I hope you enjoyed the last post…I am going to go further on working with cPanel today:

When you register your website, you’ll most likely choose a main domain name. This will be listed as the ‘main domain’ when you log in to cPanel and will be the place that you host most of the data on the server onto. This domain will serve as the root of your account, so be sure that you choose a domain that will be the main URL. There is also an option for sub domains, which is basically the secondary domain names that can help to separate different areas or parts of your website, as well as the choice to create separate accounts.

The term hotlinking refers to when someone puts links to your files on their own website and it ends up eating or using up your bandwidth. In addition, it does not give your website credit for the files being displayed or used. This can usually cause problems with images and pictures since people tend to hotlink to these.

You can prevent this with cPanel, and block access to hotlinking so that other web masters and website owners are not stealing up your data or bandwidth.

Another great feature is the option to manage redirects. Basically, this means that you can determine what link or web page will redirect people to another site.

Often, this is important when you’ve updated a page and want the users to see the new website. Managing the redirect gives you control over what people click on and how it leads them to go to another site or page.

MySQL is one of the most commonly used databasing solutions for online and is easily compatible with both Perl and PHP, making it a very user friendly and adaptable database software.

Within cPanel, you can set up new databases and also manage the ones that already exist. It is also nice to know that each database within your account has your account name as a prefix so you can easily identify and track them. You can also browse, modify, delete, and create new databases. All changes within this tool are not able to be reversed once they’re made, however, so be especially careful when making changes within your database. Also, there is no command to save these changes; they just happen as you make them, so it’s important that only experienced users are able to access the MySQL database information.

As mentioned earlier, you can ban IP addresses within the IP Manager command area. This is an important tool for protecting your website from potential hackers, or from people who want to cause a problem for your website. You can ban the IP address within the manager, but note that once it’s been banned, anyone with that exact IP address will not be able to get access to any area of your website whatsoever. It’s a nice feature but it should be used with caution.

The error log displays the last 300 errors that people have received when they visit your website. It includes all access related errors, permission errors, and any other possible errors they might experience. It provides great insight to where potential problems are coming from, and what you can do to fix or prevent them in the future. The raw log manager allows you to schedule a raw log backup or removal at the end of each month so you can keep or delete important information.

CPanel offers many more options for the web host and web designer. Its interface is simple to use once you’ve logged in and can understand how to use each of the commands. Having the ability to log in and make changes as necessary can make running and operating a website much easier and faster than imagined. With a little bit of practice and some know how, cPanel can do wonders for your website, and make operating it on a daily basis so much easier.

Again, there is much more to discover inside cPanel and the Discover cPanel Video Series are a fantastic resource for you. I highly encourage you to check them out.

Join me next time when I cover how to point your domain to your webhost.

Until then, enjoy the videos.

Ron

Of all the options for web hosting control panels, cPanel is by far the most popular, and the most user-friendly. It’s also the most well known version of web hosting panels available on the market today.

While this program is useful and can really do wonders for your website, most newbies are not familiar with how to use it, and so it often goes to waste for those new to Internet Marketing or web development. It can sometimes take hours or even days to figure out how to use a cPanel account, and some people even have difficulty logging in just to use it! Fortunately, there are some tips and tricks to get into the cPanel control and use it to the best of its and your ability.

In order to manage and update your website, you must first be able to log into cPanel. The first thing you’ll need to do is enter the address of your cPanel account into your web browser, as if you were going to visit a website.

This is information you should have received when you first signed up for your webhosting account. If you have lost that information, you should contact their technical support and get it asap.

For example, if your domain is mygreatdomain.com, you’d need to enter it in this format: http://www.mygreatdomain.com/cpanel. Sometimes you are given a user access ID number or something similar to notify cPanel that this is an official account, and that it’s your account. In cases like this, you’d enter: http://www.mygreatdomain.com:9088 if your user ID number was 9088. This is just an example of course, but it gives you an idea of how to get to the log in screen or prompt quickly.

Once you enter the cPanel domain name into the browser, a prompt screen will pop up that asks for your user ID and password. Like this:

Simply enter your user ID and password into the corresponding fields. This should allow you access into the cPanel account that you have set up. Once you’ve logged in, there are a plethora of options to choose from that allow you to manage your website, emails, and much more. For example, there is an option to manage all of the domain related email accounts you have set up. This will allow you to add and remove email accounts, set up web mail, create an auto responder, and filter out emails and email content. There is also an option to create email lists and manage them, as well as use Spam filters to prevent the spread of viruses both to you and from your customers or other contacts.

(click on the image to the right for a larger view)

Another great feature of cPanel is the ability to manage your site with just a few basic commands such as the FTP manager, a simple password change tool, sub domains and domain management, creating backup, and managing IP addresses. In other words, you will be able to block certain IP addresses from accessing your website, and you can also use the web protect tool as well. There is an error log which comes in handy for troubleshooting in the event your website runs into any problems. A bandwidth checking tool allows you to see how much is being used, if you’ve gone over your limit, or how the website’s bandwidth usage has progressed over time.

