{"id":36072,"date":"2017-12-12T13:00:40","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T19:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.cpanel.com\/?p=36072"},"modified":"2017-12-12T13:00:40","modified_gmt":"2017-12-12T19:00:40","slug":"cpanel-branding-basics-a-guide-for-reseller-hosts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devel.www.cpanel.net\/blog\/tips-and-tricks\/cpanel-branding-basics-a-guide-for-reseller-hosts\/","title":{"rendered":"cPanel Branding Basics: A Guide for Reseller Hosts"},"content":{"rendered":"
cPanel & WHM is a tool that has become synonymous with web hosting. However, while hosting providers around the world use this software to offer their customers the freedom to manage their websites, email accounts, \u00a0databases, and more, they have also been given very few options when it came to customizing, personalizing, and branding the dashboard they offer their clients. This has changed in our recent updates to cPanel & WHM. Now, with additions like Paper Lantern to our software suite, web hosts can alter the color, feel, and overall experience of the cPanel dashboard to provide their customers with a personally branded and truly unique cPanel experience. So grab a coffee, let’s rebrand, and design cPanel dashboard as if it was your own product.
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For this process, cPanel Reseller accounts<\/a><\/strong> will be the starting point. Any information related to Root accounts can be found in cPanel Style Documentation<\/a>. Here are a few assumptions of what you\u2019ll need to have:<\/p>\n Like any project, you’ll need to come up with a game plan. Start by figuring out the areas you wish to customize. Customization can range from colors and layout, to simple behavior interactions. You’re only limited by your imagination!<\/p>\n Once you have an idea of the changes you\u2019d like to make, take the time to draw it out. This will help you achieve your vision without losing sight of your objectives. Think of it as your goal post.<\/p>\n To increase brand awareness, it’s beneficial to provide your customers with a way to identify and\u00a0associate your brand with the cPanel dashboard. Here is the \u00a0first course of action necessary to change the cPanel logo to your own custom logo.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n When you’re finished, switch and log into the cPanel dashboard [ex: http:\/\/yourdomain.com\/cpanel<\/em>] and you’ll notice your logo and favicon has been updated.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The bulk of customization is done through CSS<\/abbr>. The diagram below shows the common elements, in IDs and Classes, that\u00a0allow you to specify and modify custom style.<\/p>\n Pro Tip:<\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n By now your directory path should look similar to the image you see above.<\/p>\n I encourage you to keep tinkering with\u00a0your CSS style until you\u2019re satisfied. For further information on styling elements, you can read through cPanel documentation<\/a> on setting up your stylesheet or writing your custom CSS.<\/p>\n Sometimes styling the layout isn’t enough. There might\u00a0be occasions\u00a0when additional pieces of information should be included in the dashboard. As of now, there are total of four available areas where you can include your own content. The first two areas are GLOBAL header and footer positions which show up on every page. The GLOBAL positions filename are \u201dglobal_header.html.tt<\/em>\u201d and \u201cglobal_footer.html.tt<\/em>\u201d. Then the other two are PAGE TEMPLATES header and footer positions which only show up in the named app. The PAGE TEMPLATES positions filename are “_page_header.html.tt<\/em>” and \u201c_page_header.html.tt<\/em>\u201d. With these content additions, you have the options to include plain text, HTML, CSS, and JS to extend your UI enhancement further.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n For this example, we’ll add content on both global and page templates using FTP account.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n To view the filenames on different page templates, visit documentation at Customize Content in Paper Lantern<\/a><\/li>\n Go to your cPanel dashboard and refresh your browser. You’ll notice all pages have global content and FTP accounts page only include specific content for that page. The default cPanel icons are there to help users quickly identify the tools they need, however, they may not complement your custom design or style. Before moving forward, ensure that your custom icons are no bigger than 48x48px, alpha-transparent (no background color), and that they are\u00a0saved in png format.