click on the Save button to activate the protection.

Please note that you have to create a directory before you enable the password protection for it. Also, using one and the same directory for the purpose of password protection and FTP storage in the same time is not recommended.

It is also important to add that password-protecting your webroot (the www directory) will lead to inability of your website to be displayed directly.

cPanel Tutorial: Security - IP Deny Manager

How to use IP Deny Manager

The IP Deny Manager allows you to prevent an IP address, domain name, or block of IP addresses from accessing your web site. If someone is using a lot of your bandwidth, posting malicious content, or should not be allowed to access your site for another reason, you can preventing them from doing so in the IP Deny Manager.

Deny access to a domain or IP

Step 1: To access the IP Deny Manager, click on the corresponding icon in the Security section of your cPanel interface.

Step 2: Enter the IP address or domain name you wish to deny access to in the blank field next to IP Address or Domain: (You can enter an IP block such as 1.2.3. to deny access to all IPs that start with 1.2.3.).

Step 3: Click on Add.

Make sure you have entered the IP address or domain in the proper format when adding IPs or domains to deny. IPs should be in the following format 1.2.3.4, and domains should look like domain.com.

Allow access to a denied IP address

If you no longer wish to deny access to a specific IP address, you can use the IP Deny Manager to allow access to that IP address.

Step 1: To access the IP Deny Manager, click on the corresponding icon in the Security section of your cPanel interface.

Step 2: Click on the Remove icon next to the blocked IP or IP range, for which you want to allow access.

cPanel Tutorial: Security - HotLink protection

How to use Hotlink Protection

A cPanel functionality, known as HotLink protection prevents other websites from directly linking to files on your website. This means that when another website is visited, it cannot load pictures from your pages - this is one of the ways for limiting the outbound traffic for your account.

An example of hotlinking would be a different website using HTML code to display an image from your site. In effect, the other website is using up your bandwidth quota.

In order for this to be prevented, please click on the HotLink Protection icon in the cPanel's main page and follow the instructions. Please include the websites you wish to have access to your files - those may be affiliates or friends, linking to your banners, etc.

In order to allow certain file types to be accessed, please enter their extensions in the space provided - this way you can allow other websites to reach for your images, but disallow video or audio files from being accessed.

cPanel attempts to add all the domain names that you own with SiteGround to the allowed list, still if you have accounts on other servers you may need to have some of those added manually.

Make sure that you include all sites that need to access your protected files in the first bank field or they will not be able to view the files. If you still cannot view a file, try disabling Hotlink Protection to see if it is the cause of the problem.

cPanel Tutorial: Domains

Through this section you can manage your subdomains, addon domains and parked domains. You can also set redirects for your URLs.

• Subdomains - through this feature you can add subdomains for your primary, parked and addon domains.

• Addon domains - through this feature you can add addon domains to your account.
• Parked domains - through this feature you can add parked domains to your account.

• Redirects - using this tool you can set a Temporary or a Permanent redirect for your web site to separate one or from one file to another. You can also set a wild card redirect for all the files under a directory.

cPanel Tutorial: Domains - Parked Domains

Through the Parked Domains feature you can add parked domains to your account. A parked domain allows you to reach your domain when entering the name of the parked domain into a browser. You can use a parked domain to allow multiple spellings of a domain name to access a single domain.

Add a parked domain

Step 1: To access the Parked Domains feature, click on the corresponding icon located on the main screen of your cPanel interface.

Step 2: To add a parked domain, enter the name of the domain in the blank field and click on Add Domain.

Make sure to register the parked domain with a valid domain registrar or else it will not work.

Remove a parked domain

The Parked Domains feature allows you to remove parked domains from your account. If a parked domain is no longer necessary, you can remove it without removing the main domain.

Step 1: To access the Parked Domains feature, click on the corresponding icon located on the main screen of your cPanel interface.

Step 2: To remove a parked domain, click on the Remove link next to it.

You can also redirect the parked domain to another URL using the Manage Redirection link.

cPanel Tutorial: Domains - Addon Domains

Through the Addon Domains feature you can add addon domains to your account. An addon domain allows you to reach a domain when entering the name of the addon domain into a browser. This means that you can host additional domains in your account.

Add an Addon domain

Step 1: To access the Addon Domains tool, click on the corresponding icon located on the main screen of your cPanel interface.

Step 2: Enter the name of the addon domain in the blank field next to New Domain Name.

Step 3: Enter the name of the directory which contains the subdomain that the addon domain will point to in the blank field next to Subdomain/FTP Username: (This directory will be the location for the addon domain's files, just as public_html is the location for your primary domain's files.)

