If you have hosted a website before, you may have heard the term WebHost Manager (or, more likely, the acronym WHM) even if you may not have used it before.
You may also be familiar with its sister application, cPanel. WHM is the administrative tool you need to help us control multiple cPanels without an issue. Let’s look at it a bit closer and see what its capabilities are.
Understanding the role of WHM
Developed by the same company as cPanel, WHM allows you to create and administer multiple cPanel accounts. Thanks to its graphical user interface (GUI) dashboard, you can do so without necessarily having a strong grasp of operating system commands.
Create cPanel accounts, add/remove domains, add/remove email addresses, administer databases, run essential maintenance and overall manage features. In effect, WHM provides the administrative capabilities of cPanel but at a higher level. If you are already familiar with using cPanel, WHM should be relatively easy to grasp due to the similarity of functions.
What can I do using WHM?
WHM allows you to perform several vital tasks. The major ones include the following:
1. Server monitoring
WHM allows full root access to the virtual private server (VPS) and dedicated server hosting. Track server processes, application uptime/status, resource utilization, budding problems, security policy configuration, blacklisted/whitelisted IP addresses, and overall performance.
2. Manage accounts
Create, suspend or remove client accounts. Keep track of user activity, amend user names, define default pages, facilitate multi-factor authentication and respond to help desk tickets submitted through cPanel.
3. Set and control hosting packages
As a reseller, craft hosting packages you assign to your cPanel clients in line with the plan they sign up for. Define resource quotas assigned for each package. These could range from SSL certificates and web storage space to RAM and bandwidth. Set pricing per package.
4. Add branding elements
Get your clients to interact with and grow accustomed to your reseller hosting brand. You can customize the cPanel by incorporating brand elements on the dashboard, text, and notifications. Elements here could be logos, colors, documentation, and/or company profile.
5. Control cPanels on the server
Each cPanel under a WHM can be assigned to a customer or particular website/project. That way, you can keep tabs on the activity in each cPanel. If you are a reseller, this gives each of your customers autonomy over their own website/project.
6. Transfer, backup, and restore files
If your customer had their website elsewhere, move their files from the remote server to your server. You can also set up and configure automated backups for one cPanel account or all accounts on the server. The backups may be uploaded to remote storage such as Google Drive or other cloud-based storage services. Restore a file, directory, or the entire backup when needed.
cPanels vs. WHM
WHM has a lot of features you would find on cPanel. They are, after all, developed by the same company. WHM is, however, an administration level higher. For example, you have access to the back end of cPanel and can manage multiple cPanel accounts.
If you are not a web host or hosting reseller, you can still manage multiple websites under a single cPanel. However, this comes with not just security risks but also a less tidy environment for website administration.
WHM creates compartmentalization that has each domain living in its own silo. You can even provide a dedicated IP address for each site on the same server, all under one WHM account.
Who needs WHM access?
Given the far-reaching administrative capabilities of WHM, including the power to make changes to individual cPanel accounts, it should only be accessible to persons in need of such privileged access. That would primarily be web hosts as well as hosting resellers as their role involves overseeing the multiple cPanel accounts of customers under their charge.
VPS hosting accounts and dedicated server hosting accounts may also require WHM if they have a large number of websites or have a few yet popular or resource-intensive sites.
Conclusion
Ease of use, an intuitive interface as well as a wide range of features makes WHM a favorite administrative tool for web hosts, hosting resellers, VPS clients, and dedicated server clients. To make the most of WHM, pore through the knowledge base and guides provided by your web host. Alternatively, have a look at the free cPanel University WHM courses for more in depth information.