When it comes to website hosting, there are many factors to consider, one of which is a term called cPanel. You have probably seen cPanel mentioned when researching the best web hosting companies and different hosting packages, but what is cPanel?
What is cPanel?
cPanel is simply software installed on a web server that allows hosting companies to provide hosting accounts to their customers. It essentially is short for “control panel” and provides a user interface for customers to manage services on their hosting accounts.
Common Features in cPanel
cPanel provides users with a range of features that allow them to manage nearly all aspects of their hosting account. The most common features or applications include:
- File Manager
- Email Accounts
- Database Management
- One Click Installation of popular software (such as WordPress)
- Visitor statistics and analytics
- Backups
How to login to cPanel
Most installations of cPanel will create a direct login at siteaddress.com/cpanel however many hosting companies will have their own dedicated login process to hide the fact that their member area runs on cPanel, in this case, users would login through their hosting providers client area.
Migrating your website from one host to another using cPanel
If your current web host uses cPanel and the new host also uses cPanel then it makes it quite easy to move your site files over. cPanel allows you to “backup” your home directory and database and then restore the files into the new cPanel hosting account with ease. You will first have to download your backup files, so if your site is quite large, ensure you have enough bandwidth and diskspace to download the files.
