What is CPanel

cPanel is the control panel that comes with Domain India's cPanel hosting plans. It is a web page where you run your hosting account yourself: upload files, create email addresses, add databases, install WordPress and switch on SSL, without typing server commands. This guide explains what cPanel is, what each part of it does, how it differs from WHM, and how it compares with the other control panels Domain India sells.

1. What a control panel is

A hosting account is a share of a server: storage for your files, a mail system, a database server and a web server that shows your site to visitors. Managing that directly means typing commands on the server. A control panel puts those jobs behind buttons and forms in your browser.

cPanel is the best-known control panel for Linux hosting. It is made by cPanel, L.L.C. and licensed to hosting companies, who install it on their servers. You never install it yourself on shared hosting: when your cPanel plan is activated, your account and its panel are created for you. Most hosting accounts are created automatically within a couple of minutes of payment; a small number need a manual check and take longer.

What cPanel is not:

• It is not your website builder. It hosts the site; WordPress, or the code you upload, is the site.
• It is not the Domain India client area. The client area is where you pay invoices, renew and manage domains. cPanel is where you manage what is on the hosting account.
• It is not the whole server. Each cPanel account is one user's share of a shared server, with its own limits.

2. The main sections of cPanel

When you open cPanel you land on a page of tools grouped into sections. The exact list depends on the server's setup, so use the search box at the top of cPanel if a tool is not where you expect it.

Files

The File Manager is a file browser in your web page. Your website lives in public_html: whatever you put there is what visitors see at your domain. You can upload and extract a ZIP, edit files and change permissions. See How do I use the File Manager.

Databases

WordPress, Joomla and most PHP applications store their content in a MySQL database. In cPanel you create the database, create a database user, then give that user access to the database. phpMyAdmin lets you browse tables, import a .sql file and export a copy. On our shared servers the MySQL port (3306) is closed to the outside, so tools on your own computer need an SSH tunnel. See How to connect to the MySQL database.

Domains

One cPanel account can host more than one website if your plan allows it. The Domains page adds another domain or a subdomain such as shop.yourdomain.com, each with its own folder. The Zone Editor changes DNS records, but those records only take effect if your domain uses the DNS that serves this account. If you are unsure, read How to change your domain DNS settings.

Email

Create mailboxes, set a storage quota for each, forward one address to another and set out-of-office replies. Email Deliverability shows whether the SPF and DKIM records that help your mail avoid spam folders are in place. Read your mail in webmail at https://yourdomain.com/webmail; see How to log into webmail.

Metrics

Resource Usage is the page to check when your site is slow or shows a "Resource Limit Is Reached" error. It shows CPU, memory, entry processes and I/O over time, with a Faults column that counts the moments your account hit a limit. Errors shows recent web server errors, which is often the fastest way to find out why a page fails. See How to check hosting resource usage.

Security

SSL/TLS Certificates shows the free certificates issued for your domains on its Status tab. Two-Factor Authentication adds a code from your phone to the cPanel login. Because the client area's cPanel button signs you in without a cPanel password, protect the client area too; see Enable two-factor authentication. IP Blocker and Hotlink Protection stop specific addresses or other sites from using your resources.

Software

Softaculous installs WordPress and hundreds of other applications in a few clicks. WP Toolkit installs and manages WordPress sites, including updates and security checks. Both are installed on our cPanel servers (measured 22 September 2026). This section also holds the PHP settings, where you choose the PHP version for each site. Check your control panel for the versions available. See WordPress Toolkit compared with Softaculous.

3. cPanel and WHM: what is the difference?

cPanel and WHM (WebHost Manager) come from the same company, but they are two panels for two different people.

If you buy a cPanel hosting plan, you only ever use cPanel. If you buy a cPanel reseller plan, you log in to WHM, create hosting packages and a cPanel account for each of your customers, and each customer then logs in to their own cPanel. See How to log in to WHM and reseller hosting.

4. How to log in to cPanel

The quickest way needs no cPanel password at all.

Your client-area password and your cPanel password are separate. If your domain does not point to us yet, use the server hostname or server IP on port 2083 instead. The full guide, with troubleshooting, is How to log in to cPanel.

These are the ports we measured as open on our cPanel servers on 20 September 2026:

Port 3306 for MySQL is closed from outside. The full list for every panel is in Domain India web hosting port numbers.

5. What runs on Domain India's cPanel servers

Every cPanel host sets up its servers differently. This is what we measured on our cPanel shared servers on 20 and 22 September 2026:

On shared hosting a set of PHP functions is disabled, and phpinfo() is one of them. Tools that need those functions, such as some Composer commands and SMTP libraries, fail on shared hosting. The details are in PHP disabled functions on shared hosting.

Hourly sending limits apply to outgoing email per account; ask support for yours, and see Do you limit the amount of mails I can send per hour?. For newsletters to large lists, use a dedicated sending service.

6. cPanel compared with DirectAdmin, Webuzo and Plesk

Domain India sells four control panels. cPanel, DirectAdmin and Webuzo all run Linux hosting for PHP sites and WordPress; Plesk is for Windows hosting and ASP.NET.

Domain India list prices on 19 September 2026, excluding 18% GST.

A few differences matter in practice:

• JetBackup is installed on both our cPanel and DirectAdmin servers. Your weekly backups are in JetBackup in your panel, where you can download or restore them. cPanel's own Backup and Backup Wizard tools are switched off, so use JetBackup instead.
• Webuzo: the client area's password reset and one-click login do not work reliably for Webuzo accounts. If you need to get into Webuzo, contact support.
• Plesk on Windows has no SSH (port 22 is closed) and no port 587 for mail. Use it only for Windows applications.

For a longer comparison, see cPanel, DirectAdmin and Webuzo compared and What is DirectAdmin.

7. Domain India cPanel plans

All three plans below include cPanel, free SSL, CloudLinux, Imunify360, weekly JetBackup backups and the Setup Node.js App tool. Jailed SSH is available on request: it is off by default, so ask support to enable it. The prices on these cards are live and exclude 18% GST.

Starter suits one website; Growth suits a business running several. An active cPanel plan can be upgraded at any time; you pay only the difference for the time left until renewal. See Can I upgrade my web hosting package at any time?

8. Four habits for new cPanel users

1. Know your limits. Check your plan's websites, email accounts and databases before you add more. Look at Metrics › Resource Usage before you decide you need a bigger plan.
2. Protect both logins. Use a long, unique cPanel password, turn on two-factor authentication for the client area and for cPanel, and never send your password to anyone, including support.
3. Keep WordPress updated. Most hacked sites are hacked through an old plugin or theme, not through cPanel. See Why and how your WordPress website gets hacked.
4. Keep your own copy. Your plan includes weekly backups, and Domain India does not sell a separate backup add-on, so download your important files and export your databases from phpMyAdmin before any big change.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to try cPanel? Compare the plans on cPanel hosting, or if you already have an account, open your hosting list and click the cPanel button. Questions about which panel suits your site? Open a ticket: support is on 24/7 live chat, and tickets get a first response within 15 minutes.