CarlSites: Understanding the cPanel

Introduction

The cPanel, or control panel, is your dashboard in CarlSites that lets you easily access and manage the files and applications of your account. The image below is an example of a cPanel in this theme.

Note: If you own more than one cPanel, you can switch between accounts via the blue cPanel Accounts button on the bottom-left corner of your screen.

Main Features

Below are the features you will most likely use when navigating your cPanel Dashboard.

Applications

CarlSites has four featured applications listed, but there are many, many more that can be utilized. Just click on All Applications to see what possibilities lie in wait for your domain!

Domains

The Domains section of cPanel allows you to manage your addon domains, subdomains, aliases, and redirected domains. 

• Subdomains act as a second website with its own unique content without having to register a new domain name.

For example, Domain = example.sites.carleton.edu, Subdomain = subdomain.example.sites.carleton.edu.

• Redirects map old domains to your existing domain.
• Aliases allow you to create additional domain names to be mapped to the current domain.

Files

Within files, you are able to manage and organize all the files on your domain. 

• File Manager allows you to manage all files connected to your account, including renaming, uploading, and deleting them. 

• Disk Usage helps you monitor your account’s available space.
• File Transfer Protocol(FTP) is a fast and convenient way to transfer large files online. More information can be found in the “Setting up FTP” section of this documentation.

Databases

The Databases section allows you to create, manage, and modify databases and users.

• phpMyAdmin: manages a single database as well as a whole MySQL server.
• MySQL Database & MySQL Database Wizard: allows you to store and manage large amounts of information over the web.

Metrics

cPanel offers a number of different monitoring and statistical tools to help you administer your account.

• Visitors: Use this to see your 1,000 most recent visitors for each of your domains.
• Errors: This displays the last 300 errors on your site; helpful if looking for missing files or broken links.
• Bandwidth: Bandwidth represents the amount of information that your server transfers and receives.
• Raw Access: This is another stats function that allows you to see who has visited your website without graphics. A downloadable zip file of your site’s activity is available.
• Awstats: Allows you to see your website visitors with visual aides.
• CPU and Concurrent Connection Usage: Lets you visualize the CPU and RAM usage of your site.

Security

cPanel has an entire security section devoted to protecting different parts of customer web sites from the unauthorized access of their viewers. 

• Let’s Encrypt SSL: Let's Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate authority that is automatically added to your domains. Learn how to manually install SSL Certificates
• SSH Access: Allows secure file transfers and remote logins online. Watch a video on how to manage SSH Keys on Reclaim Hosting.
• SSL/TLS: The SSL/TLS Manager will allow you to generate SSL certificates, certificate signing requests, and private keys. These are all parts of using SSL to secure your website. Information is sent encrypted instead of in plain text.
• SSL/TLS Status: Allows you to view, upgrade, or renew your Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates.

Advanced

The Advanced Section is located at near the very end of your cPanel dashboard. Use this area only if you are familiar and comfortable with utilizing these features. 

• Track DNS: this allows you to find out information about any domain; trace the route from the server to your computer, for example. This can be helpful to make sure your DNS is set up properly.
• Error Pages: In two simple steps, you can select the domain you wish to work with, and then create/edit error pages for that site that viewers will see.

Questions?

If you are encountering problems or have any questions, submit a ticket and an Academic Technologist can help you.

​​​​​Acknowledgement 

Created by Paul Claudel Izabayo '25, 05/01/23. Last updated by Em Palencia 04/12/24.