Avoid these cPanel mistakes when setting up your Website
If you are brand new to web hosting, you will probably spend most of your time interacting with the front-end of your website. However, there will be instances where you will need more access to your server, and that is where the cPanel comes in. As you familiarize yourself with the cPanel, performing regular website tasks, such as updating user settings, setting up email accounts, FTP, managing your domains, or backups will come naturally.
Following cPanel best practices will help you avoid costly mistakes on your website that can derail your progress. Here are common cPanel mistakes that can you need to avoid when navigating the cPanel;
1. Manage all website files under a single FTP account or database. Databases are crucial for keeping your site up and running as they store your files, including emails, usernames, and passwords. With cPanel, you can easily interact with your databases using the management tools available. When setting up databases or FTP accounts, you should not use one database for all your website files. Setting up separate databases for each website will make it easier to manage and adjust, especially if you have multiple domain names. Plus, it is safer to give an external developer FTP access to a single directory (or site) other than your entire cPanel account.
2. Misuse of subdomains. Subdomains are the part of a domain that comes before the domain name and domain extension. For example, blog.yourdomain.com and shoes.yourdomain.com would be two subdomains of the primary root domain yourdomain.com. Most hosting packages come with unlimited subdomains, and it can be quite tempting to want to take advantage of that by setting up multiple subdomains. However, this can do more harm than good on your website, especially for beginners. Having subdomains on your cPanel will limit the size and functionality of your website by taking up bandwidth, which causes slow loading speeds. While there may be some valid reasons to use subdomains, limiting the use of unnecessary subdomains is beneficial for your SEO efforts and will also make your brand look professional.
3. Abuse of addon domains. Addon domains are separate domains that you have purchased and manage under the same hosting plan. With addon domains, a user can create many websites without investing in hosting accounts for each one of them. However, addon domains can pose a significant risk if multiple users have access to the cPanel. When many sites share the same cPanel environment, it causes vulnerability where an attacker automatically gains complete access to the other sites after attacking one of them. Also, when many people have access to the FTP access or administrative permissions to a site, disruptive damage is bound to occur due to malice. The best cPanel practice would be limiting the number of people with passwords to a cPanel to prevent unauthorized access.
4. Deleting files accidentally. Your cPanel enables you to manage your files using a simple file manager that helps you interact with all your directories and archives. When using FTP to handle your files, your cPanel makes it easier to create new accounts, manage their permissions, and even delete them if necessary. As a result, this makes it easy to make an error and delete files that can cripple your website. When deleting files on cPanel, exercise caution to prevent deleting directories that your site relies on to function.
5. Backups. Having a recent backup of your site can protect you if you delete an important file by mistake, encounter an error or if your website gets attacked by hackers. Even when your web host provides backups, you should also do regular backups to protect yourself from possible data loss due to unexpected problems or malicious activity. You can easily manage and restore backups easily via the Jetbackup cPanel plugin. We offer free remote backup for your entire cPanel Account (including website files, databases, emails, cron jobs, SSL certs and dns zones) taken twice a week and additional remote backup for all your databases, taken daily with 7 days retention. Performing backups before making any significant changes, such as updating a framework or installing new plugins, will help you restore previous versions when the need arises or a complication occurs.
The more you get to know cPanel, the more knowledge you acquire to help you make better decisions for the success of your website. By interacting with your cPanel regularly, you will obtain in-depth knowledge to help you avoid rookie mistakes, and when in doubt about some functionality, contact your web host for expert advice.
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