sPanel Hosting – What It Is and How to Use It

1 What Is sPanel?

sPanel is an alternative control panel to cPanel, designed specifically for managing web hosting services on VPS servers. Developed by ScalaHosting, it provides a user-friendly interface for comprehensive website management, email administration, security configuration, and database management.

2 Why Use sPanel Instead of cPanel?

3 Log In to sPanel

If your web hosting provider offers sPanel, follow these steps to access your control panel:

1. Open your web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.)
2. Navigate to:
   https://your-server-ip:2083
   Note: Replace "your-server-ip" with your actual server IP address or domain name. Some providers may use a different port or URL.
3. Enter your sPanel credentials:
   • Username: Provided by your hosting provider
   • Password: Provided during server setup
4. Click Log In or press Enter

You are now in the sPanel dashboard! The main interface provides access to all hosting management features.

4 Add a New Website

To host a website on your sPanel VPS, you need to add a domain. This process creates the necessary directories and configurations for your website.

Step-by-Step Domain Setup:

1. In the sPanel dashboard, navigate to "User Accounts" or "Domain Management"
2. Click "Create a New Account" or "Add Domain"
3. Fill in the domain details:
   • Domain Name: Enter your domain (e.g., yourdomain.com)
   • Username: Auto-generated or choose your own
   • Password: Set a secure password (or generate one)
   • Email Address: Your contact email for notifications
   • Package: Select resource allocation (if available)
4. Configure additional options (if needed):
   • PHP Version: Select PHP version (7.4, 8.0, 8.1, etc.)
   • Web Server: Choose Apache, LiteSpeed, or OpenLiteSpeed
   • FTP Access: Enable FTP for file uploads
   • MySQL Database: Create initial database
5. Click "Create" or "Add Domain"

Your website is now set up on your VPS! The system will create the necessary directory structure at /home/username/domains/yourdomain.com/public_html/

5 Upload a Website (Using File Manager or FTP)

Option 1: Upload via sPanel File Manager

The built-in File Manager allows you to upload files directly through your browser:

1. In sPanel, go to "File Manager"
2. Navigate to your website's root directory:
   /home/username/domains/yourdomain.com/public_html/
3. Click the "Upload" button in the toolbar
4. Select files from your computer or drag-and-drop them into the upload area
5. For ZIP archives, select the file and click "Extract" after upload
6. Set correct file permissions if needed:
   • Folders: 755
   • Files: 644
   • PHP files: 600 (for security)

Option 2: Upload via FTP

Now, your website files are uploaded and ready to be served!

6 Create a MySQL Database (For WordPress or Joomla)

If your website requires a database (like WordPress, Joomla, or custom PHP applications), follow these steps:

Step 1: Create Database

1. In sPanel, go to "Databases" > "MySQL Databases"
2. Click "Create Database"
3. Enter database name:
   Format: username_dbname (e.g., john_wp_site)
4. Click "Create Database"

Step 2: Create Database User

1. In the same MySQL Databases section, go to "Users" tab
2. Click "Create User"
3. Enter user details:
   • Username: username_dbuser (auto-generated)
   • Password: Generate strong password or create your own
4. Click "Create User"

Step 3: Assign Privileges

1. Go to "Add User To Database"
2. Select user and database from dropdowns
3. Click "Add"
4. Check "All Privileges" or select specific permissions
5. Click "Make Changes"

Step 4: Use in Your Website

For WordPress, edit wp-config.php:

Now your website can connect to the database!

7 Set Up Email Accounts

To create professional email addresses (e.g., info@yourdomain.com, admin@yourdomain.com):

Step 1: Create Email Account

1. In sPanel, go to "Email Accounts"
2. Click "Create Email Account"
3. Configure email settings:
   • Email Address: username@yourdomain.com (e.g., admin@yourdomain.com)
   • Password: Set a secure password
   • Mailbox Quota: Set storage limit (e.g., 1024 MB)
   • Send welcome email: Option to send credentials to user
4. Click "Create"

Step 2: Access Webmail

sPanel includes multiple webmail options:

Available webmail clients:

• Roundcube: Modern, feature-rich interface
• Horde: Advanced features and applications
• SquirrelMail: Simple, lightweight option

Step 3: Configure Email Clients

For Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail, or mobile devices:

Now you can send/receive emails via Webmail or any email client!

8 Secure Your Website with SSL

sPanel includes free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates to enable HTTPS for your websites.

Step 1: Generate SSL Certificate

1. In sPanel, go to "SSL Certificates"
2. Select your domain from the list
3. Click "Generate Free SSL" (Let's Encrypt)
4. Choose certificate type:
   • Single Domain: Covers yourdomain.com
   • Wildcard: Covers *.yourdomain.com (requires DNS verification)
5. Click "Generate"

Step 2: Verify and Install

The SSL generation process will:

1. Verify domain ownership (automatically via HTTP or DNS)
2. Generate and install the certificate
3. Configure your web server to use HTTPS
4. Set up automatic renewal (certificates expire every 90 days)

Step 3: Force HTTPS (Recommended)

1. Go to "Website Settings" for your domain
2. Enable "Force HTTPS" option
3. This automatically redirects HTTP to HTTPS

Now your website has an SSL certificate (HTTPS) and is secure for visitors!

9 Manage Backups in sPanel

sPanel offers comprehensive backup solutions to protect your data.

Automatic Daily Backups

sPanel automatically creates daily backups of:

• Website files and directories
• MySQL/MariaDB databases
• Email accounts and configurations
• sPanel settings and user data

Restore From Backup

1. Go to "Backups" in sPanel
2. Select a backup date from the calendar
3. Choose what to restore:
   • Files: Website files and directories
   • Databases: MySQL databases
   • Emails: Email accounts and messages
4. Select specific items or restore everything
5. Click "Restore" and confirm

Download Backups (Manual)

1. In Backups section, select a date
2. Click "Download" for files or databases
3. Save backup files to your computer for additional safety

Backup Retention

sPanel typically keeps:

• Daily backups for last 7 days
• Weekly backups for last 4 weeks
• Monthly backups for last 3 months

Now you have a reliable backup recovery option!

10 Speed Up Your Website (LiteSpeed & Caching)

sPanel supports high-performance web servers and caching solutions:

Step 1: Choose Web Server

sPanel supports multiple web servers:

• Apache: Reliable, compatible with most applications
• LiteSpeed: High-performance commercial server
• OpenLiteSpeed: Free open-source version of LiteSpeed

To change web server:

1. Go to "Server Settings"
2. Select "Web Server" tab
3. Choose preferred server
4. Click "Apply Changes"

Step 2: Enable Caching

For WordPress:

1. Install "LiteSpeed Cache" plugin from WordPress repository
2. Configure cache settings in plugin dashboard
3. Enable page caching, browser caching, and optimization features

Server-Level Caching:

1. In sPanel, go to "LiteSpeed Cache" (if available)
2. Enable server-level caching for your domain
3. Configure cache policies and TTL settings

Step 3: Optimize Database

1. Go to "Databases" > "phpMyAdmin"
2. Select your database
3. Click "Check All" then "Optimize Table"
4. Regularly clean up unnecessary data

Step 4: Enable GZIP Compression

1. In sPanel, go to "Website Settings"
2. Enable "GZIP Compression"
3. This reduces file sizes for faster transfer

Your website will load significantly faster with these optimizations!

11 Troubleshooting sPanel Issues

12 Summary

Now your website is live, secure, and optimized on sPanel hosting!