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cPanel Features: 30 Useful Tools You Can Set Up Yourself
The first time you log in to cPanel, it can feel like walking into a hardware store with no signs. There are dozens of icons, and most people only ever use three of them. That is a shame, because the rest of the cPanel features can save you time, money, and a trip to support.
This guide walks through 30 tools that come with your hosting, grouped the same way cPanel groups them: email, files, databases, domains, software, security, and statistics. For each one you will learn what it does, when to use it, and where to find it.
Good to know: every Next Wave Host plan comes with cPanel, the same control panel shown in this guide. See our hosting features for everything else that is built in.
What is cPanel?
cPanel is the control panel for your web hosting account. Instead of typing commands on a server, you click an icon and cPanel does the technical work for you: it creates the mailbox, installs WordPress, or turns on the SSL certificate. It is one of the most widely used hosting control panels, so help and tutorials are easy to find.
If you are a reseller, you will also see WebHost Manager (WHM). WHM is where you create and manage your customers' accounts, and each customer gets their own cPanel with the same cPanel features described below. Our article on why WHM makes a reseller hosting business easy explains how the two work together.
How to log in to cPanel
- Go to yourdomain.com/cpanel and sign in with the username and password from your welcome email.
- Or log in to your client area, open your hosting plan, and use the cPanel login link there, so you don't need a separate password.
Tip: cPanel has a search box at the top of every page. Type a word like “email” or “backup” and it jumps straight to the right tool, so you never have to hunt through the icons.
cPanel features for email
Email is where most people start. With these tools you can run professional addresses like info@yourbusiness.com without paying for a separate email service.
1. Email Accounts
Create mailboxes like you@yourdomain.com, set storage limits, and open webmail from any browser. Find it: Email → Email Accounts.
2. Forwarders
Send copies of mail from one address to another, for example sales@ to your own inbox, without creating another mailbox.
3. Autoresponders
Reply automatically while you are on vacation, or confirm that a message arrived. Set an end date so you don't forget to turn it off.
4. Spam Filters
Score incoming mail and move likely spam to its own folder, or delete the worst of it automatically. Make it stricter or looser to suit you.
5. Email Deliverability
Checks your SPF and DKIM records and repairs them with one click, so your messages land in inboxes instead of spam folders. Add a DMARC record too.
6. Track Delivery
Shows what happened to a message: delivered, delayed, or rejected, and why. Check here first when someone says they never got your email.
File and backup tools
These cPanel features let you see, share, and protect the files that make up your website.
7. File Manager
A file browser inside your web browser. Upload, edit, rename, unzip, and change permissions without installing anything. Your website lives in the public_html folder.
8. Backup and Backup Wizard
Download a full copy of your account, or just your files, databases, or email settings. Keep a copy off the server, as our website security checklist recommends.
9. File and Directory Restoration
Bring back a file or folder from the server's automatic backups, like a page you deleted by accident. See how our backups work.
10. FTP Accounts
Give a designer or developer access to one folder only, instead of sharing your cPanel password. They connect with an FTP program like FileZilla.
11. Directory Privacy
Password-protect a folder, such as a test copy of your site or a private downloads area. Visitors see a login box before anything loads.
Database tools
Most websites, including every WordPress site, keep their content in a MySQL database. App installers create these for you, but it helps to know where they are.
12. Database Wizard
Creates a database and a database user and connects them in four short steps. Use it when an app asks for a database name, user, and password.
13. phpMyAdmin
Lets you look inside a database, search it, or export a copy with phpMyAdmin. Handy for fixes, but careful: changes here take effect right away.
Domain and DNS tools
One hosting account can run more than one website. These cPanel features control which domain goes where.
14. Domains
Add another website to the same account, or create a subdomain like shop.yourdomain.com. Each one gets its own folder. Still choosing a name? Read how to choose a domain name.
15. Redirects
Send visitors from an old page or domain to a new one. Use a permanent (301) redirect when a page has moved, so search engines follow it too.
16. Zone Editor
Edit your DNS records: point part of your domain to another service, add a Google verification record, or fix email records.
17. Sitejet Builder
A drag-and-drop website builder inside cPanel. Pick a template, change the words and pictures, and publish, with no code to write.
Watch out: the Zone Editor only matters if your domain uses our nameservers. If your nameservers point somewhere else, make DNS changes there instead.
Software, PHP, and speed tools
This is where you install apps and fine-tune how your website runs.
18. Softaculous Apps Installer
Softaculous installs WordPress and hundreds of other apps, like online stores and forums, in a few minutes. Our guide on how to build a WordPress website starts here.
19. WordPress Manager
One screen for all your WordPress sites: update plugins and themes, make a test copy, or log in to the dashboard with one click, even if the normal login page gives you trouble.
20. Select PHP Version
Choose the PHP version your sites run on and turn PHP extensions on or off. Newer versions are faster and safer; check your site after switching.
21. MultiPHP INI Editor
Change PHP settings like the upload size or memory limit without editing files. This fixes WordPress's “file exceeds the maximum upload size” error.
