cPanel is the control panel for one hosting account. You open it in a browser. From there you create email on your domain, upload the website, install WordPress, add a database, and turn on SSL. The panel is not the website, and it is not the physical server.
When people ask what cPanel is, they usually already have a hosting login and want to know which screen does which job. On shared hosting, that screen is cPanel. You do not get a separate login to the whole machine.
What you use it for
- Email. Mailboxes on your own domain, webmail, and forwarding. The plan sets how many mailboxes you can create.
- Files and apps. Upload the site, or install WordPress through Softaculous.
- Domains. The main domain, subdomains, and extra sites if the plan includes addon domains. Basic includes none. Standard includes two. Advanced includes five.
- Databases. MySQL, which WordPress needs.
- SSL. A free certificate through Let’s Encrypt.
- Backups. Daily backups kept for the account. You can also download a copy yourself.
One account, not the whole server
Shared hosting puts many sites on one machine. cPanel is your part of that machine: your files, your mail, and a disk quota. You share the server’s processor and memory with other accounts. That is a sensible trade for a brochure site, a blog, or a light shop.
On HSJ Host the shared servers are in Sydney. Basic is one website, from about $8.79 a month GST inclusive. Standard is three websites. Advanced is for more sites. The live prices, email limits, and what each plan includes are on shared cPanel hosting. People sometimes call that product cPanel hosting. Here it means a shared account that includes this panel.
cPanel and WHM are different logins
WHM sits above cPanel. A reseller uses WHM to create a separate cPanel account for each client. The client does not get the WHM password. What is WHM covers that split. If the job is your own site, shared hosting is the account with cPanel only.
Hosting other people’s sites under your own brand is reseller hosting, not a larger shared plan. WordPress on a normal shared account is covered on WordPress hosting.
When the login is not cPanel
A Linux VPS does not open this panel. You get root access in Sydney or Melbourne, and you install the operating system and the applications yourself. Those plans are unmanaged. A Windows server is a remote desktop, not cPanel. The client area, where you pay an invoice or open a ticket, is also separate. You start cPanel from there once the hosting account is active.
If you want the panel included with the hosting, order shared hosting in Sydney. To talk it through first, call 1800 519 724.
