Logging in to your Control Panel

You can administer your site(s) with WestHost by logging in to your Site Manager (control panel). This can be done at http://yourdomain.com/manager/ (replace yourdomain.com with your domain name).

NOTE: If your domain is not yet pointing to WestHost you can use your temporary URL: http://yourdomain.com.whsites.net/manager/ (replace yourdomain.com with your domain name).

Once you are at the Site Manager Login Screen, enter the Username and Password that you received in your Hosting Account Information e-mail. Once you are in Site Manager you will be able to:

• Setup e-mail accounts
• Setup FTP user accounts
• View statistics for disk space and bandwidth
• Backup and restore files
• Install/modify applications
• Manage your Web server, e-mail server and FTP
• View traffic statistics
• Manage your DNS
• Make changes to your site with File Manager


Site Manager Login

To login enter your domain name below and click the LOGIN button: http://

NOTE: For more information and detailed instructions on how to login to your Site Manager (control panel), please visit our Site Manager documentation.

Setting up Your E-mail

Your account has been set up with the default e-mail address, yourdomain@yourdomain.com. You can set up as many additional e-mail addresses (Users or Aliases) as you like through your Site Manager (control panel). Once you are in Site Manager, click on Users under the E-mail / FTP from the side navigation bar. Then click on the Add button below the existing user list to create a new User. For detailed instructions, refer to our Setting Up E-mail users documentation.

Accessing Your E-mail

If you have your e-mail accounts created and your domain name is pointing to WestHost, you can access those accounts either by your preferred e-mail client (Outlook, Netscape, etc.) or through Web mail. If using an e-mail client, you'll need to configure the following:

• Incoming (POP) Mail Server: yourdomain.com (replace with your domain)
• Outgoing (SMTP) Mail Server: yourdomain.com (replace with your domain)
• Username (if name based): username@yourdomain.com (replace with your username and domain)
• Username (if IP based): username (replace with your username)
• Default E-mail Address: yourdomain@yourdomain.com (replace with your domain)


NOTE: Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) may require that you use THEIR Outgoing (SMTP) Mail Server instead of the one listed above. If you have problems SENDING mail, this may be the cause.

See a detailed explanation of all the options for Accessing E-mail.

Transferring/Uploading Your Files

Ideally, you have already created your Web site and have a copy of all your current Web site files on your local computer. If not, download them from your current host and then upload them to your WestHost account.

You can either transfer your files to your new Web server through FTP (File Transfer Protocol), the WestHost File Manager, or Secure Shell (SSH). Refer to our uploading guide for specific instructions.

Adding/Installing Applications

WestHost has included dozens of applications than can be quickly installed on your Web site (MySQL, E-commerce Applications, Web mail, Statistics, etc.). Each of our included Site Applications can be installed with just a few clicks from within your Site Manager (control panel). Even if you don't find the application you are looking for, you can also add just about any application to your Web site through traditional methods.a.

Previewing and Testing Your Web Site

You can preview and test your Web site at http://yourdomain.com.whsites.net/ (replace yourdomain.com with your domain name), or with your Dedicated IP address (if your hosting package includes one). Once your files are uploaded, you will want to test ALL your pages, links and graphics to make sure you have copied everything over correctly.

NOTE: If you have applications that are configured to work with your domain, you will not be able to test them until you have changed your Domain Name Servers (DNS). Examples might be Form Mail, Web Statistics, Shopping Carts, etc.

Changing Your DNS (Domain Name Servers)

If you registered your domain name through WestHost, your DNS will automatically be configured correctly to work with our servers and you will not need to change your DNS. If you have registered your domain name with another company, you can either:

• Consider Transferring Your Domain to WestHost and then updating your DNS settings from our Domain Name Manager.
  
• Update your DNS settings by contacting the Domain Registrar you used to register your domain name, or logging into their control panel and changing the Nameservers to WestHost's:
  
  Primary Nameserver
  NS1.WEST-DATACENTER.NET
  69.36.161.11
  
  Secondary Nameserver
  NS2.WEST-DATACENTER.NET
  69.36.161.12
  
  NOTE: You may also be required to specify a technical contact. Set this to WestHost:
  
  WestHost Inc
  hostmaster@WESTHOST.COM
  Logan, UT 84341
  US
  Phone: 435-755-3433
  Fax: 435-755-3449
  Network Solutions Handle: WE2632-ORG

Once you have changed your DNS settings, it will take approximately 24-48 hours for your domain to point to WestHost's servers (propagation).

Changing Your Passwords

Important Note: We strongly advise that all clients change the default password that we issued to your account as soon as possible. Please remember to choose a secure password with random characters.

If you decide to change any of your passwords, changing it in one program will not change it for your other tools, you will need to change it in every manager for your passwords to all be the same.

• Site Manager/FTP/SSH:

  You can change your password at any time by logging in to your Site Manager (control panel). Once in your Site Manager, click on Change Password fromt the Account Settings in the left menu. Here you can enter your new password two times, to verify you are typing it the same both times, then click Update. The password for the site manager will be immediately changed to the new password if it follows the requirement of being at least 6-8 characters long.

• E-Mail:

  E-mail passwords can be changed within the E-mail/FTP Management section of your Site Manager (control panel). These passwords will also need to be 6-8 characters long.

NOTE: For more information and detailed instructions on how to login to your Site Manager (control panel), please visit our Site Manager (control panel) documentation.

Updating Your Contact Information

It is important to keep your contact information updated with us so that we can reach you with billing information and important updates that may affect your account. You can keep your contact information current with the Account Maintenance Form.

Getting Help

We've tried to make "getting help" one of the easiest things to do at WestHost. We provide a number of resources here within the Members Area. We've also provided detailed Site Manager documentation. Most importantly we back them all up with a knowledgeable support staff available around the clock and 365 days a year.

We realize there are many occasions where you will need to communicate with us directly. Our preferred support medium is e-mail, since it provides a documented communication log, and the opportunity to send and receive links and files. The more information you can provide up front, such as your domain name, detail of error, user name and password, etc., the better and faster we can help you.

Our WestHost Community Forums are a great place to ask questions and converse with other clients who may have similar questions or who already have the answers.

In the case that you require help with custom programming, installation of 3rd party applications or programs, or have other special needs that fall outside the bounds of our normal support services, consider our Custom Services if needed.