Web Hosting Frequently Asked Questions
1. I haven't received my welcome email. What should I do?
Probably the mail server you are using has blocked the welcome email we have sent you. Please contact us with the contact form available on our Contacts section, providing email address at another mail server and we will resend the welcome email to the this email address. For example, if at the signup you have provided email address at Yahoo, you may contact us, providing your email at Gmail.
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2. How do I start/upload my site to your hosting?
To get started, you will probably want to upload your site and test it on a free subdomain. Please go to your control panel Subdomain Manager menu and create a subdomain on any of the domains you are allowed as options in the dropdown menu.
You will notice that a corresponding directory for that subdomain is automatically created for it at path: /home/www/sub.domain.com and such folder is created in the File Manager.
Please make sure you upload your web data (site) to this folder. You will then be able to address your site by typing in http://sub.domain.com (note "www." won't work for subdomains).
If you do not have an FTP client yet, we recommend you download and familiarize yourself with FileZilla. Very efficient and easy to use http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client
To establish FTP connection, please start your FTP client, type in the login details in their respective fields
FTP Hostname: All FTP Hostnames are listed in your control panel, FTP Manager menu on the bottom of the page;
FTP Username: FTP username is listed in your Control Panel, FTP Manager menu;
FTP Password: The one you have assigned to your FTP account. For the default one FTP account if you haven't changed it, the password is the same as your initial hosting account password;
If you are using a particular FTP client that also has a field input for "Remote directory", please type in: /home/www
You may find the File Manager very useful to browse over your site's files and even edit these files.
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3. I would like to close my account. How?
Please login to your control panel and find the Account Closure menu. There you should only repeat your username and password, write a short feedback and conform you want the accout to be closed.
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4. Why is my site showing "This domain still has no index.html page uploaded!" page?
This is our default index.html which is automatically added when you create a domain/subdomain into the Domain/Subdomain Manager. Upload your own index.html page to see your site's default page.
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5. What PHP functions are disabled on free accounts?
The following PHP functions are disabled on free accounts due to system/security reasons: allow_url_fopen, fsockopen, pfsockpen, getrusage, get_current_user, set_time_limit, getmyuid, getmypid, dl, leak, listen, chown, chgrp, realpath, link, exec, passthru, curl_init. For further restrictions, please refer to our Terms of Services FREE Hosting.
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6. Can I change my php.ini settings and/or switch to php 5.x?
Yes however only clients on paid accounts can change certain php.ini settings from their web hosting control panel as well as switch from php 4.x.x.x to 5.x.x.x using PHP Settings menu.
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7. I lost my username and/or password. What can be done?
If you can recall your username/Client ID, please use the lost password retrieval tool at our web site. If you lost your username/Client ID as well, you can simply contact us by sending an email from the email address used originally for the account registration and ask for your details.
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8. I uploaded my site but it doesn't show up when I type in my domain/subdomain in a browser.
Please check whether you uploaded the site to the exact location associated with the domain/subdomain.
Visit the subdomain manager and you will find the folder for the site at all domains/subdomains within your account. Next, please visit your File Manager to check if the data has been uploaded correctly and that permissions of the files are 755.
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9. My web site (written in php) has difficulty to display the symbols £, € etc. When text is called from a database, how can this be rectified?
Here are several things you need to set up in order to have these signs displayed correctly:
- Inside your control panel, phpMyAdmin should be set to the following unicode standard: 'utf-8';
- Meta tags on all pages should be: <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
- All texts should be imported in the database using unicode standard: 'utf-8' as well;
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10. What is the php memory size limit your platform supports?
11. How to enable Zend Optimizer/Ioncube support for my web hosting account?
This instruction applies only for paid hosting accounts and requires to EDIT the php.ini file.
Inside your web hosting account, PHP Settings menu add the following line at the end of the file:
# For Ioncube and php4:
zend_extension = /usr/local/ioncube/ioncube_loader_lin_4.4.so
# For Ioncube and php5:
zend_extension = /usr/local/ioncube/ioncube_loader_lin_5.2.so
# For Zend Optimizer and php4:
[Zend]
zend_extension_manager.optimizer=/usr/local/Zend_php4/lib/Optimizer-3.3.3
zend_optimizer.version=3.3.3
zend_extension=/usr/local/Zend_php4/lib/ZendExtensionManager.so
# For Zend Optimizer and php5
[Zend]
zend_extension_manager.optimizer=/usr/local/Zend_php5/lib/Optimizer-3.3.3
zend_optimizer.version=3.3.3
zend_extension=/usr/local/Zend_php5/lib/ZendExtensionManager.so
zend_optimizer.optimization_level=15
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12. How to unzip files directly on the Server?