22. LiteSpeed Web Cache Manager
Turns on caching for your WordPress sites from one screen. Our servers run LiteSpeed, so cached pages load very quickly.
Tip: want more speed? Our WordPress PageSpeed checklist shows the exact steps we used to score 100 on mobile.
Security features in cPanel
Our servers already run a firewall and malware scanning. These tools let you lock down your own account too.
23. SSL/TLS and Let's Encrypt
Check that every domain and subdomain has a valid certificate, and issue a free Let's Encrypt one if anything is missing. See our free SSL.
24. Two-Factor Authentication
Adds a code from an app on your phone to your cPanel login. Even if someone steals your password, they still can't get in.
25. Imunify360
Scans your files for malware, cleans infected files, and shows what the firewall blocked. It is part of our firewall and malware protection.
Statistics and monitoring
26. Visitors and Awstats
See how many people visit, which pages they read, and where they come from, straight from the server logs, with no tracking code to add.
27. Errors
Lists the latest errors from your website, like missing pages and broken scripts. When a page goes blank or shows a 500 error, look here first.
28. Resource Usage
Shows how much CPU and memory your account uses and whether it hit its limits. If your site slows down at busy times, this tells you why.
Advanced tools and team access
29. Cron Jobs
Runs a task on a schedule, like WordPress's scheduled posts or a billing script every five minutes. Paste the command, pick how often, and save. Learn more about cron.
30. User Manager
Create separate logins for team members with access to only their email, FTP, or files. No more sharing your main cPanel password.
How to use cPanel: set up a new account in 10 steps
New to cPanel? Do these in order the first week, and you will have used the most important cPanel features already.
- 1. Log in and turn on Two-Factor Authentication.
- 2. Open SSL/TLS and make sure every domain shows a valid certificate.
- 3. Create your email accounts, then run Email Deliverability.
- 4. Add forwarders for addresses that don't need their own mailbox.
- 5. Install WordPress with Softaculous, or build your site with Sitejet Builder.
- 6. Pick a current PHP version in Select PHP Version.
- 7. Turn on LiteSpeed caching for WordPress.
- 8. Download a full backup and keep it somewhere off the server.
- 9. Create FTP accounts or User Manager logins for anyone who helps you.
- 10. After your first busy week, check Resource Usage and Errors.
Mistakes to avoid in cPanel
- Sharing your main cPanel password instead of creating FTP accounts or User Manager logins.
- Leaving old, unused apps installed. They still need updates, or they become a way in.
- Raising PHP limits very high “just in case” instead of setting what your site needs.
- Editing DNS in the Zone Editor when your nameservers point somewhere else.
Important: deleting files in File Manager or tables in phpMyAdmin can't be undone with a click. Make a backup before big changes, and if something goes wrong, try File and Directory Restoration or contact us before attempting more fixes.
cPanel features with every Next Wave Host plan
Every plan, from shared hosting to VPS, includes cPanel with the tools in this guide, plus the server features that help them work well:
LiteSpeed web server
Serves pages and cached content faster than a standard web server.
NVMe SSD storage
Fast drives so your files and databases load quickly.
CloudLinux isolation
Keeps every account in its own space, so a busy neighbor can't slow you down.
Free SSL
A certificate on every domain, renewed automatically.
Daily backups
Restore points you can use from File and Directory Restoration.
One-click installs
Softaculous puts WordPress and hundreds of apps a few clicks away.
Running a hosting business? Our reseller hosting plans include WHM, so each of your customers gets their own cPanel with these same tools. Reseller plans start at $14.99/month.
See All Hosting FeaturesFinal thoughts on cPanel features
You don't need to master every icon. Start with the 10 steps above, then come back to this list when you need something new: a forwarder for a new team member, a redirect for a page you moved, or a restore after a bad day. Most of the cPanel features you will ever need are already in your account, waiting to be used.
Still choosing a plan? Our comparison of shared vs WordPress vs VPS hosting helps you pick the right one. Whichever you choose, cPanel comes with it.
Compare Plans & PricescPanel FAQs
What is cPanel used for?
cPanel is used to manage everything in your hosting account from one place: email addresses, website files, databases, domains, SSL certificates, backups, and app installs like WordPress.
Is cPanel free?
cPanel is licensed software, but with Next Wave Host the license is included in your hosting plan. You never pay for it separately.
How do I log in to cPanel?
Go to yourdomain.com/cpanel and sign in with the username and password from your welcome email, or log in to your client area and open cPanel from your hosting plan.
Can I break my website in cPanel?
Some tools, like File Manager, phpMyAdmin, and the Zone Editor, make changes right away. Download a backup first, change one thing at a time, and contact us if you are not sure.
What is the difference between cPanel and WHM?
cPanel manages one hosting account. WHM (WebHost Manager) manages many cPanel accounts at once, which is why resellers and VPS owners get it.
Need help finding a cPanel tool?
Can't find a setting, or not sure which tool you need? Send us a ticket or start a chat and we'll point you to the right place.
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