How to Set Up WHM and cPanel Reseller Hosting on SNBD HOST (Step-by-Step)

If you've just signed up for a reseller hosting plan on SNBD HOST, your WHM credentials are sitting in your inbox and you're probably wondering: what do I do now? This guide walks you through the complete WHM setup process — from your first login to creating your first client hosting account and configuring white-label branding.

This is a practical, step-by-step tutorial. No unnecessary theory — just exactly what to do and in what order.

What You'll Need Before Starting

• Your WHM login credentials (username and password) from SNBD HOST's welcome email
• Your WHM server hostname or IP address (also in the welcome email)
• Your own domain name (for setting up your nameservers)
• Access to your domain registrar (the company where you registered your domain)

Step 1: Log Into WHM

Open a browser and go to:

https://your-server-ip:2087

Or if SNBD HOST has configured your domain:

https://whm.yourdomain.com

Enter your WHM username and password. You'll land on the WHM home dashboard — a long list of icons and categories. It looks overwhelming at first. Don't worry; you'll only use about 10% of these features regularly.

If you get an SSL warning in your browser about the certificate, that's normal for initial access via the IP. Proceed past the warning. Once you set up your domain and SSL properly (covered below), this warning goes away.

Step 2: Change Your WHM Password

First thing: change your WHM password to something strong that only you know. Go to the top-right corner, click your username, and select Change Password. Use a minimum 16-character password with mixed case, numbers, and symbols. Store it in Bitwarden or another password manager immediately.

Step 3: Configure Your Nameservers

This is the most important configuration step. Your nameservers are what clients point their domains to. You want them to look like your own brand, not the server's default nameservers.

In WHM, search for Basic cPanel & WHM Setup in the search bar. You'll see fields for:

• Nameserver 1: ns1.yourdomain.com
• Nameserver 2: ns2.yourdomain.com

Enter your desired nameserver hostnames. For example, if your agency domain is bdwebhost.com, enter ns1.bdwebhost.com and ns2.bdwebhost.com.

Next, go to your domain registrar and create "glue records" (also called nameserver host records) that point ns1.yourdomain.com and ns2.yourdomain.com to your server's IP address. Your domain registrar's help docs will show you how to do this — it's usually under "Advanced DNS" or "Nameserver Registration."

If you're unsure about this step, open a support ticket with SNBD HOST. Their team will help you configure the nameservers correctly. It's one of the first things they help new resellers with.

Step 4: Set Up White-Label Branding in cPanel

This makes cPanel show your brand instead of SNBD HOST's. In WHM, search for Branding and click it.

You'll see fields for:

• Company Name: Enter your agency or company name
• Logo: Upload your logo (PNG format, transparent background, ideally 200×60 pixels)
• Support URL: Your website or support page URL
• Contact Email: Your support email address
• Contact Phone: Optional, but useful for clients

Click Save. Changes apply immediately. When any client logs into their cPanel account, they'll see your brand — not a generic hosting interface.

Step 5: Create Hosting Packages

Before you create any client accounts, define your hosting packages. These are templates that set resource limits (disk space, bandwidth, email accounts, databases) for different types of clients.

In WHM, go to Packages → Add a Package.

Create at least two packages to start:

Starter Package

• Disk Space: 5120 MB (5 GB)
• Bandwidth: 51200 MB (50 GB)
• Email Accounts: 5
• Databases: 5
• FTP Accounts: 3
• Subdomains: 5

Business Package

• Disk Space: 20480 MB (20 GB)
• Bandwidth: 204800 MB (200 GB)
• Email Accounts: 25
• Databases: Unlimited
• FTP Accounts: Unlimited
• Subdomains: Unlimited

You can create as many packages as you need. The key is to have clear tiers so you can quickly assign the right package when creating a new client account.

Step 6: Enable AutoSSL

AutoSSL automatically issues and renews free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates for every domain on your server. Enable it once and never worry about SSL for any client again.

In WHM, go to SSL/TLS → Manage AutoSSL. Select Let's Encrypt as the provider (if not already selected) and click Save.

Then click Run AutoSSL For All Users to issue SSL for any accounts that don't have it yet. New accounts created in the future will get SSL automatically within a few minutes of the domain resolving.

Step 7: Create Your First Client Account

Now you're ready to create hosting accounts for clients. In WHM, go to Account Functions → Create a New Account.

Fill in the fields:

• Domain: The client's domain name (e.g., clientbusiness.com)
• Username: Auto-generated from domain, or set manually. Keep it to 8 characters max, lowercase letters and numbers only. (e.g., clientbu)
• Password: Generate a strong password — click the password generator. Copy it to Bitwarden immediately.
• Email: The client's email address (or your email if you're managing the account)
• Package: Select the appropriate package you created in Step 5

Click Create. Within a few seconds, the account is active. The client can now log into cPanel at clientbusiness.com/cpanel or your-server-ip/cpanel with the username and password you created.