If you’re into watching who visits your website, cPanel also has a log that shows all visitors, as well as highlights the visitors or IP addresses that visit your website the most. This can really come in handy when it comes to tracking customer bases or finding out where most of your business is coming from if you operate an e-commerce website.

For scripts, there are tons of options with cPanel. The web master can manage Apache, Cron jobs, FTP transfers, Java and CGI, as well as shopping cart software. There are also mods for language and themes, so the web designer can alter or edit these as much as they see fit.

The index manager allows you to determine how the web indexes are used. In other words, you can control how the information in each index is displayed to the visitor or viewer, and you can also control whether or not this information is displayed at all. With the Web Protect feature, you can password protect different directories. This means that only you and certain other people can access the websites’ directories and they must be accessed using a private password.

Another excellent feature of cPanel is the custom error pages option. You can change the error message to customize your needs so that visitors can get a more detailed idea of what is going on with the website. For example, if you’re taking the site down due to maintenance or upgrades, the error customization tool allows you to tell this to your visitors in your own words. It makes for a much more personalized and personable experience and it can also give visitors an idea of when the website will be back up and running so they will return. Instead of the old “404 error-Page Not Found” message, they will see your own words and updates, giving them a sense of confidence that someone is working to bring the website back up as soon as possible.

I’ll be back in the next couple of days with more on cPanel, but for now, check out the videos here:

Til then,

Here’s To YOUR Online Successes!

Ron

What to Look for in a Web Host

When shopping for a web host, it’s important to know what your needs and goals are for the website(s) or domain(s) you’re going to be working on. For instance, if the website is simply informational and for entertainment purposes, a shared web hosting service might be best. This keeps your costs lower. If there is no intent on turning any sort of a profit with your site, again, shared hosting is a good option. A virtual private server is also good in this case, since it allows the website to grow over time, giving it a little bit of “wiggle room.”

Ecommerce websites that produce a lot of sales might need something larger such as a dedicated server. This can be costly, however, so again, it’s very important to know what the goals are for the website, and how they will be achieved through the website’s functions so that you will be able to support the higher costs of dedicated servers. High traffic websites usually need a dedicated server just to support the number of views or hits it receives, much less the amount of information being communicated to the server if there are monetary transactions being made or forms being completed by people.

Of course, the type of website is not the only factor in determining which type of web host you’ll want to use. There are other specifics that should be considered. First, think about the amount of space you will be allotted. For example, regular websites use about 5MB of space, and this is generally enough to support the basic format of a site online. However, if you need more bandwidth and web space, you may need much more. Photos and video clips tend to take up more space, as do interactive features. Remember to keep in mind that plenty of space is great, but stability should take precedence. If your provider is down often, you can lose business and hits to your website, so keep this in mind.

Another important factor when deciding on a web hosting plan or company is the number of domains that you will be allowed to have. For example, if you sell shoes but you want to do so at shoes.com and coolshoes.com, you’ll need to make sure the hosting provider allows multiple domain names. It’s very important to register these domains ahead of time before you pay for a “reserved spot”, otherwise you might end up paying for something you’re not allowed to use. The more domain names you can have, the more exposure you’ll get. Promoting multiple sites gets more visitors and increases the odds of traffic to your website. Many web hosting companies charge a per-domain name charge each month, while some may charge a flat fee for each, so do your homework.

When choosing domains, remember that web hosting plans usually offer the buyer a set amount of space, and then it’s up to the webmaster to decide how much space to allocate to each domain. For example, if you have 500MB of space and domains, you can opt to designate 100MB of space to each, or split them up in other ways. FTP, or file transfer protocol, is another factor to consider when looking for a web host. Essentially, the FTP transfers files and information via the Internet and allows the data to communicate to and from the server. There are many versions of FTP server software available, and each has different features such as variations in licensing and platforms (i.e. Windows vs. Mac). Make sure the web hosting plan you choose will work with the FTP software you end up using, or else there will be problems integrating.

As a Webmaster, it’s very important to be able to have as much control as possible over the operation of your site. Regardless of whom you choose for the web hosting, the ability to manipulate your site and make changes or adaptations when needed is essential. cPanel is an excellent choice when it comes to web hosting control panels. This program allows the web designers to log in and make changes quickly and easily, all while communicating effectively to the web hosting server you choose. cPanel runs on the Linux, CentOS, FreeBSD, and Windows Server 2008 platforms, giving users a fairly wide range of choices of server platforms to choose from.

If cPanel is something you want to use, it’s absolutely essential that the web hosting plan you choose is compatible. Otherwise, you will not have the ability to control your site through this interface. Server administration is very important, so it is definitely a feature that brings more options to the table when it comes to making any changes or upgrades to your website. There are some other very important factors to consider when shopping for a web hosting choice other than the price alone. Don’t bank on a cheap provider to give the best service; sometimes, a little extra cost can go a long way in making sure you get the most stable server available.

Stay tuned for part 2 of ‘What to look for in a web host’ coming soon.