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SiteSmith hosting control panelLesson 2 of 16

  1. Getting started

    4 lessons

  2. Email

    4 lessons
    • Create email addresses and forwardersReading · 8 min
    • Autoreplies, catch-all, spam and mailing listsReading · 7 min
    • How email reaches the inboxAnimated · 5 min
    • Quiz: emailQuiz · 4 min

  3. Domains, files and data

    5 lessons
    • Websites, redirects, DNS and SSLReading · 8 min
    • Files, FTP and databasesReading · 7 min
    • Install WordPress, PHP settings and scheduled tasksReading · 7 min
    • Back up and restore your siteReading · 5 min
    • Quiz: domains, files and dataQuiz · 4 min

  4. Security, team and advanced tools

    3 lessons
    • Security and team accessReading · 7 min
    • The Advanced panel, More tools and the restReading · 4 min
    • Course checkQuiz · 7 min
Course page

ReadingGetting started, lesson 2 of 166 min

Find your way around

Open the panel from the client area

You don't sign in to the control panel separately. It opens already signed in from the client area.

  1. In the client area, open Services and choose your site.
  2. Choose Control panel at the top of the service page, or one of the tiles under Manage your hosting, like Email addresses or DNS records. A tile opens the panel straight on that section.
The service page in the client area with the Control panel button and the Manage your hosting tiles

My sites

If you can manage more than one site, the panel opens on My sites: a card for each hosting plan with its plan name, status, disk space and bandwidth, plus shortcuts to Email, Files, DNS and Apps. Choose a site's name to manage it. With only one site, the panel skips this page and opens that site.

My sites with two cards: harborandpine.test on Pro and harborpineroasters.test on Starter

To switch sites later, choose My sites in the breadcrumb at the top. If you open the main menu with the Toggle Sidebar button, the site at the top of the menu is a switcher: choose it and pick another site under Your sites.

The site switcher open in the main menu, listing both sites

The Overview

Each site opens on its Overview:

  • Usage, live from the hosting server: Disk space, Bandwidth this month, Email addresses and Databases, each against your plan's limit.
  • Quick actions for the jobs people do most: Install WordPress, Email addresses, File manager, SSL certificate, DNS records and Backups.
  • All tools: every section, grouped, with a Find a tool... box.
  • Hosting details on the right: your two nameservers, plan, username and server IP, each with a copy button. Plan & billing takes you back to the client area.
The Overview of harborandpine.test with usage tiles, quick actions and hosting details

The buttons at the top open your website (Visit site) and the Advanced panel, which you'll meet at the end of the course.

Quick actions and the All tools list on the Overview

The menu and search

The menu on the left lists the site's sections in groups: Email, Domains, Files & data, Apps & advanced, Security and More tools. To jump to one, type in Search this site... at the top of the menu. Typing "back" shows Backups and Server backups.

Search this site filtering the menu down to Backups, Server backups and More tools

The Search... box in the top bar (or Ctrl K, Cmd K on a Mac) searches deeper: email addresses, forwarders, domains, databases, apps and sections, across your sites. Use the arrow keys and Enter to open a result.

The Ctrl K search showing an app and matching sections for the word wordpress

When something doesn't load

The panel reads live from your hosting server. If the server is slow to answer, a section shows a "couldn't load" message with Try again and Report this problem. Your site and email keep running. Report this problem opens a support ticket about that site.

Questions and answers

Sign in and enroll to ask questions and read the answers.

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