Step 8: Install WordPress for the Client

Log into the client's cPanel (you can do this from WHM → List Accounts → click the cPanel icon next to the account). In cPanel, find Softaculous Apps Installer → WordPress → Install.

Fill in the WordPress installation details:

• Choose Protocol: https://
• Choose Domain: select the client's domain
• In Directory: leave blank (to install in the root)
• Site Name and Description: enter the client's business name
• Admin Username: do NOT use "admin" — use something unique
• Admin Password: generate a strong password, save in Bitwarden
• Admin Email: the client's email

Click Install. WordPress is ready in 30-60 seconds.

Step 9: Configure Backups

In WHM, go to Backup → Configure Backup. Enable backups and configure:

• Backup Daily: Yes, retain 7 days
• Backup Weekly: Yes, retain 4 weeks
• Backup Destination: Default (local storage on the server)

SNBD HOST's reseller plans include server-level backup configurations, but verifying this in WHM ensures you know exactly what's backed up and when.

Step 10: Send Client Access Details

Once everything is set up, send your client their website access details via a secure channel. A WhatsApp message works for most Bangladeshi clients, but consider using a simple Google Doc with their credentials stored securely.

Include:

• WordPress admin URL, username, and password
• Hosting cPanel URL, username, and password (only if they need direct access)
• Their domain nameserver information (if they registered the domain separately and need to point it to your nameservers)
• Your contact information for any hosting issues

Managing Accounts Going Forward

Day-to-day WHM management is simple once set up. The most common tasks:

• List Accounts → See all accounts, disk usage, and status
• Modify an Account → Change a client's package (e.g., upgrade from Starter to Business)
• Suspend an Account → For non-paying clients; shows a suspension page to visitors
• Terminate an Account → Permanently delete an account (use with caution)
• WHM → cPanel → Log into any client's cPanel without their password

Setting Up Email Hosting for Clients

One of the most common requests from clients in Bangladesh is professional email — someone@theircompany.com instead of a Gmail address. cPanel makes this simple.

In the client's cPanel, go to Email Accounts → Create. Enter the email address (e.g., info@clientbusiness.com), set a password, and click Create. The email account is ready instantly.

Configure the client's email client (Outlook, Gmail, or phone mail app) with these settings:

• Incoming server (IMAP): mail.clientbusiness.com, port 993, SSL
• Outgoing server (SMTP): mail.clientbusiness.com, port 465, SSL
• Username: full email address (info@clientbusiness.com)
• Password: the email password you set

For clients who want to access email from Gmail (which many Bangladeshi business people prefer), set up email forwarding in cPanel and then configure Gmail's "Send mail as" feature using your cPanel SMTP credentials. This lets them receive and send from their professional address entirely within Gmail.

Troubleshooting Common WHM Issues

Even with a smooth setup, you'll encounter some recurring issues. Here are the most common ones and how to resolve them:

SSL Not Issuing Automatically

If AutoSSL fails for a domain, it's usually because the domain's DNS hasn't fully propagated to point to your server yet. Check DNS propagation at whatsmydns.net. Once the domain resolves to your server IP, run AutoSSL again from WHM → SSL/TLS Status → Run AutoSSL.

Client Can't Log Into cPanel

The most common cause is the wrong URL. Tell clients to access cPanel at: https://yourdomain.com/cpanel (not the server IP or a different URL). If their password isn't working, reset it from WHM → List Accounts → click the cPanel icon → Change Password.

Disk Space Running Out

If an account's disk usage is approaching its limit, you have two options: upgrade the account to a higher package in WHM, or ask the client to clean up old email or media files. Emails are often the culprit — clients with years of email stored on the server can accumulate gigabytes without realizing it.

Email Delivery Issues

If clients report that emails are going to spam, check that your server's reverse DNS (PTR record) is correctly configured. Contact SNBD HOST support for help with this — it's a server-level setting. Also ensure SPF and DKIM records are enabled in cPanel's Email Deliverability section for the domain.

Next Steps: Billing Your Hosting Clients

Once you have multiple hosting clients on your reseller account, managing renewals manually (tracking in a spreadsheet and chasing bKash payments) becomes time-consuming. Consider setting up WHMCS — the industry-standard hosting billing platform that integrates directly with cPanel/WHM.

WHMCS automates:

• Invoice generation and sending
• Payment reminders (email and SMS)
• Automatic account provisioning when a client pays
• Automatic suspension when invoices are overdue
• Client self-service portal for their own account details

WHMCS has a license fee (starts at around $15/month), but for resellers with more than 20 clients, the time it saves easily justifies the cost.

That's the complete WHM setup. From this point, you can create unlimited client hosting accounts under your brand using SNBD HOST's BDIX reseller hosting infrastructure. Each new client account takes about 5 minutes to create and configure.