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n (replace ssh login credential with your username\/server name and My_Custom_Theme to your own theme name)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Go to your cPanel dashboard and force-refresh your browser. You should see your new FTP accounts icon. You can continue to design your own icons and upload it all at once. When done, simply follow the steps above. It will generate the images and override the existing Paper Lantern icons.<\/p>\n The last step is to set your default style to your own custom design. Simply go to <\/a><\/p>\n There you have it folks! You now have the skills and knowledge to rebrand the cPanel dashboard your way. The possibilities\u00a0are endless. Take\u00a0control of your brand. There’s nothing \u00a0but pure joy when it comes to creating your own identity and setting yourself apart from the others.<\/p>\n Share\u00a0your design in the comment section or in our\u00a0forums<\/a>. Below\u00a0are a few examples of what you could do with your new branding skills and cPanel.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/small><\/p>\n When creating your own design style, it inherits all of the functionality and styling of Paper Lantern. This means Paper Lantern is your master template. Because Paper Lantern is constantly evolving and the code is frequently updated, your custom designs could potentially be affected. Visit our release site<\/a> or subscribe to our mailing list<\/a> so you can be notified of any changes that may affect your masterpiece.<\/em><\/p>\n This post was originally posted on November 17, 2015, and has been updated for accuracy. Some images of the cPanel interface may have been updated. cPanel & WHM is a tool that has become synonymous with web hosting. However, while hosting providers around the world use this software to offer their customers the freedom to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":64441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[1077,1033,89,41,1909,521,725],"class_list":["post-36072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips-and-tricks","tag-11-50","tag-brand","tag-cpanel","tag-paper-lantern","tag-reseller","tag-uiux","tag-user-experience"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
Game Plan<\/h3>\n
Brand customization<\/h1>\n
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cPanel > Customization<\/code><\/li>\n
Theme<\/h3>\n
\nYou can use your mouse and right click on any area in your Chrome or FireFox\u00a0browser and select inspect element<\/a> within cPanel dashboard to identify existing IDs and Classes with the style code. Inspecting elements and the steps below will show how each design can be overridden to your own custom style<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n
Home > Files<\/code> and select File Manager<\/em><\/li>\n
var\/cpanel\/reseller\/styled<\/code> if it doesn’t exist<\/li>\n
.navbar-preferences {background-color: blue;}<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
Content<\/h3>\n
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var\/cpanel\/reseller\/<\/code><\/li>\n
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global_header.html.tt<\/code><\/li>\n
global_footer.html.tt<\/code><\/li>\n
ftp_page_header.html.tt<\/code><\/li>\n
ftp_page_footer.html.tt<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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<div style=\"background-color: #82b74c; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; padding: 15px; text-align: center;\">Global Header Area<\/div> <\/code><\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
<div style=\"background-color: #82b74c; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; padding: 15px; text-align: center;\">Global Footer Area<\/div> <\/code><\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
<div style=\"background-color: #82b74c; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; padding: 15px; text-align: center;\">FTP Header Area<\/div> <\/code><\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
<div style=\"background-color: #82b74c; color: #fff; font-weight: bold; padding: 15px; text-align: center;\">FTP Footer Area<\/div> <\/code><\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\nIcon<\/h3>\n
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var\/cpanel\/reseller\/styled\/My_Custom_Theme\/<\/code> and create a folder name icons<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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ssh reseller@server.example.net<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
password: <enter your password><\/code><\/pre>\n<\/li>\n
\/usr\/local\/cpanel\/bin\/sprite_generator --theme paper_lantern --style My_Custom_Theme<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\nSet your style to default<\/h3>\n
User Preferences > Change Style > Set as Default<\/code> on one of your custom designs. Once enabled, new and existing hosting account will automatically see your the new custom branded dashboard.<\/p>\n
Build it and be known<\/h1>\n
Paper Lantern Caveat<\/em><\/h3>\n
\nResources<\/h2>\n
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