Please click here for cPanel video tutorial about:
Managing all of your files with the File Manager.
cPanel is a web based control panel tool which will help you manage your web 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 set their websites via cPanel.
The cPanel tutorial is a part of the rich collection of web hosting tutorials and web hosting video tutorials which SiteGround experts have prepared for you. 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 provided cPanel features.
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.
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This area allows the customers to modify the style of cPanel, 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:




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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 Email Manager features.
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Please, take a look at our Email tutorial for further details on how to manage your email accounts:
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Your domain should be pointed to the server for the raw logs to work.

Please note that allowing anonymous access any part of your system may be considered a security hole. Thus it is not recommended.
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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 gives you all the basic functionality necessary to manage your site.
To access the File Manager click on the corresponding 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 appears as follows:

Folders are a very useful way of adding an organization and a structure to your account. They make the maintenance of the site much easier. 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.
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 New Folder button. The new folder will appear in the chosen location.
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 Box link.
Step 6: Click on the Overwrite existing files check 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 account's folders through the Copy and Move File functionalities. You can Rename and Delete the existing files through the corresponding options.
For small files it can be easier to create them online rather than on your home computer.

To create a new file please follow the steps listed 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: Pick the destination where the file should be saved and click on the Create New File button. The file is created.
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 content of the file displayed.
Step 4: Alter the text of the file.
Step 5: Click on the Save Changes button when you are ready. The file is saved and the 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. The file will be opened for reading and you will not be able to edit it.
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 File(s) button.

Please click here for cPanel video tutorial about:
Managing all of your files with the File Manager.
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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:
Access types are set for three types of user group:
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.
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.
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 check boxes as you require to create the right permission. The permission numbers underneath the check boxes will update automatically.
Step 5: Click on the Change Permissions button when you are ready. The new permission level is saved and the display updated to show the modified file.

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The FTP management 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.
Please check our FTP tutorial for more details about using FTP:
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cPanel security tools allow the customers to protect different parts of their web sites from an unauthorized access.

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You can limit access to certain resources of your website by password protecting the directories they are in.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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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.
Please click on the HotLink Protection icon in the cPanel's main page and follow the instructions. 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.
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Through this section you can manage your subdomains, addon domains and parked domains. You can also set redirects for your URLs.



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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.
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.
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.
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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.

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.
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.
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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.









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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:








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


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

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

Once logged into Fantastico, you simply need to select an application from the list located at the left column and follow the steps given during the process. The chosen application will be installed on your SiteGround web hosting account within minutes. The Fantastico 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.
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


The possible options are:



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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
Shopping cart / ecommerce software
Forum software
Gallery software
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In the Advanced section there are several tools which functionality will be described in the following lines.







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

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

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.
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.
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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.
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.
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.
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You may experience issues with the non-standard http ports Cpanel works with. Usually Cpanel can be opened from:
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 2083.
You may check if the ports are blocked executing the following commands:
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
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