Linux and WordPress hosting with cPanel: first steps

HyperDC Linux web hosting, WordPress hosting and reseller hosting run on Linux servers with cPanel, served by LiteSpeed from NVMe storage. We run and maintain the server; you manage your sites, email and databases in cPanel. This guide covers the first steps. Plans: Linux web hosting, WordPress hosting, reseller hosting.

Before you start

• The welcome email with your cPanel user name, password, server address and the nameservers for your domain.
• Your domain, registered with HyperDC or elsewhere.

Step 1: Sign in to cPanel

• From the client area: Services › My Services, open the hosting service and use the cPanel sign-in button in the Manage card, where it is shown.
• Directly: open https://example.com:2083 (or the server address from the welcome email) and sign in with your cPanel user name and password.

Verify: the cPanel home page opens and shows your domain and resource usage.

Step 2: Point your domain to the account

The simplest way is to use the hosting nameservers from the welcome email; then cPanel manages all DNS records, including email. For a HyperDC domain: Domains › My Domains › Manage Domain › Nameservers. Alternatively, keep your DNS where it is and point the A record to the hosting server's IP address. See point a domain to your server.

Step 3: Upload your site or install WordPress

• WordPress hosting: open WordPress Toolkit and install WordPress on your domain. It creates the database and the administrator account and applies security hardening. The LiteSpeed Cache plugin and a Redis object cache backend are available for speed.
• Other sites: upload files with File Manager into public_html, or use FTP/SFTP with the credentials from cPanel.

Step 4: Create a database

Use Database Wizard (or MySQL Database Wizard): create a database, a user with a strong password and grant the user privileges on the database. cPanel adds your account name as a prefix, for example account_shop. Use localhost as the database host in your application. phpMyAdmin lets you browse and import data.

Step 5: Create email accounts

Open Email Accounts and select Create. Enter the address and a strong password. To set up a mail app, use Connect Devices next to the account: the Set Up Mail Client page lists the server names and ports for IMAP, POP3 and SMTP. Webmail is available from the same page.

For good delivery, check that SPF and DKIM are in place: see Email Deliverability in cPanel and our email deliverability guide.

Step 6: Check HTTPS

Open SSL/TLS Status. Once your domain points to the account, the free certificate is issued automatically for the domain and its www name.

Verify: your site loads over https:// without a warning. If the status shows a problem, it usually names the domain that does not point to the server yet.

Step 7: Choose the PHP version

Use the PHP version tool in cPanel (MultiPHP Manager or Select PHP Version, whichever your account shows) to set the PHP version per domain and enable the extensions your application needs.

Step 8: Download a backup

Your account is backed up weekly and monthly. Keep your own copy too: Backup (or Backup Wizard) lets you download a full account backup, or just your home directory and databases.

Reseller hosting: create client accounts

With reseller hosting you also get WHM, where you create a separate cPanel account for each client, with its own login, files, email and limits. Clients sign in to their own cPanel; you support them and open a ticket with us for anything on the server side.

Troubleshooting

The site shows a default page. Your files are not in public_html, or the domain still points elsewhere.

SSL/TLS Status shows the domain as failed. The domain or www does not point to the hosting server yet. Fix DNS and wait for the next automatic run.

Emails land in spam. Check SPF, DKIM and DMARC with Email Deliverability; see email deliverability.

Errors 500 or 503 under load. The account reaches its resource limits. Check resource usage in cPanel and see website 502, 503 and 504 errors.

Next steps

• Moving an existing site: move a website without downtime.
• DNS records explained: DNS basics for a new domain.