If your professor has sent you to this page to create a cPanel space for your class work, here's a quick start guide for how to get going!

Important: Don't use Safari to create your cPanel site.

There's a known bug with cPanel and Safari that can lead to site creation and login problems. Tech Services has reported the issue to cPanel; in the meantime, another browser such as Chrome or Firefox will work better.

Important: Use the Campus Login button, not the External User / Google Login button

Even if you have a personal Google account, you must use your campus identity to create and manage your cPanel account. (The External User Login button with a Google connector is to allow collaboration with people who don't have campus identities, but a site must always be owned by a person with a campus identity.)

Why you'll likely want to use a custom account rather than your NetID account for your class website

Everyone can create a cPanel account and domain that uses your own NetID (for example, mynetid.web.illinois.edu). You can also create many custom accounts with names between 9 and 16 characters, such as dept101mynetid.web.illinois.edu.

Since more than one class might have website-related assignments, and since instructors and TAs might want to share access to those spaces for review and grading purposes, it can be helpful to create a separate custom account for each class. If you follow a name pattern like adding your class's department code and number before your NetID, then it's easy for both you and your instructor to know which account is used for which class.

The steps

1. In a browser other than Safari, go to web.illinois.edu and click the "Create a Web Hosting Account" link.
   
   
2. Follow the login steps until you're prompted to choose a domain prefix (as shown in Creating a new account).
   
   
3. If your instructor has given you specific instructions on which domain prefix to use, follow those instructions.
   • If your instructor hasn't given you specific instructions, we recommend using your class's code and your NetID to form a pattern like dept101mynetid.web.illinois.edu.
     
     
4. If your instructor has given you a support code to use, use your instructor's support code.
   • If your instructor hasn't given you a support code, leave that entry blank.

5. The Data Use window will appear, explaining that we need to use your campus identity to give you the permissions you need in this newly created site. Check the box and click Accept to continue.

6. Don't close your browser window yet. Wait for the blue status bar to change from "Creating account" to "Access Added. LOG IN to your accounts." (Click the words LOG IN.)

7. You may receive a notice saying your session cookie is invalid. Don't worry; simply click the Campus Login button again.

8. You'll be taken to a landing page where you can choose which of your accounts you'd like to log in to. (You can have more than one account; an account named with your own NetID is available to you, and you can make additional accounts with names between 9 and 16 characters long.)

9. Click on the circular icon image for the account you'd like to work with. 

For more information about how to use cPanel, see https://go.illinois.edu/cPanelDocs.