Let’s talk about cPanel

Let’s talk about cPanel



Designing, launching and maintaining a website can present a wide variety of different challenges for both the novice and veteran developers. Also, before any site is deployed, it is essential that the site owner scouts out someone to host the site if they do not already have someone in this industry already lined up. Whatever the case or situation, there is one hosting platform that small businesses and website owners alike are taking advantage of today, and it is called cPanel. So, for those of you who are interested in knowing more about cPanel and what it offers to its users, here’s some invaluable information that you should review.

 

Exactly What is cPanel?

cPanel can be described as a Linux-based web hosting control panel. With this platform, users have access to an intuitive graphical interface and automated tools that have been designed to simplify the process of hosting sites. It is currently being used by both small companies and website owners who want to minimize their administrative load by hiring a dedicated team to support their website. Even though CPanel is great support for people who have had their sites for quite some time, it is still open to people who have not launched a site before. This is because CPanel has been designed with ease of use in mind so virtually anyone can follow the instructions required to host a site properly. Because new users can come on board and learn quickly, the site owner can minimize the possibilities of unnecessary down time on the site after it is has been launched to real world users. All the new users have to know is the basics to get started. Also, if questions do arise and the person needs help, there is a dedicated support team that’s behind the scene to assist with walking users through the process.

cpanel

What can the Users do with cPanel?

Now that everyone knows what cPanel is, one of the next questions that most people usually want to know is, What can CPanel do for me? Well, based on this service providers claims, there is a lot that this platform offers to its clients. Some of the more notable are provided below.

 

  • Set up emails for your site

When a site is set-up, there are a number of different standard things that will need to be done. Some of which can be complicated and time consuming if the site owner or their representative are not familiar with the process or lacking the tools to make the changes needed. However, when the site owner has access to cPanel and its available features, they can complete these activities with ease. One of the most commonly known and needed is setting up the email for the site.

 

  • Install WordPress on cPanel through one click installer (or another content management system)

WordPress is a common and popular content management system that site owners use to set-up their sites. Therefore, it is very important that people who use WordPress have access to the best hosting options that will allow them to install their content management systems easily without a lot of unnecessary hassle and time consuming problems. Fortunately, cPanel can accommodate WordPress users and their needs along with other content management systems that need to be installed as well.

 

 

  • Back up your website

It is not uncommon for a site developer to have problems with the site’s design. In some cases, the problems that occur may be due to a big change that’s needed to accommodate an operational need or a problem with the site’s security. In fact, it does not matter if it is a big change or a small change, a site can easily be adversely impacted at any time of the day or night. When these problems do occur, the site owner should always have the original version of their entire design so that they can it can be recovered. Meaning a backup copy of the site must available for these kinds of situations. Fortunately, cPanel has this capability built into their platform, and they may it easy for these backup processes to be used for recovery purposes too. Again, if the user needs additional support for the site’s recovery, they can also solicit assistance from cPanel’s support team in order to expedite the process. With this kind of backup solution, the site owner will find that the backup solutions that cPanel offers will not only save time, but also money because it gets the site back up and running quickly to avoid missing sales unnecessarily.

cpanel Hosting makes it easy to back up every element of a site, specifically because it can be done via wizard features. With this kind of process, all the user has to do is follow step by step instructions that walks them through the beginning to the end of the process. Also, if the user chooses to do so, they can place a copy of their home directory, databases, email forwarders, and email filters on their own computers so that they can access quickly whenever needed.

 

  • Check your bandwidth usage

When a site owner sets up their first site, they are normally restricted in the amount of bandwidth that they are required to use on a monthly basis. Going over the bandwidth can present a number of different problems including compromising the sites uptime if they go over the agreed amount with the site’s host. To avoid these issues altogether, it is important for the site owner to monitor the amount of bandwidth being used on a regular basis. Fortunately, cPanel makes this kind of monitoring simple and easy to get to since the bandwidth usage is available for administrator and the site owner to view in cPanel whenever they need to know this information.

 

  • Connect domain names to your hosting

User will also be provided with the capabilities to connect all of their domain names to their hosting. This process is also easy and intuitive so the user can make the changes without a lot of unnecessary hassle whenever changes are needed.