There are two ways to extract .zip files directly on the server:
1.The first one is by using SSH
->Run the following command over SSH:
unzip theziparchive.zip
2.The second way is with PHP script.
-> Create file unzip.php in the current directory where your zip file is and add to the file the following script:
<?
`unzip theziparchive.zip`;
?>
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13. How to import MySQL Database over SSH?
1. First upload your .sql file inside your account.
2. Create SSH access using the SSH Manager, then SSH your account.
3. Using SSH go inside the folder where your .sql file is and run the following command:
mysql <DB> -h <HOST> -u <USER> -p <PASS> < file.sql
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1. What is a Domain name and do I really need one?
Domain name is the unique name of your website that differentiates it from the other sites on the Internet. The domain name is the address of your website. You can move your domain name from one host to another.
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2. How can I purchase a domain name?
You can purchase a domain name from your control panel. You should follow the steps:
1. Login to your customer's control panel;
2. Go to Upgrades;
3. Click on Domain Registration;
You will be forwarded to a form where you can choose the domain name you wish to register.
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3. I signed up for your service however I wasn't able to see my assigned subdomain/URL anywhere inside my control panel.
Upon creation of your account we have not assigned/created any subdomain. You should create one yourself i.e. yourname.domain.com from your control panel, Subdomain Manager menu. Once you create a subdomain the system will automatically create a corresponding folder inside your File Manager menu with the same name as your subdomain. Subsequently, you should upload your web site files inside this directory to have the site files set up correctly.
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4. How to use my already registered domain name with your web hosting service?
To set up the domain with us, add the domain through the Domain Manager menu, inside your hosting control panel. Once added under 'NS' column, you will see the proper DNS next to the domain name. You need to point out your domain to the specified name servers. You can do so either by asking your domain provider, or you can do it yourself if you have a domain control panel.
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5. Can someone see my personal information I provide when register a domain name?
When you register a domain name this information is recorded in the so called whois database, which is publicly available.
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6. Is there a way to hide my personal contact information when registering a domain name?
Yes, you can hide your personal contact info to reduce the chances identity theft and data mining by purchasing WHOIS Protection. If you want to enable this protection for domain name(s) registered with us, please open a trouble ticket to the support team with your inquiry.
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7. How can I change the path to my domains' content?
While the default domains' path is /home/www/yourdomain.com, you can change it for your convenience. You need to follow the steps:
1. Login to your customer's control panel;
2. Go to Website Manager;
3. Click on Subdomain Manager;
You will be presented a screen from where you can manage your subdomains. You can change a subdomain's content path by clicking on Edit Subdomain icon and type in the new content path.
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8. How can I change the custom(404) error page for my domain?
You can change the default 404 error page of your domain for your convenience only for paid accounts. You need to follow the steps:
1. Login to your customer's control panel;
2. Go to Website Manager;
3. Click on Subdomain Manager;
You will be forwarded to a page from where you can manage your subdomains. You can change a subdomain's error page by clicking on Edit Subdomains, just underneath Options and type in the page URL.
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9. How do I manage my domain's MX records?
Once you have setup your domain name with our services by assigning it our DNS servers, you can manage the MX records of your domain following these steps (only applies for paid accounts):
1. Login to your control panel.
2. Go to Website Manager.
3. Click on Domain Manager.
4. Click on Options on the right side of the domain.
5. Modify the MX record from the MX tab.
Note: Please note that you should allow 12-36 hours for any DNS changes to take effect.
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10. How do I manage my domain's A records?
Once you have setup your domain name with our services by assigning it our DNS servers you can manage the A record of your domain (only applies to paid accounts):
1. Login to your control panel.
2. Go to Website Manager.
3. Click on Domain Manager.
4. Click on Options on the right side of the domain.
5. Modify the IP address of your domain's A Record using the form.
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11. How do I manage my domain's SOA record?
Once you have setup your domain name with our services by assigning it our DNS servers you can manage the SOA records of your domain following these steps (only applies to paid accounts):
1. Login to your control panel.
2. Go to Website Manager.
3. Click on Domain Manager.
4. Click on Options on the right side of the domain.
5. Modify the IP address of your domain's SOA Record using the form.
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12. I have created a subdomain however my subdomain www.subdomain.domain.com is not working! Why?
