Glossary of common hosting terms
Glossary of common hosting terms
A friendly translation guide. If you've seen a word in the panel and weren't sure what it meant, look here.
A record A DNS record that points a domain (or subdomain) to a server's IP address. The most basic and common DNS record.
Account In MaxPanel, a hosting account — the unit a customer logs in as, with their own files, mailboxes, databases, and resource limits.
Addon domain A second (or third, or fourth) website hosted on the same hosting account. Acts as a separate site but shares the account's resources.
Admin (account) The top-level user role in the panel. Can do everything: create resellers, customers, packages, change system settings.
Backup A copy of your data taken at a specific moment, used to recover when something goes wrong.
Bandwidth The amount of data transferred to and from your site. Different from disk space (which is what's stored).
CNAME
A DNS record that points one name at another name (rather than at an IP). Used for things like pointing www.yourdomain.com to yourdomain.com.
Cron / Cron job A scheduled task that runs at set times. WordPress sites use it for routine background work.
Database A structured store of data — typically used by apps like WordPress to store posts, users, settings.
Disk space How much storage your account uses (files + email + databases + everything).
DKIM A DNS record that adds a cryptographic signature to your outgoing email, helping it land in inboxes (not spam).
DNS
The internet's address book. Translates names like yourdomain.com to server IP addresses.
Domain
A website address, like yourbusiness.com.
File Manager A web-based tool for browsing, uploading, editing, and deleting files in your hosting account.
Forwarder (email) A redirect that sends mail from one address to another, without storing it.
FTP / SFTP Standard ways for your computer to send files to and from your server. SFTP is the secure version — always use SFTP, not plain FTP.
Hosting The service of running your website on a server so visitors on the internet can see it.
HTTPS Encrypted, secure web traffic. The "lock icon" in your browser. Always preferred over plain HTTP.
IMAP A way email apps (like Outlook, Apple Mail) talk to your mail server. Keeps mail on the server so it appears the same on every device.
IP address
A number that identifies a server on the internet (e.g. 203.0.113.10).
Let's Encrypt A free, automated provider of SSL/TLS certificates. The panel uses it to give your site HTTPS.
Mailbox
An email address that stores incoming mail (like you@yourdomain.com).
Mail Node An optional second server, separate from your main panel, that handles only email.
MX record A DNS record that tells the world where to send email for your domain.
Nameserver A DNS server. When you "change nameservers", you're handing DNS management to a different provider.
Package In MaxPanel, a set of resource limits (disk, mailboxes, databases, etc.) that you assign to a hosting account.
Panel Short for control panel — the web interface where you manage your hosting.
Parked domain A second name for an existing site. Visitors see the same site at multiple addresses.
phpMyAdmin A web-based tool for working with databases directly.
PHP The programming language WordPress (and many other apps) is written in.
POP3 An older way email apps fetch mail. Downloads it and removes it from the server. Usually you want IMAP instead.
Reseller A user role that can create and manage their own hosting accounts. Sits between admin and customer.
Restore Recovering data from a backup.
Root
The top-level user on a Linux server — has access to everything. The username is literally root.
SFTP See FTP / SFTP.
SMTP The standard for sending email.
SPF A DNS record that lists which servers are authorized to send email for your domain.
SSH A secure way to connect to your server from a terminal.
SSH key A pair of files used for password-less, secure SSH access. More secure than a password.
SSL / TLS The encryption that powers HTTPS. (TLS is the modern name; people often still say "SSL".)
Staging A private copy of a live site, used to safely test changes before pushing them live.
Subdomain
An extension of your main domain — like blog.yourdomain.com.
Suspend Temporarily disable an account without deleting any data. Often used for non-payment.
TXT record A DNS record holding free-form text. Used for things like SPF, domain verification, and other validation needs.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) A security feature that requires a second code (usually from your phone) in addition to your password.
VPS Virtual Private Server — a virtual machine you rent from a hosting provider, where MaxPanel runs.
Webmail A way to read and send email through a browser, without setting up an email app.
WordPress A popular, free website-building tool. The panel can install it in one click.
WP-CLI WordPress Command-Line Interface — a tool to manage WordPress from a terminal. Useful for advanced tasks.