Step 4: Type in the password for the new addon domain, and click on Add Domain!

You can upload files directly to this addon domain using the username and password for the addon domain to log in through FTP.

In order to use a domain name as an addon you need an addon slot. Addon slot is considered an upgrade and costs $30 per year. It can be ordered from your Customer's area.

Addon domains will need to be registered with a valid domain name registrar before they can be added. Make sure that your account has the ability to use Addon domains before attempting to add one.

Please note that Addon slots price does not include the domain name itself. If you need domain names, please order them separately from your Customer area.

Remove an Addon domain

The Addon Domains allows you to remove addon domains from your account.

Step 1: To access the Addon Domains tool, click on the corresponding icon located on the main screen of your cPanel interface.

Step 2: To remove an addon domain, click on the Remove link next to it.

You can also redirect the addon domain to another URL using the Manage Redirection link.

cPanel Tutorial: Logs

cPanel comes with several tools that provide the customers with detailed statistics. In this section we will give you a brief description of their functionality.

Please mind that your primary domain name should be pointed to the server for the statistics to work.

• Latest visitors - this tool lists the last 300 unique visitors to your web site.

• Bandwidth - here you can check the bandwidth usage of your account.

• Webalizer - this is a complex statistics program, which visualize the visits to the web site in graphics and charts.

• Webalizer FTP - this is a complex statistics program, which visualize the visits to your account through the FTP protocol in graphics and charts.

• Raw Access Logs - this tool provides you with the access log data in the way it was stored on the server, without any further modifications.

• Analog Stats - this tool provides you with a list of all the people, who have visited your web site for a specific month.

• Error log - logs all the errors, generated by your web site. This tool allows you to determine if there is a problem with your web site pages and scripts.

• Choose Log Programs - use this tool to define which applications to invoke for the statistics displaying.

• Awstats - the most comprehensive visual statistics tool in cPanel. Lists the visits to your web site with many details.

cPanel Tutorial: Database

The Databases section allows you to create MySQL and PostgreSQL databases and users, to modify databases and access to them. SQL stands for Structured Query Language. SQL is an international standard in querying and retrieving information from databases. PostgreSQL is an object-relational database management system. MySQL is essentially an SQL server - it responds to requests for information that are written in SQL. You can communicate with MySQL using a wide variety of programming languages (PHP being one of the most common). MySQL is Open Source software and free for use. There are several features in the cPanel Database section:

MySQL Databases

• MySQL Databases - through this tool you can create new MySQL databases, list and remove the existing ones, add and delete database users with the corresponding passwords.

• MySQL Database Wizard - this feature allows you to create a new MySQL database and to add a user to it using an intuitive wizard.

• phpMyAdmin - this is a link to the phpMyAdmin tool. This application is used for the management of the databases and the database tables, running of sql queries, importing and exporting of databases.

• Remote MySQL - through this feature you can allow a remote database connection to your databases on the server. In the Access Hosts section you should include the IP of the computer, which will initiate the remote connection.

PostgreSQL Databases

• PostgreSQL Databases - using this feature you can create new PostgreSQL databases, list and remove the existing ones, add and delete database users with the corresponding passwords.

• PostgreSQL Database Wizard - this tool has the same functionality as the MySQL Database Wizard, but for PostgreSQL databases.

• phpPgAdmin - this is a link to the PostgreSQL databases management tool, which has a similar functionality to the phpMyAdmin application.

cPanel Tutorial: Database

MySQL Databases

Please check our PHP / MySQL tutorial for more details about using MySQL:

• Find a short introduction what is PHP and what it is used for;
• What is MySQL and what are its benefits;
• Learn how to create a MySQL database and user - this is an important section when you try to install a ready-made PHP/MySQL script on your website;
• Learn how to remove a MySQL database and user;
• Learn how to manage MySQL databases with phpMyAdmin or through Remote Connection;
• Learn how to connect PHP scripts with MySQL data;
• PHP code to connect to the Database;
• Learn how to execute commands on the server;
• Learn how to display table data in HTML;
• Learn how to select individual records;
• Learn how to add MySQL access hosts;

cPanel Tutorial: Software/Services

Through the tools located in this section you can install automatically different scripts under your account. You can also list the current PHP configuration of the server.

• CGI Center - through this application you can install different CGI scripts under your account.

• Php-Configuration - this tool allows you to list the server’s php configuration for your reference.

• Fantastico - is a great tool for automatic installing of numerous application, such as blogs, CMS, forum, etc.

cPanel Tutorial: Software/Services - CGI-Center

With the CGI-Center you can install different CGI scripts under your account.