Our system does not support "www" prefix for subdomains. You can visit your site by typing inside the browser just subdomain.domain.com or http://subdomain.domain.com.
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13. Do you have domain alias option i.e. two domains pointing to one and the same web site content? Why?
Yes, you can point two different domain names to one directory. Just go to the Subdomain Manager section in your Hosting Control Panel and edit the path of the 'www' subdomain of one of your domains.
For example you have added two domains via the Domain Manager section:
domain1.com
domain2.com
In the Subdomain Manager section you will have respectively:
www.domain1.com
www.domain2.com
Both domains are pointed to the respective folders:
/home/www/domain1.com
/home/www/domain2.com
To have your two domains loading one and the same content, please observe the following steps:
1. Upload your website at /home/www/domain1.com
2. Go to the Subdomain Manager section
3. Change the subdomain path of www.domain2.com from /home/www/domain2.com to /home/www/domain1.com
That's all. Your domains will open one and the same website.
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1. What is FTP?
FTP is the abbreviation for File Transfer Protocol. FTP client enables you to upload remotely and easily files to your hosting account.
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2. How do I upload my website?
You can upload your website using any FTP Client or the File Manager inside your hosting Control Panel.
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3. I don't have FTP client. Where should I get one from?
One of the most famous FTP clients are Cute FTP, Crystal FTP, Smart FTP, etc. You can search for one through the well-known search engines like Google, Yahoo, etc.
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4. What are my FTP settings so that I can establish FTP connection?
The FTP settings are as follows:
•FTP Host: All FTP Hosts are listed in your Control Panel, FTP Manager section on the bottom of the page;
•FTP Username: FTP username(s) are listed in your Control Panel, FTP Manager section;
•FTP Password: The one you have assigned to your FTP account, for the default one FTP account if you haven't changed it, the password is the same as your initial hosting account password;
•port: 21
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5. How to Delete, Rename, Copy or Move files or directories?
Inside your Control Panel simply mark the check box corresponding to the file or directory you would like to manage
and click the command button ( Rename, Copy or Move ). When you move files a dialog box pops up where you need to
specify the path where the file should be moved e.g. /home/www/domain.com/new/destination/folder/.
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6. How to change permissions (CHMOD) of a file or a directory?
If you upload with File Manager all files/folders are uploaded/created by default with 755 permissions.
You can change the permissions of your files/folders only via FTP client. Most well-known FTP clients with a right click on a file/folder you can find an option for changing file/folder's permissions.
All php files need 755 permissions to work properly.
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7. Can I edit a files' content through the Control Panel?
Yes, you can. Inside your Control Panel, File Manager section, next to each file there is an icon in the form of a paper sheet. Click on the icon to view and edit the files' content.
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8. How do I upload my files using the File Manager?
To upload a locally stored document, please observe the following steps:
- Browse to the specific directory inside the File Manager where you would like the file to be uploaded.
- Select the file by the 'Browse' button and click the 'Upload File(s)' button.
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9. I can't establish FTP connection, I constantly receive this response '500 Unable to service PORT commands'?
10. What are the upload limits on File Manager and FTP client for your free and paid hosting?
Free accounts: File Manager - 500 kb, FTP - 500 kb
Paid accounts: File Manager - 10 MB, FTP - no limit
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11. How can I upload my website's content and are there any restrictions?
There are two methods that you can use to upload your website's content. You can either use the built-in File Manager in the control panel or use your favourite FTP client. In order to reach the File Manager, you should login to your account and follow the steps:
1. Go to Website Manager.
2. Click on File Manager.
You will be forwarded to a complete list of your uploaded files/directories. You should scroll down and find the 'File Upload' section - there is a limit 3 uploads at a time using the form.
In case you want to simultaneously upload more files, you can use your favourite FTP client. It is vital that the client supports 'PASSV'(also referred as 'passive mode') and you use the following FTP settings:
1. Ensure that you have enabled PASSV(passive mode) from your FTP client's configuration.
2. FTP Hostname: All the hostnames that you can use are listed in your control panel's FTP Manager for your convenience. The FTP Manager is located in the Website Manager section.
3. FTP Username and Password: The FTP users configured for your hosting account are listed in the control panel's FTP Manager(Website Manager section).
