MMINTER

Working with cPanel

Overview
● What is cPanel?
● Major parts of the cPanel interface
● Using File Manager
● Using an FTP client
What is cPanel?
● cPanel is a web hosting control panel that allows users to
manage the hosting of a website using a simple graphical
user interface.
● Most web hosting services will provide cPanel with the
hosting service.
● You use cPanel to upload your files to your webhost, among
other things.
Signing into cPanel
● By default, your cPanel is
accessible by visiting
"<your domain name>/cpanel"
in your browser.
● If your domain is johnlim.com, for
example, you would type Replace "popsiclegames.com"
johnlim.com/cpanel in the address with your own domain

bar in order to access your site's cPanel.

Signing into cPanel
● The cPanel login interface will
look similar to this.
● When you sign up for a hosting
account, your hosting provider
will send you your username and
password via your registered
email address.
● Check your email to get your
login info.
Setting your password/contact info
Click on your username on the upper right
● Once you've logged in, a good first corner to reveal this dropdown
step to do is to update your
password to something you'll be
able to note down or remember.
● It's also prudent to check your
contact information. Any emails
about changes made to your
cPanel will be sent to the email
address set here.
Setting your password/contact info

You don't absolutely need to change your

cPanel password, but it's highly
recommended so your host can have a
secure password that you can remember.
Setting your password/contact info

The email address that you enter here will

receive important notifications regarding
changes made to your cPanel.
The cPanel home screen
● Notice the buttons running
down the left side of the
cPanel interface.
● Your cPanel may have a third
icon that looks like a
speedometer. This is a link to
the statistics screen.
Home: A quick way
to get back to the
home screen from
anywhere within
cPanel
User Manager: For
managing different
user accounts. You
won't need to use
this much as the
sole user of your
cPanel.
File Manager
● The File Manager is an easy
way to add, edit, and delete files
on your webhost.
● If you've been working on a site
offline, you can upload your files
to the web using the File
Manager.
● Find the File Manager icon
under the FILES group on the
home screen of cPanel.
File Manager
The File Manager is a file
browser, very much like
Windows Explorer or Finder.
Uploading files
You have several options for uploading files to your webhost. Today, we'll look at two commonly-used
methods: via cPanel's File Manager, and via the FileZilla FTP client.

File Manager FTP (FileZilla)

Uploading files using
File Manager
File Manager
● Important: all your
uploaded files should be
within the public_html
folder.
● Think of public_html as
the "visible" folder that
visitors to your site can
access.
File Manager
● public_html is the "root" folder of your host. If, for
example, your domain is johnlim.com, a visitor to
johnlim.com will load the contents of the
public_html folder to their browser.
● If a visitor tries to visit johnlim.com/mminter, the
browser will then try to open this folder
(public_html/mminter).
● If a file named index.html (or index.htm or
index.php) exists in a folder, the browser will
auto-open it.
Uploading via File Manager
To upload files:
1. Navigate to the target folder
(in this case, mminter)
2. Click on the Upload button
 Uploading via File Manager

Depending on your version of cPanel, you can either drag and drop your files to upload. If this
doesn't work, you might need to click on Select File to choose what to upload via a file dialog.

Important: folders may be rejected if you drag and drop them. In this case, you must create the
folder manually (using the +Folder button in File Manager) and drop your files into that folder.
 Uploading via File Manager

If you are uploading a lot of files, here's a quick alternative: put all your
files in a zip, and upload that zip file.
Uploading via File Manager

Afterwards, return to the File Manager view and right click on

the zip file. Select Extract and click on Extract File(s) to
unzip the file into the current folder.
Uploading via File Manager
● Your files have now been
properly uploaded to the
target folder!
● If you used the zip method,
you can now delete the zip
file to save space. You can
also keep it there as a
backup if you wish.
Uploading files using
FileZilla
Using an FTP client to upload files
● Alternatively, you can use an FTP
(file transfer protocol) client like
FileZilla to upload files to your
webhost.
● To get started, download and
install FileZilla from
https://filezilla-project.org/.
● Find and open the FTP Accounts
link on the cPanel home page.
Using an FTP client to upload files
● Here's you'll create an account that will be
used for the FileZilla client. The log in and
password can be anything.

● Do note the Directory entry: it's advisable to

set it to public_html/<target folder
name>. The public_html must be included
so that the folder can be accessible to
visitors.

● In this case, the target folder name is

"sampleftp". This account will not be able to
upload files outside this folder.

● Click on Create FTP Account to finalize the

creation of your FTP account.
Using an FTP client to upload files

● Next, find the entry for your new FTP

account below.

● Click on Configure FTP Client.

Using an FTP client to upload files

● To easily set up FileZilla, click on the download

button for its FTP Configuration File.
Using an FTP client to upload files

● Now, launch FileZilla. Choose File > Import…,

then select the FTP Configuration file that
you downloaded from the previous step.
Using an FTP client to upload files

● You'll go through a couple of confirmation dialogs during this process.

Just click on OK.
 Using an FTP client to upload files
● Once the configuration info has been imported, you're ready to connect to your host and start uploading.

● Go to File > Site Manager
● If this is the first time you
imported a config file to FileZilla,
there should only be one entry
here. Select it and click on
Connect.
● Enter the password that you
made during the creation of
this FTP Account (that was 5
slides ago).
Using an FTP client to upload files

● Once you've connected ● The right half ("Remote site") shows the
successfully, you'll find the interface folder on the host.
split down the middle. The left half
● If you got an error message while
("Local site") represents the files on
connecting, double-check your password!
your computer.
Using an FTP client to upload files

● Files can be uploaded to the target folder by dragging and

dropping.

● Important: the remote site displays "/" right now, but this
actually represents the directory you indicated during the
creation of the FTP account (shown on the right)
Using an FTP client to upload files
● A quick check via File
Manager confirms that the
files have been uploaded.
Good job!
Which method to use?
File Manager FTP (FileZilla)

There's no wrong method here. FileZilla, on the other hand, is

File Manager is easier to set up more convenient to use during
and access, and is generally a more complex file management,
good first choice when when you're moving lots of files
uploading files. around.
Sources
● https://www.tutorialspoint.com/cpanel/index.htm
● https://websitesetup.org/beginners-guide-to-cpanel/