Developer Docs

Documentation

Everything you need to build, deploy, and manage your hosting environment

Quick Start Guide

Welcome to ETX Hosting. This guide will get your website live in under 10 minutes. Follow the steps below to set up your hosting account, connect your domain, and publish your first site.

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If you haven't signed up yet, choose a plan on our Pricing page and complete registration before continuing.

Step 1: Log in to your account

After registration, you'll receive a welcome email with your control panel URL. Click the link to access your dashboard and set your password.

Step 2: Point your domain

Update your domain's nameservers at your domain registrar to point to ETX Hosting's nameservers:

ns1.etxhost.net ns2.etxhost.net

DNS propagation typically takes 1–24 hours.

Step 3: Upload your files

Connect to your hosting account via FTP and upload your website files to the public_html directory.

Host: ftp.yourdomain.com Username: your-cpanel-username Password: your-cpanel-password Port: 21

Account Setup

After logging into your control panel, we recommend completing these steps before going live:

  • Change your default password to something strong and unique
  • Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for added security
  • Configure your contact email and billing details
  • Review your plan limits (disk, bandwidth, databases)

Domain Configuration

You can manage all domain and DNS settings from the Domains section of your control panel. Common tasks include:

  • Adding addon domains and subdomains
  • Creating DNS zone records (A, CNAME, MX, TXT)
  • Setting up domain redirects
  • Configuring parked domains
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DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate worldwide. Plan domain changes in advance to minimise downtime.

FTP Access

ETX Hosting supports both FTP and SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol). We strongly recommend SFTP for secure file transfers.

Connecting with SFTP

Host: yourdomain.com Username: your-cpanel-username Password: your-cpanel-password Port: 22 (SFTP)

Recommended FTP Clients

  • FileZilla — Free, cross-platform, beginner friendly
  • Cyberduck — Mac and Windows, supports cloud storage
  • WinSCP — Windows only, powerful SFTP client

Control Panel

Your hosting account includes a full-featured control panel with the following key sections:

  • Files — File Manager, FTP Accounts, Disk Usage
  • Databases — MySQL, phpMyAdmin
  • Email — Accounts, Forwarders, Autoresponders, Spam Filters
  • Domains — Addon Domains, Subdomains, Redirects, DNS Zone
  • Security — SSL/TLS, Hotlink Protection, IP Blocker
  • Software — PHP Selector, Python, Node.js, WordPress Installer

Databases

All plans include MySQL databases managed via phpMyAdmin. To create a new database:

  1. Go to Databases → MySQL Databases in your control panel
  2. Enter a name and click Create Database
  3. Create a database user and assign it to the database with appropriate privileges
  4. Note the database name, username, password, and host (localhost)

Email Setup

Create professional email accounts using your domain (e.g. [email protected]) from the Email section of your control panel.

IMAP Settings (Incoming)

Server: mail.yourdomain.com Port: 993 (SSL) or 143 (STARTTLS) Security: SSL/TLS

SMTP Settings (Outgoing)

Server: mail.yourdomain.com Port: 465 (SSL) or 587 (STARTTLS) Security: SSL/TLS

SSL Certificates

Free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates are available on all plans and renew automatically. To install:

  1. Navigate to Security → SSL/TLS Status
  2. Click Run AutoSSL to issue certificates for all domains
  3. Force HTTPS by adding a redirect in your .htaccess file
RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off RewriteRule ^ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

SSH Access

SSH access is available on Silver and Gold plans. Connect using any SSH client:

ssh [email protected] -p 22

Cron Jobs

Schedule automated tasks via Advanced → Cron Jobs in your control panel. Example — run a PHP script every hour:

0 * * * * php /home/username/public_html/cron.php

.htaccess Configuration

The .htaccess file in your public_html directory controls server behaviour. Common uses include redirects, password protection, and custom error pages.

API Reference

The ETX Hosting API allows you to manage your hosting account programmatically. Authentication uses API tokens generated in your account dashboard.

curl -X GET https://api.etxhost.net/v1/domains \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json"
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Full API documentation with all endpoints, request/response schemas, and code examples in multiple languages is available in your account dashboard under Developer → API.