How to Set Up Your Domain, SSL, Email, & WordPress Using cPanel

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up a domain, SSL certificate, email, and WordPress with cPanel:

1. Set Up Your Domain

• Purchase your domain from a domain registrar (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.).
• Log in to cPanel: Use the credentials provided by your hosting provider to log in to cPanel.
• Add Your Domain to cPanel:
  • In cPanel, go to the Domains section.
  • Click Addon Domains if you want to add a new domain (or Subdomains if you want to create a subdomain).
  • Enter the domain name, set up the document root (default is typically fine), and click Add Domain.
• Update Domain DNS Records:
  • Go to your domain registrar’s site and update the DNS records to point to your hosting provider’s nameservers.
  • The typical nameservers look like ns1.yourhost.com and ns2.yourhost.com.
  • This may take a few hours to propagate globally.

2. Install SSL Certificate

• Go to SSL/TLS in cPanel:
  • In cPanel, find the Security section and click on SSL/TLS.
• Install SSL for Your Domain:
  • Under Install and Manage SSL for your site (HTTPS), click on Manage SSL sites.
  • Select the domain you want to install SSL on from the drop-down list.
  • If your hosting provider offers a free SSL (e.g., Let’s Encrypt), you may see an option to automatically install it. Click Install.
  • If you have a purchased SSL certificate, paste the Certificate (CRT), Private Key (KEY), and Certificate Authority Bundle (CABUNDLE) in the respective fields and click Install Certificate.
• Force HTTPS Redirect (Optional):
  • To ensure all traffic is encrypted, you can force HTTPS redirection by enabling the Force HTTPS Redirect option in cPanel’s Domains section or by editing your .htaccess file to include:
    perl

    CopyEdit

    RewriteEngine On

    RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off

    RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

3. Set Up Your Email

• Create an Email Account:
  • In cPanel, go to the Email section and click Email Accounts.
  • Click Create and fill in the email address, password, and mailbox quota.
  • Click Create Account.
• Access Webmail:
  • You can access your email by going to yourdomain.com/webmail or by setting up your email on an email client (e.g., Outlook, Gmail, etc.).
• Set Up Email Clients:
  • For external email clients, use the IMAP/SMTP settings typically provided in cPanel (e.g., mail.yourdomain.com, port 993 for IMAP).

4. Install WordPress

• Go to the Software Section in cPanel:
  • In cPanel, find the Software section and click on Softaculous Apps Installer.
• Install WordPress:
  • In Softaculous, find WordPress and click on Install.
  • Choose your domain from the drop-down menu, leave the directory field empty (if you want it to install on the root), and fill in the site name, description, admin username, and password.
  • Choose the language and click Install.
• Complete the Installation:
  • After installation, you’ll receive a link to access your WordPress dashboard (e.g., yourdomain.com/wp-admin).

5. Finalize Setup

• Test Your Website:
  • Visit your domain to check if your website is up and running.
  • If you set up SSL, ensure the site is loading with HTTPS.
• Set Up Permalinks:
  • In WordPress, go to Settings > Permalinks and choose your preferred URL structure (e.g., Post name).
• Install Themes and Plugins:
  • You can install WordPress themes and plugins to customize the design and functionality of your website.
• Start Building Content:
  • You can now start creating pages, posts, and customizing your WordPress website as desired.

With these steps, your domain, SSL, email, and WordPress website should be up and running smoothly! Let me know if you need help with any part of this setup.