The full list of the CGI scripts is as follows:

• Simple CGI Wrapper - This is a CGI Wrapper that will allow you to run CGI Scripts with your User ID.
• Random HTML Generator - This is a Random HTML generator. It picks a string of HTML code from a list and inserts it in an SSI (Server Side Includes) enabled web page.
• Simple GuestBook - A just a simple guestbook for your visitors to view and sign.
• Advanced GuestBook - This is a more advanced guestbook written in PHP and MySQL.
• Counter - You can create a counter to count and show how many visitors have been to your site.
• CGI email - CGI Email takes the input of an HTML form and converts it to an email format defined by the author of the form.
• FormMail Clone - FormMail-clone is a clone of Matt Wright's FormMail.

cPanel Tutorial: Software/Services - Fantastico

How to install/uninstall an application using Fantastico

Fantastico is just how the name implies it's fantastic. It's one of the most popular 3rd party add-ons that can be purchased and added to cPanel. Fantastico is probably one of the most advanced script installer we've ever seen. Currently it can install a large amount and array of scripts, ranging from bulletin boards to content management systems. Fantastico comes FREE with each SiteGround web hosting account.

One of the key features to Fantastico is how easy it makes installing programs and scripts. Simply by selecting a program or script to install and offering a small amount of information for each, a user can have a program or script installed within a matter of minutes and sense the system is designed to update these programs with the newest version on a regular basis, users can be assured they are getting the latest stable version of the software and that it's installed correctly and properly.

To access Fantastico, click on the Fantastico De Luxe icon on the main screen of your cPanel interface.

Fantastico Extras

Fantastico offers a set of tools that will help you easily manage your scripts. Please, scroll down the list of tools offered and you will find the Extras menu

• Language - This option is used to change the default language set by the administrator of the server. Current Languages include: Dutch, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.

• Side Menu Appearance - This option can be used the change the side menu appearance.

The possible options are:

• Full List - The full list option is normally set as the default and is used to list all the programs that can be installed and used in one long list categorized by the type of programs.
• Drop down menus - The drop down menu option is used to list the three main categories, Navigation, Scripts and Extras. This will display each main category as a drop down. This is useful for users with a slower connection, who do not want to load a large amount of information at once.
• Email Notification - Users can submit their email address in this section and the system will email them when a new script or program has been installed, modified, or even updated. If it's been updated it will inform the users so they can login to the system and update the scripts that are currently installed to the newest versions.

• Installations Overview - This section will display the current scripts or programs that are installed, their location and version number.

• Navigation - This menu has two links, one for the cPanel home page for that account and one for the Fantastico home page for that account. These are normally located at the top of the page.

cPanel Tutorial: Software/Services - Fantastico

How to install/uninstall a PHP application using Fantastico

Below we have included a list of the PHP scripts which you can easily install on your website with Fantastico. Each one of these tools does different things and functions in different ways. The thing they have in common is their easy activation on each website hosted with SiteGround.com.

CMS / Portal software; E-learning and Blog tools

• Mambo CMS installation
• Joomla CMS installation
• PostNuke installation
• PHP-Nuke installation
• Typo3 installation
• Moodle installation
• WordPress installation

Shopping cart / ecommerce software

• OSCommerce installation
• Zen cart installation

Forum software

• phpBB installation
• SMF installation

Gallery software

• Coppermine installation
• Gallery installation

cPanel Tutorial: Advanced

In the Advanced section there are several tools which functionality will be described in the following lines.

• Apache Handlers - Through this tool you can define how the different file types will be processed by Apache.

• Image Manager - this tool can be used to manage images under your account. You can resize them, change their file types or just view them.

• Index Manager - through this tool you can change the way a directory will appear on the web. You can select between a default style, no indexes, or two types of indexing. If you do not wish for people to be able to see the files in your directory, choose no indexing.

• Error Pages - using it you can create custom error pages. For example a page is missing, the 404 error will be returned to the browser. You can modify the default 404 error page according to your personal preference. You should pick the domain name for which you want to change the default error pages.

• Cron Jobs - allow you to run a certain command at times set by the job.

• Network Tools - through this tool you can run the Trace Route command from the server to the computer, from which you open cPanel. You can also make a domain name lookup. As a result you will see the IP and the nameservers for this domain name.

• MIME Types - Through this tool you can define how the different file extensions will be handled by the web browsers.

cPanel Tutorial: Advanced - Cron Jobs

A cron job allows you to run a certain command at times set by the job. For example, you could set a cron job to delete temporary files every week so that your disk space is not being used up by those files.

