As a website owner or content manager, accessing the page super or content admin view is crucial for managing and updating your site’s content. The admin view allows you to edit, add, and delete pages as needed. However, if you are new to web hosting, the steps to access these admin pages may not be immediately clear.
Checking Your Hosting Plan and Admin Access
The first step is to check that your hosting plan includes admin account access. Most shared hosting plans include at least one cPanel admin login for managing the backend and files. CPanel is a common control panel that provides access to admin tools and settings.
If you signed up for the account, check your welcome email from the host for admin login details. If someone else handles the technical side, you will need to request the admin username and password from them.
As best practice, the main admin login credentials should only be shared sparingly. For other editors or contributors, individual cPanel accounts can be created with limited access to only what they need. This helps maintain security.
For hosts that use Plesk instead of cPanel, a similar access procedure applies. The welcome email or service provider should be able to provide the Plesk admin URL and login.
Accessing cPanel and Finding Admin Pages
Once you have the cPanel admin URL and login credentials, visit the provided URL in your web browser. For example, the cPanel login page may be at a URL like:
http://yourdomain.com:2083/cpsess##########
Enter the admin username and password on the cPanel login screen. This grants access to the main cPanel dashboard. From here, you can navigate to the desired admin pages for content management.
For direct access to the page editor, look for a menu link labeled “File Manager.” Clicking this will open the file manager window.
On the left side, navigate to the /public_html/ folder. This contains all the hosted files for your live website. Open the folder for your site such as /public_html/blog/ to view pages.
Clicking on a .php or .html file will open the page editor. You can then make changes and updates to that page content.
Locating the Admin Page in Plesk
For Plesk hosting plans, the process is similar. Use the provided Plesk admin URL and login to access the control panel dashboard.
From the main menu, select “Websites & Domains” then click your specific site. On your site’s management page, select the “File Manager” icon.
This opens the file directory where you can navigate to the /httpdocs/ folder. Open subfolders and .php files to edit individual pages as needed.
Plesk may also have a “Pages” menu option that takes you directly to page management. Check your Plesk dashboard menus.
Using an FTP Client for Page Management
Alternatively, you can use an FTP client to access and edit pages for your site. This does not require going through the hosting control panel each time.
From cPanel, access the “FTP Accounts” menu and create a new FTP account. This provides login credentials for an FTP client.
In Plesk, navigate to “FTP Access” under the Accounts menu. Here you can find or generate new FTP login details.
Using a free FTP client like FileZilla, enter your hosting domain and the FTP credentials. This connects to your hosting account files for drag and drop management.
Navigate to the /httpdocs/ or /public_html/ folder to find your pages. Upload edited pages or drag new pages here to add content.
Accessing a WordPress Admin Dashboard
If your website runs on WordPress, there is a separate WordPress admin dashboard for content management. To access it, append /wp-admin to your domain URL.
For example: yourdomain.com/wp-admin
Enter your WordPress admin username and password on the login screen. This enters the familiar WordPress dashboard to manage pages, posts, media, themes, plugins, and other content.
If you do not have the WordPress admin login, you can often reset it from the hosting cPanel under the WordPress admin tools. The cPanel email also often contains the default wp-admin details when first installed.
Remembering Some Common Admin URLs
Here are some common admin URLs to remember for quick access:
- yourdomain.com/wp-admin – WordPress login
- yourdomain.com/admin – Common admin folder
- yourdomain.com/login – Admin login page
- yourdomain.com:2082/cpsess# – cPanel login
- yourdomain.plesk.com – Plesk login
If you cannot find or guess the admin URL, check with your hosting provider for the exact URL and admin credentials.
Setting Up Dedicated Editor Accounts
When managing a site with multiple editors and contributors, it’s best practice to set up individual limited accounts for each user. Provide editor accounts with access only to what they need to update content.
For example in cPanel, you can create new FTP accounts that only have permission to certain folders like /public_html/blog/. Or add Subdomain accounts with access to just that section.
In Plesk, create new FTP users and restrict directory access. Or set up additional WordPress admin accounts and limit their role to Editor to only edit posts and pages.
Restricting access and roles helps prevent issues with inadvertent (or intentional) changes across the whole site. It also enhances overall security.
Conclusion
Accessing your website’s admin and backend takes just a few steps once you have the login details. For cPanel hosting, navigate to the File Manager. In Plesk, find the Pages or File Manager menu. Or use FTP access with an FTP client.
WordPress sites have a separate wp-admin dashboard for content editing. Remember common admin URLs like /login, /admin, or /wp-admin to try out.
Set up individual limited accounts for other editors to enhance security on your site. Proper admin access is crucial for easily managing web content and making updates quickly.