How to Access and Manage your MySQL Database - phpMyAdmin

phpMyAdmin is the web tool in your control panel for looking inside a MySQL database: browsing tables, editing rows, running SQL and importing or exporting .sql files. This guide shows how to open it on Domain India cPanel, DirectAdmin and Webuzo hosting, how to do the everyday jobs safely, and which jobs belong in the control panel instead.

1. What phpMyAdmin is for

Your website's content, users, orders and settings live in a database. phpMyAdmin lets you work on that database from the browser, with no software to install.

On shared hosting your database user has rights over your own databases only, so phpMyAdmin cannot create new databases or users. That is by design, not a fault. To set up a database and user, follow how to connect to the MySQL database.

2. Open phpMyAdmin

In cPanel

In DirectAdmin and Webuzo

Open phpMyAdmin from the panel's database section (in DirectAdmin, use the phpMyAdmin button under Account Manager › Databases). If phpMyAdmin asks you to sign in, use a database user and its password, not your panel login. Menu names change between panel versions, so if you can't find it, use the panel's search box or ask support. Panel-specific guides: phpMyAdmin in DirectAdmin and phpMyAdmin in Webuzo.

3. Find your way around

Once a database is selected on the left, phpMyAdmin shows its tables and a row of tabs across the top.

The home page, before you pick a database, has a Database server panel that shows the exact MariaDB or MySQL version on your server. Check it before you import a dump made elsewhere.

4. Browse, search and edit data

• Browse: click a table name. Rows appear 25 at a time; change the number or sort by clicking a column heading.
• Edit one row: click Edit on the row, change the value and click Go. Use this for small fixes, such as correcting a WordPress siteurl or a customer's email.
• Search: open the table's Search tab, type a value next to a column and pick an operator such as LIKE %...%.
• Delete rows: tick the rows and choose Delete. There is no undo.

5. Run SQL queries safely

Select the database, open the SQL tab, type your query and click Go. Start with a read-only query to see what you are about to change:

-- Look before you change anything
SELECT option_name, option_value
FROM wp_options
WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl', 'home');

Then make the change, limited by a WHERE clause:

UPDATE wp_options
SET option_value = 'https://www.example.in'
WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl', 'home');

Good habits:

• Export first. One click on Export gives you a way back.
• Never run UPDATE or DELETE without WHERE, unless you really mean every row.
• Check the table prefix. WordPress tables may start with something other than wp_; use the names you see on the left.
• Test big changes on a copy. Export the database, import it into a second, empty database and try the query there first.

6. Export and import

Export (back up)

Select the database, open Export, keep Quick and the SQL format, and click Export. For a large database choose Custom and set compression to gzipped, which makes the file much smaller. Keep the file on your own computer as well as on the server. Full walk-through: how to back up a MySQL database using phpMyAdmin.

Import

If the import stops with an error such as #1044, #1227 or "Unknown collation", database troubleshooting explains each fix. For a file that is still too large, you can import from the command line over SSH: jailed SSH access is available on every shared hosting plan (cPanel, DirectAdmin, Webuzo). It is off by default; ask support to enable it for your account.

7. Check, repair and optimise tables

If a site reports that a table "is marked as crashed", tick that table in the table list and choose Repair table from the With selected menu. Check table reports problems without changing anything, and Optimize table reclaims space after large deletions. In cPanel the same checks are on the Manage My Databases page under Modify Databases. Export first, and if a repair fails, open a ticket rather than retrying. More in database troubleshooting.

8. Working from your own computer instead

Desktop tools such as MySQL Workbench, DBeaver or HeidiSQL cannot reach your database directly: port 3306 is closed to outside connections on our shared servers, and adding your IP under Remote Database Access does not open the firewall. Once jailed SSH is enabled on your account, an SSH tunnel works; you log in with an SSH key, not a password. See securing MySQL access with SSH tunnels and enabling and accessing jailed SSH.

9. Where Domain India fits

phpMyAdmin is included on every Domain India cPanel, DirectAdmin and Webuzo plan. Starter plans include 5 MySQL databases, the middle plans (Growth, or Developer on Webuzo) include 10, and the higher plans 50. Prices on the cards are live and exclude 18% GST.

If you need a database server you control fully, including remote connections, a VPS gives you root access. Stuck? 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. There is no phone support.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to work on your database? Open your hosting services to reach your control panel, read database troubleshooting if something fails, or compare cPanel hosting and DirectAdmin hosting if you need more databases.