 

  • Managing their Own Site’s Security with ease of use features

One of the biggest responsibilities with owning and managing any website is making sure the site that is deployed is secure. Without the right expertise and tools to accomplish this part of managing a site, the site can be wide open to a wide variety of different security exposures. Fortunately, when the site owner chooses cPanel as their platform, this part of the job can be handled in a much easier and seamless manner, especially since it has been designed to make the process as simplified and intuitive as possible. For instance, the security features in cPanel have been broken down into specific categories, which allows its users to make modifications when a problem arises or changes in the security has to be made. Here’s a list and a brief description of the some of the most important classifications that the user will have access to:

 

  • SSH Access

Provides each user with an interface that allows them to connect their sever remotely via the command line.

  • IP Blocker

Gives the user an interface that will allow them to prevent access to their site from a range of IP addresses.

  • SSL/TLS

User will be given access to an interface that allows them to manage SSL/TLS keys, certificates, as well as any signing requests. This part of the process gives them the ability to enhance the site’s security.

  • Leech Protection

Leech Protection interface is provided to the users so that they can set a maximum number of logins that can occur within a 2 hour time limit.

  • Security Policy

Gives the user a ways control unrecognized IP addresses via the Security Policy interface in cPanel.

to configure the security questions that cPanel displays when you attempt to log in to your account.

 

Now let’s talk about cPanel Pros & Cons:

First some pros:

Makes Administrator Role Simple

cPanel is an ideal tool for site owners and the administrators of their site since it is a one stop shop interface that makes it easy to do a wide variety of different functions. Instead of having to use complicated command line instructions to make changes, it is presented in an interface intuitive navigation form that makes it feel like second nature to its users. With this platform, it makes it very easy to backup the entire website, control security when the need arises and a host of other things that is commonly done when monitoring and managing any website. With this being said, here are some of the activities that this platform will allow site owners and their admins to do with ease.

 

Saves Time

In the past, managing a website manually with the use of command lines could be very time consuming. Meaning even the smallest changes could take quite a bit of time to do since it was all done in a coding language. Today, with cPanel, changes can be done in a fraction of the original time because the features provided are already automated. For instance, when an administrator wants to back up the entire site, they can back it up via an interface that navigates the person through it intuitively (step by step process) so that they can place a copy of the sites directory and other elements of the site on their own computer. With this new process of doing, there is no unnecessary hassles of entering the wrong code or making other errors in backing up the site properly within a certain time frame.

 

Saves Money

The site owner can benefit greatly from cPanel hosting since it is also great for saving money too. Because it puts the maintenance of a website in the hands of someone who only needs basic skills and time to do it, the site owner does not have to hire a professional with this expertise to manage their sites. Therefore, these duties can always be kept in-house with the support of cPanel team admins instead of hiring a part-time, casual or a full time resource to ensure the site is completely secure and up and all times without any unnecessary down time that causes the site owner to lose money.

 

Makes Upgrading a Site Easier

Sometimes a site owner may find that their products and services have grown significantly over a short period of time. In order to grow with the demand, they may have to upgrade their sites to accommodate the need. While this may not sound like a big issue of concern, it can be if the site owner is not familiar with everything that is needed to upgrade the site. Specifically, when the site has reached its maximum bandwidth and more is needed so that the site will not experience any unnecessary downtime.Fortunately, because cPanel has been designed for such occasions, this kind of upgrade can be done with ease of use via the cPanel interface instructions that has been provided.

 

Lots of Support Across the Web

cPanel has lots of great support across the web because it is a very popular platform. In fact, based on recent information posted on the net, every 6 seconds a domain is created using cPanel as its server. Therefore, this platform is receiving a lot of attractive attention, which also allows users to get the support that they need when they are managing their sites (i.e. upgrading a site, making changes to its security and the like).

 

Now some cons:

As with any new or older technology, there are some benefits and some disadvantages. So, the same is true for cPanel. Therefore, if a user is interested in some of the drawbacks to using cPanel, here’s a few that some people may or may not be aware of:

 

  • meant for small websites so it is restricted in use for the larger size designs
  • vulnerable to certain security risks
  • cost of license may be relatively high for beginning sites

 

Conclusion:

Overall, cPanel is an ideal platform for managing a site. Small businesses and individuals have an opportunity to keep the management of their sites in-house instead of farming out these duties to a higher cost professional with the expertise. However, even though some site owners may be interested in using cPanel for their needs, this may not be possible since it is currently restricted in size to the smaller size organizations needs.