While the paid hosting packages don't have any upload restictions on file size or type, the free accounts do. The following file types are restricted from uploading on Awardsapce free web hosting - .htacl, .htaclu, .avi, .mov, .mp2, .mp3, .mpeg, .ram, .asf, .quota, .vbs, .shs, .scr, .exe, .cmd, .torrent, .wmv, .wma, .rm, .zip, .rar, .tar, .gz
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12. FTP error messages: Response: 426 Transfer aborted. Operation not permitted
This error message normally occurs on free accounts. The EasyStarters hosting packages is free and has certain limitations. In this case the error message is generated due to to the size of the file - it is bigger than 500KB which exceeds the file size limit on the free account.
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1. How can I connect to my MySQL/PostgreSQL database? What settings should I use for my script/software?
The correct MySQL/PostgreSQL database settings are:
- DB Host: See your MySQL/PostgreSQL Manager section under DB Host column.
- DB Port: 3306(for MySQL) / 5432(for PostgeSQL)
- DB Name: The database name you have assigned, listed inside MySQL/PostgreSQL Manager section of your control panel.
- DB Username: The database username you have assigned, listed inside MySQL/PostgreSQL Manager section of your control panel.
- DB Password: The database password you have assigned.
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2. How can I access my database online?
Login your contorl panel, click on the phpMyAdmin/phpPgAdmin icon, then use the following credentials:
- Username: The database name you have assigned, listed inside MySQL/PostgreSQL Manager.
- Password: The database password you have assigned.
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3. I can't establish MySQL connection and get this error:
"Warning: mysql_connect(): Can't
connect to local MySQL server through socket
'/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock' (2) ?
You cannot make connection through socket, please use MySQL settings to
establish connection ( please refer to previous question ).
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4. I am trying to access mysql via SSH command line, what is the path to mysql command via SSH?
5. The SQL server is rejecting any INSERT queries. Why?
Please note that some of our hosting packages have a set limit for maximum database size. If you have reached the limit, the sql server will reject any inserts. You can easily monitor your databases usage following the steps:
1. Login to your control panel.
2. Go to Website Manager.
3. Depending on the type of database, click on MySQL Manager or PostgreSQL Manager.
You will be presented with a screen which contains a list of your current databases and a form through which you can create new databases. You can monitory the current database usage from the list and particularly the Space Quota and Used Space columns.
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1. How can I create an e-mail account?
To create a working e-mail account you need to have a domain and/or corresponding subdomain. Once you have that, go inside your Email Manager menu and enter the e-mail account name and password and click on the 'Create E-mail' button.
Please not that free accounts can only receive emails, however not send! With free accounts you can create email accounts only if you have a domain name!
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2. What will happen if I delete a mailbox?
Deleting a mailbox will delete the selected mailbox along with all e-mail aliases, e-mail filters and spam protection assigned to it.
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3. How do I check my e-mails using the Webmail?
Webmail is accessible from http://mail.yourdomain.com* and also from your hosting panel, Webmail section. Login to Webmail with your e-mail address and password.
*replace yourdomain.com with your hosted domain name
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4. What is a mailbox?
5. How can I set a quota to an e-mail account?
To assign a quota to an e-mail account, you should following the instructions below:
1. Login to your control panel.
2. Go to E-Mail Manager.
3. Click on E-Mail Accounts.
You should click on the Change Quota button underneath the Options tab. Please note that the maximum mailbox quota currently supported is 1024 MB.
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6. I can't send e-mail. All outgoing e-mails are being rejected. Why?
SMTP is disabled for the free accounts due to spam concerns.
If you have a paid account, please make sure in the account properties of the Outlook Express / MS Outlook you have checked the box 'My server requires authentication'. Please note that if you are using different e-mail client the settings might be different ( please refer to Question 9 further below ).
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7. What are my POP3/IMAP settings to configure it with email client?
The mail settings are as follows:
• Username: Your e-mail address;
• Password: Your e-mail password;
• POP3 Server: yoursubdomain.yourdomainname.com or mail.yourdomainname.com
• SMTP Server: if you have paid account use mail.yourdomainname.com;
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is disabled for all free accounts due to spam concerns.
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8. I can't send e-mail. The error I receive is 'Outlook is unable to connect to your outgoing (SMTP) e-mail server. If you continue receiving this message, contact your server administrator or Internet service provider (ISP).'
First make sure you have checked in the account properties of the Outlook Express / MS Outlook the option 'My server requires authentication'. Please note that if you are using different e-mail client the settings might be different.
If not, proceed to the following test. Open Command Prompt and type: telnet mail.yourdomain.com 25, press 'Enter'
If you do not get response '220 mail.yourdomain.com mail server' this means your PC (Firewall or Antivirus Program) blocks port 25 and thus filters your outgoing emails.
