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Getting started after you order hosting

After we set up your shared hosting, sign in to the portal, open cPanel, point the domain at AtlasDNS, put the site up, and turn on HTTPS.

Updated

When the hosting account is ready, you will get an email. That email does not include passwords or FTP logins. Sign in at the portal, open the hosting service, and work from there.

This article is for Beginner and Standard shared hosting (cPanel) in Australia. Open cPanel from the portal. Do not guess a hostname.

If you ordered a VPS, credentials and the console are on that server in the portal. Start with First steps on a new VPS.

If you ordered a dedicated server, open a support ticket and we will walk you through access.

Moving a live site? Follow Migrate your website to us with minimal downtime so the public name stays on the old copy until the new one is tested.

Need a different plan later? Browse shared hosting, VPS, or dedicated, or see Choose the right hosting plan.

1. Sign in to the portal

  1. Sign in at the portal with the account you used to order.
  2. Open the hosting service for the domain.

From that service you can:

If the hosting service is not there after the ready email, pay any overdue invoice first. If the service is still missing, open a support ticket. Do not reply to the email for help.

2. Open cPanel

  1. On the hosting service, click Log in to cPanel.
  2. You should land in the cPanel home for that account.

You do not need a server hostname, and you do not type cpanel.yourdomain.com to get in.

Every Beginner and Standard plan includes AutoSSL, hourly backups, WordPress Toolkit, Installatron, Sitejet Builder, unlimited email accounts, MariaDB, addon domains, subdomains, parked domains (aliases), and FTP.

3. Point the domain at this hosting

The site will not load on the public name until DNS points here.

If you registered the domain with us (at /domains or with the order), it is already on AtlasDNS. Open Domains → the domain → DNS in the portal if you need extra records. You can skip the nameserver change.

If the domain is registered somewhere else, set its nameservers to ours, then manage records in the portal:

ns1.atlasdns.net.au
ns2.atlasdns.net.au
ns3.atlasdns.net.au

AtlasDNS is the default. Do not send the domain to a third-party DNS host. Full steps: Point your domain at your hosting.

cPanel Zone Editor applies only when the domain is in cPanel Hosting DNS mode (paired with this hosting service). If the portal DNS page says records are managed from the hosting control panel, use the Zone Editor. Unsure which mode you are on? Open a support ticket.

DNS changes can take hours, and sometimes up to 48 hours, to show everywhere. That wait is normal. See DNS propagation explained.

4. Put the website on the account

The main domain's files live in public_html. Addon domains and subdomains each have their own document root. See Add an Addon Domain and Create a Subdomain.

WordPress (preferred): in cPanel, use WordPress Toolkit or Installatron. Those installers create the database and admin user for you. Do not start by downloading WordPress yourself. See Install WordPress.

Existing files: upload them with the File Manager, or use FTP for a large folder. Copy the FTP host from cPanel FTP Accounts → Configure FTP Client. Do not guess a hostname.

A new brochure site with no files yet: open Sitejet Builder in cPanel, or drop static HTML into public_html with the File Manager.

Extract archives into the document root you mean. A zip that contains a top-level folder will create that folder inside public_html, so the site may sit at /folder/ until you move the files up.

5. Create a database only if you need one

Skip this if WordPress Toolkit or Installatron just ran. They already created the database.

For a custom app, or when an installer asked you to create one:

  1. In cPanel, open MySQL Databases (the database engine is MariaDB; cPanel still labels the tools MySQL).
  2. Create the database, create a user, and grant that user access.
  3. Copy the full prefixed names. The host the app should use is localhost.

Step-by-step: Create a MySQL Database and User.

6. Turn on HTTPS

Shared hosting includes AutoSSL (Let's Encrypt). The name must already resolve to this account.

  1. In cPanel, open SSL/TLS Status.
  2. Find the domain and www.
  3. Run AutoSSL if a certificate is not there yet, then wait for a valid cert on that row.
  4. Turn on Force HTTPS Redirect for that name if the control is there, then test https://.

The browser padlock appears after the certificate is issued and you reload over HTTPS. Background: Understanding SSL/TLS and HTTPS.

If SSL/TLS Status still shows no certificate after DNS has updated, open a support ticket.

7. Add email if you want it on this hosting

Shared-hosting mail is created in cPanel Email Accounts. You can create as many addresses as you need. Shared hosting allows 1000 emails per hour.

This is not LochStudios Mail (hosted business email). Those mailboxes live on the mail service. Open that service in the portal and click Log in to WebMail.

When the domain uses hosting DNS, the mail hostname is usually mail.yourdomain.com. Username is the full email address.

8. Test the site

Once DNS has updated:

  • Visit https://yourdomain.com and https://www.yourdomain.com
  • Check pages, images, forms, and links
  • If the site sends mail, send a test from the form or from Webmail
  • Use a private window so you are not looking at an old cached page

Hourly backups are already running (Acronis). They do not use your disk quota. Keep your own copy before a big change: Download and Restore a Backup.

If something is not working

  • Cannot open cPanel: pay any overdue invoice. If the service is active and Log in to cPanel still fails, open a support ticket.
  • The domain does not load: confirm nameservers and A records, wait for DNS, then see My website is down.
  • WordPress or a custom app cannot find the database: check the full prefixed name, user, password, and host localhost.
  • Not secure in the browser: wait for AutoSSL on SSL/TLS Status, or open a support ticket.

Do not wait on an email thread. Open a support ticket and we will help.

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