Getting Started with Shared Web Hosting

Your Shared Web Hosting account is ready, but visitors won’t see your website until your domain points to Blue Arctic. Work through these steps in order to get your website and email working.

Step 1: Find your login details

Search your inbox, and your spam folder, for the login details we sent when your hosting account was set up. If you don’t have them, open a support ticket and ask us to send your hosting account details again.

Step 2: Sign in to the Client Portal

The Client Portal is where you pay invoices, see your services and open support tickets. It has its own login, separate from cPanel.

1. Go to my.bluearctic.com.
2. In Email Address and Password, type the email address and password you used when you ordered. If you normally sign in with Google, use that button instead.
3. Click Login.
4. Check that your hosting service is listed. If you don’t see it, open a support ticket.

For more help, see how to sign in to the Client Portal.

Step 3: Log in to cPanel

cPanel is the control panel for your website, email and files.

1. Open your cPanel address in a web browser. It’s usually https://yourdomain.com:2083, with your own domain in place of yourdomain.com. If that page doesn’t open, or your domain doesn’t point to us yet, open a support ticket and we’ll tell you the right address.
2. If you see a short One moment, please… page, wait a few seconds. It’s a security check, and the login page opens next.
3. Enter your cPanel username and password, then click Log in.

For more help, see how to log in to cPanel.

Step 4: Create your email addresses

1. In cPanel, click Email in the menu on the left. If you can’t see it, use the search box at the top.
2. Click New email account.
3. Fill in the form, then click Create Account.
4. Repeat for each mailbox you need, such as you@yourdomain.com.

The full steps are in how to create an email account. New mailboxes start receiving mail from other people only after your domain points to Blue Arctic.

Step 5: Move your site, or point your domain

If you already have a website somewhere else

1. Ask us to move it. Migration is free on Shared Web Hosting, most sites move within 24 hours, and your current site stays online during the move. See how to request a free website migration.
2. Tell us at the start where your email is today.
3. Don’t change your domain’s settings unless our engineers ask you to.

If you’re starting fresh

1. Open a support ticket and ask which nameservers to use for your account. Nameservers are the setting that tells the internet where your domain lives.
2. Sign in to your domain registrar, the company where you bought your domain. If you bought it from Blue Arctic, ask us in the same ticket to change the nameservers for you.
3. Find the nameserver setting for your domain.
4. Replace the current nameservers with the ones we gave you.
5. Save the change.

The change often works within a few hours. It usually finishes within 48 hours, and sometimes takes up to 72. The full steps, including the DNS records to copy first, are in how to update domain nameservers.

Step 6: Let SSL switch on

Your plan includes a free SSL certificate that renews itself, so your site loads with https://. You don’t need to buy or install anything; it’s issued after your domain points to Blue Arctic.

How to tell it worked

• https://yourdomain.com opens your site with a padlock in the address bar and no warning.
• You can sign in to cPanel.
• If your email is with us, a test message sent from another email account arrives in your new mailbox. Check it in Webmail (see how to use Webmail).

Troubleshooting

• The cPanel login page won’t load: some office and public Wi-Fi networks block port 2083, the numbered entrance cPanel uses. Try another network, such as your phone’s mobile data. If it still won’t load, open a support ticket.
• Your site still shows the old host: the domain change hasn’t reached your network yet. Wait a few hours and check again. See how long DNS changes take.
• The browser says “Not secure” a day after you pointed your domain: see how to fix a Not secure warning, or open a support ticket.

Still need help?

Open a support ticket from the Client Portal at my.bluearctic.com (see how to open a support ticket). Include your domain, which step you’re on, the exact error text, a screenshot and what you already tried. Never put a password in a ticket.