01 Logging in to DirectAdmin
After you order a DirectAdmin hosting plan, your login URL and credentials are emailed to you.
Step 1Visit https://yourdomain.com:2222 in your browser.
Step 2If your domain isn't pointing to the server yet, use the server hostname from your welcome email instead.
Step 3Enter your username and password and click Log In.
Tip Bookmark the URL with port :2222 — DirectAdmin always uses this port by default.
02 Dashboard overview (Evolution Skin)
DirectAdmin's modern Evolution skin groups every tool into a left sidebar:
- Account Manager — Files, Domain Setup, FTP, Subdomains, DNS, Site Summary
- E-Mail Manager — Email Accounts, Forwarders, Catch-All, Spam Filters, Webmail
- Advanced Features — MySQL, phpMyAdmin, Cron Jobs, PHP Selector, SSL Certificates
- Extra Features — Softaculous, JetBackup, Imunify360 (if installed)
- Statistics & Logs — Bandwidth, Disk Usage, Visitor Logs, Error Logs
Note Use the search bar at the top to jump to any feature instantly.
03 Using the File Manager
Manage all files in your account without needing FTP.
Step 1Click File Manager from the sidebar.
Step 2Open /domains/yourdomain.com/public_html — your site's root.
Step 3Use Upload Files button or drag & drop files directly.
Step 4To edit, right-click → Edit. To extract a ZIP, right-click → Extract.
Warning Don't delete the .htaccess or cgi-bin folder unless you know what you're doing.
04 Creating an FTP Account
Step 1Click FTP Management from the sidebar.
Step 2Click Create FTP Account.
Step 3Enter a username, password, and choose access level (Domain, FTP, User or Custom).
Step 4Click Create. Use ftp.yourdomain.com as the host in FileZilla.
05 Creating a MySQL Database & User
Step 1Click MySQL Management from the sidebar.
Step 2Click Create New Database.
Step 3Enter the database name, username and password (or click Random for a strong password).
Step 4Click Create. The full database name will be username_dbname.
Step 5Click phpMyAdmin to manage tables, run SQL or import a .sql file.
06 Adding a Domain
Step 1Open Domain Setup from the sidebar.
Step 2Click Add New.
Step 3Enter the new domain name (e.g. example.com), set bandwidth and disk quota.
Step 4Tick Secure SSL if you want HTTPS enabled and click Create.
Step 5Update the new domain's nameservers to ServerBD's nameservers.
07 Creating an Email Account
Step 1Click E-Mail Accounts from the sidebar.
Step 2Click Create Account.
Step 3Enter the username (e.g. info), set a password and quota.
Step 4Click Create. Access mail at webmail.yourdomain.com.
Connect this email to Outlook / mobile →
08 Installing Let's Encrypt SSL on DirectAdmin
Install a free Let's Encrypt certificate in 60 seconds and enable HTTPS sitewide.
Step 1Open SSL Certificates from the sidebar.
Step 2Choose the option Free & automatic certificate from Let's Encrypt.
Step 3Tick the domain & www. subdomain, mail / webmail / pop / smtp / ftp subdomains as needed.
Step 4Set Key Size to RSA 4096 (or ECC for faster performance).
Step 5Click Save. The certificate is issued and installed automatically.
Step 6Open SSL Redirect from the sidebar and turn on Force SSL with HTTPS Redirect.
Tip Let's Encrypt certificates auto-renew every 60 days — no manual action required.
Full SSL guide →