To access the Cron Jobs Menu, click on the corresponding icon located on the main screen of your cPanel interface.

The Cron Jobs Menu in the x3 theme appears as follows:

There are two different modes you can use to add a cron job: Standard and Advanced (UNIX Style)

Standard Cron Manager

The Standard mode provides a range of pre-set options that you can choose. This is the simplest method and is recommended.

Adding a cron job in standard mode

Step 1: To access the Cron Jobs Menu, click on the corresponding icon located on the main screen of your cPanel interface.

Step 2: Click on Standard to access the Standard Cron Manager.

Step 3: Enter the email address where the cron output will be sent to in the corresponding field.

Step 4: Enter the command you wish the cron job to run in the blank field next to the Command to run label.

Step 5: Select how often you wish the command to be run by selecting an option in each of the boxes.

Step 6: Click on Save Crontab to save your changes and set up your cron job.

The command run by the cron job must be a valid command.

Deleting a cron job in standard mode

When a cron job is no longer needed, you should delete it so the command will not continue to run.

Step 1: To access the Cron Jobs Menu, click on the corresponding icon located on the main screen of your cPanel interface.

Step 2: Click on Standard to access the Standard Cron Manager.

Step 3: Click on the Delete button next to the cron job you wish to remove.

cPanel Tutorial: Advanced - Cron Jobs

Advanced (UNIX Style) Cron Jobs Mod

This provides the regular UNIX style cron options. It is recommended only for users, who are used to this method of setting cron entries.

Adding a cron job in advanced mode

Step 1: To access the Cron Jobs Menu, click on the corresponding icon located on the main screen of your cPanel interface.

Step 2: Click on Advanced (Unix Style) to access the Cron Manager.

Step 3: Enter the email address you wish the output of the command run by the cron job to be sent to in the corresponding field.

Step 4: Enter the command you wish the cron job to run in the blank field below the Command label.

Step 5: Select how often you wish the command to be run by placing a number or asterisk (*) in each of the boxes.

Step 6: Click on Save Crontab to save your changes and set up your cron job.

An asterisk (*) denotes to run the command at every possible time for that box. For example, a * in the month box would run the command every month.

More information on cron jobs can be found by searching Google for: crontab.

Deleting a cron job in advanced mode

When a cron job is no longer needed, you should delete it so the command will not continue to run.

Step 1: To access the Cron Jobs Menu, click on the corresponding icon located on the main screen of your cPanel interface.

Step 2: Click on Advanced (Unix Style) to access the Cron Manager.

Step 3: Click on the Remove icon next to the cron job you wish to delete.

cPanel Tutorial: Backup

How to create a backup of your site and restore it?

You can do your backup quite easily. First you would need to know what your web site consist of and thus what should be backed up/restored. Usually sites are composed of files and databases. You must take care of them all if you want to have your site exactly the way it has been before.

How to backup/restore your files?

In order to backup your files, please download all the files from your public_html folder to your computer by using your favorite FTP client. After that you can easily upload back the files to your hosting account and your website will be restored.

How to backup/restore your database?

Once having all the files on your computer, you should make a dump of your MySQL database. Please, click here to learn how to backup/restore your MySQL database.

You may also request an affordable backup creation of your whole account by posting a ticket from the Exclusive Professional Services tab inside your Help Desk area.

cPanel Tutorial: CPanel Ports

How to check whether the cPanel ports are open?

You may experience issues with the non-standard http ports Cpanel works with. Usually Cpanel can be opened from:

• https://yourdomainname.com:2083
• http://yourdomainname.com:2082
• http://cpanel.servername.com

Sometimes local firewalls allow only access to sites on port 80. In such cases, use the last URL. Note that the address "3" is a web based proxy which provides you with the option to access your cPanel via the default http port 80. We have set this extra service for our Customers which Internet Service Providers blocked ports 2082 and 2082.

You may check if the ports are blocked executing the following commands:

If you are running Windows do the following:

• Click Start
• Click Run
• Type cmd
• Type telnet yourdomainname.com 2083
• Type telnet yourdomainname.com 2082

If you are running Linux do the following:

• Start your Linux/Mac OS console terminal
• Type telnet yourdomainname.com 2083
• Type telnet yourdomainname.com 2082

If the port is not blocked the results should look like the following one. Trying IP_of_the_server ( 10.10.10.10 for an example )...

Connected to servername.com.
Escape character is '^]'.

Different result will means that the port is blocked and you should use the web proxy link provided above.

Please, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or recommendations about this tutorial at: tutorials 'at' siteground.com