How do I create a MySQL database, user, and then delete if needed

Most websites, from WordPress to a custom PHP app, need a MySQL database and a database user that can log in to it. This guide shows how to create both in cPanel, link them with the right privileges, change a password, and delete a database or user safely when you no longer need it. It also covers DirectAdmin and Webuzo.

1. Databases and users: how they fit together

A database holds your site's data. A database user is a separate login with its own password. The user can do nothing until you add it to a database and grant privileges. These are three separate steps, and forgetting the third is the most common mistake.

One user can be added to several databases, and one database can have several users. For security, give each website its own user.

2. Create a database and user with the Database Wizard

The wizard does all three steps in one flow, so it is the quickest way.

3. Or do it step by step on the Manage My Databases page

The Manage My Databases page does the same jobs separately. Use it when you want to add an existing user to a new database, or manage what is already there.

1. Create New Database: type the name and click Create Database.
2. MySQL Users › Add New User: type the user name and a strong password, then click Create User.
3. Add User To Database: choose the user and the database from the two lists and click Add.
4. Manage User Privileges: tick ALL PRIVILEGES, or only the ones the application needs, and click Make Changes.

Why the names have a prefix

On our cPanel servers, every database and database user name starts with your cPanel username and an underscore. If your username is acme and you type shop, the real name is acme_shop. Your website must use the full name. There is also a length limit on names, so keep the part you type short.

4. Which privileges to grant

For WordPress, Joomla, WooCommerce and most PHP applications, choose ALL PRIVILEGES. The application creates and changes its own tables during installation and updates.

Grant fewer privileges when a user needs only part of the access, for example a reporting tool that only reads data needs just SELECT. You can change privileges at any time by clicking the user name next to the database under Current Databases.

5. Use the details in your website

Your website needs the four values from section 1. For WordPress they go in wp-config.php:

define( 'DB_NAME', 'acme_shop' );
define( 'DB_USER', 'acme_shopuser' );
define( 'DB_PASSWORD', 'the-database-user-password' );
define( 'DB_HOST', 'localhost' );

The password is the database user's password, not your cPanel or client-area password. For PHP code with PDO or mysqli, and for Laravel, see how to connect to the MySQL database.

If you install WordPress or another app through Softaculous or WP Toolkit in cPanel, the installer creates the database, the user and the configuration file for you. You need the manual steps only for custom code, a migration or a manual install.

Importing a database. phpMyAdmin's Import tab on our cPanel servers accepts files up to 50 MB. For a bigger export, compress it, split it, or ask support to import it for you.

Connecting from outside the server. Use localhost from your website. MySQL port 3306 is closed to the internet on our shared servers, so a desktop tool such as MySQL Workbench cannot connect to it directly. Use an SSH tunnel instead, if jailed SSH is enabled on your account (it is off by default; ask support). The steps are in how to connect to the MySQL database.

6. Change a database user's password

On the Manage My Databases page, under Current Users, click Change Password next to the user, set a new password and save. Then update the password in your website's configuration file straight away. Until you do, the site cannot connect and shows a database error.

7. Delete a database or a user

Before you delete anything, make sure nothing still uses it, and take a copy.

Deleting a database does not delete its users, and deleting a user does not delete any database. To take one user's access away from one database while keeping both, click the delete icon next to the user under that database in Current Databases.

Removing an app you installed with Softaculous or WP Toolkit? Uninstall it from the same installer. It removes the files and the database together, so nothing is left behind.

8. DirectAdmin and Webuzo

DirectAdmin: open Account Manager › Databases (use the search box if you cannot see it). In the Create Database form, type a database name and click CREATE. DirectAdmin creates a user with the same name and a secure password; open Advanced mode first if you want a separate user name and your own password. Copy the details it shows. Click a database name to add another user, change a password or adjust privileges. Deleting works from the same list. Names get your username as a prefix, like on cPanel.

Webuzo: go to Database › Manage Databases. Create the database, create a user, then add the user to the database with its privileges. Copy the full names that Webuzo shows after creation. If a menu is different from this description, ask support.

9. Where Domain India fits

Every Domain India cPanel, DirectAdmin and Webuzo shared hosting plan includes MySQL-compatible databases and phpMyAdmin. Starter plans include 5 databases, the middle plans (Growth, or Developer on Webuzo) include 10, and the higher plans include 50 or more. Compare plans and live prices on the cPanel hosting and DirectAdmin hosting pages; Domain India list prices exclude 18% GST.

For error messages after you set up a database, see database troubleshooting. Support is on 24/7 live chat, and tickets get a first response within 15 minutes; how long a fix takes depends on the problem. We do not offer phone support.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to build? Set up your connection with how to connect to the MySQL database, compare cPanel hosting plans if you need more databases, or open a support ticket if something does not work.