Solution: Disable the option of your/your network firewall to block port 25, contact system administrator, ISP or Antivirus Program producer for help on how to disable port 25 filtering.
Alternatively you may use port 587.
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9. I can't send e-mails. It seems that the POP3/IMAP connection is not working. Please help?
In order to check, if your email client does connect to POP3, please observe the following steps:
- Open command prompt from -> Start button -> Run -> type cmd, a black dialog box will open the so called Command Prompt
- Type in -> telnet mail.yourdomain.com 110 -> press 'Enter'
You should receive - OK status, this means POP3 is working and connection is ok to the mail server.
In order to check if your email client does connect to IMAP, do the following:
- Open command prompt from -> Start button -> Run -> type cmd, a black dialog box will open, this is the so called command prompt
- Type in -> telnet mail.yourdomain.com 143 -> press 'Enter'
You should receive - OK status, this means IMAP is working and connection is ok to the mail server.
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10. I am unable to use PHP mail() function from my paid hosting account, why?
Here is a script example you can test php mail function with:
<?
$from = "From: You <you@yourdomain.com>";
$to = "you@yourdomain.com";
$subject = "Hi! ";
$body = "TEST";
if(mail($to,$subject,$body,$from)) echo "MAIL - OK";
else echo "MAIL FAILED";
?>
This script is sending email (to you@yourdomain.com) and printing "MAIL - OK" on the page.
Please note that the 'from' header should be an existing email account inside your Email Manager of your hosting Control Panel.
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11. How to set up email forwarding?
To set up forwarding for all emails coming to any@yourdomaindomain.com to be forwarded any@anydomain.com, do the following:
- Go to your Control Panel -> E-mail Manager section -> E-mail Filters menu;
- If you want all emails sent to any@yourdomaindomain.com to be forwarded to any@anydomain.com, these are the correct settings in the E-mail Filters menu:
E-mail: any@anydomain.com (choose from the drop down menu)
Rule description: any@anydomain.com type any explanation for this rule
Filter priority: any not already taken from 1 to 500, start from 1
Set filter criteria: 'Addressed To' ,type any@anydomain.com
Action to be taken: 'Forward message to e-mail' any@anydomain.com
If you want the emails sent to any@yourdomaindomain.com, to be forwarded to any@anydomain.com, and in the same time kept in any@anydomaindomain.com as well, you should specify all emails to be forwarded to any@anydomain.com as well as any@anydomaindomain.com, space delimited.
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12. I'm having trouble setting up an email account in Thunderbird, what are the correct settings?
Delete the email account you have already set up, start again and follow these steps:
- Tools -> Account Settings
- Add Account -> New Account Setup -> Choose Email account
- Identity:
- Your Name: Firstname Lastname
- Email address: name@domain.com
- Server Information:
- Choose IMAP
- Incoming Server: mail.yourdomain.com
- User Names:
- name@yourdomain.com
- Account Name:
- name@yourdomain.com
- Finish -> OK
Thunderbird might ask you for email account password, enter it.
- Inside your Thunderbird right click on the email account -> choose Properties
- Dialog box will open, go to Server Settings -> click on 'Advanced' button
- Second dialog box will open, in IMAP server directory write: INBOX, click Ok on the second dialog box
- On the first dialog box on the left below find -> Outgoing Server (SMTP), click on and choose 'Add'
- A dialog box will open with title 'SMTP Server' enter the following settings:
Settings:
- Description: name@domain.com
- Server Name: mail.domain.com
- Port 25
Security and Authentication:
- Check box 'Use name and password' should be checked.
- Username: name@yourdomain.com
Confirm all dialog boxes with OK, close Thunderbird and reopen it again. You may be asked for
your password again, place the password and check the box to save it.
This is the whole process of setting up an email account with Thunderbird.
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13. How can I add an e-mail alias?
To add an e-mail alias, you should follow the instructions below:
1. Login to your control panel.
2. Go to
E-Mail Manager.
3. Click on
E-mail Aliases.
You will be forwarded to a page where you will find a list of your current e-mail aliases.. To add the alias, you will have to complete the form.
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14. How can I access my Webmail?
You can access your webmail from the control panel, if you follow the instructions:
1. Login to your control panel.
2. Go to
E-Mail Manager.
3. Click on
Webmail.
You wil be forwarded to a login screen from where you can manage your emails via your web browser.
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