What Tools Will You Need?

These are a few things which you will need before you start working with cPanel:

• Private Internet Access: You need to be able to freely access the Internet from a private location. For security reasons you should never try to access your cPanel account or work on your website from a public location like a library, school, or job.
• A modern web browser: cPanel works well in any recent web browser like Internet Explorer 5.5+, Netscape 7+, Mozilla, Firefox, Safari, or Opera. If you are using an older web browser you should upgrade if you want to use cPanel.

In addition, you may also want to make sure you have access to some of the following optional tools:

• An HTML editor: Such programs make it easier to create or edit files that are part of your website.
• An FTP client: This sort of program is used to upload, download, and manage files on your website. A client that supports SFTP (Secure FTP) is a bonus.
• More than one modern web browser: This can be handy to test your new website to make sure it looks the same on a wide variety of browsers.
• An e-mail program: If your hosting account includes e-mail, you will most likely find managing e-mail easier if you use a dedicated e-mail program rather than web?based e-mail programs.

You can find a list of commonly used tools and resources in Chapter 12.