Quick answer: In cPanel, use the MySQL Database Wizard to create a database, add a user with a strong password, and grant ALL PRIVILEGES. cPanel prefixes both names with your account. Point your app at host localhost with the full database and user names.
Most applications on Linux hosting - including WordPress and WooCommerce - need a MySQL database and a dedicated user. In cPanel this takes about a minute using the MySQL Database Wizard.
Log in to cPanel and, under the Databases section, open MySQL Database Wizard. It walks you through the three steps below in order.
Enter a short database name and click Next Step. cPanel automatically prefixes it with your account name, so a database named store becomes cpaneluser_store. Note the full name - your application needs it.
Enter a username and a strong password (use the generator), then click Create User. The username is prefixed the same way, for example cpaneluser_dbadmin.
On the privileges screen, tick ALL PRIVILEGES and click Next Step. The user can now read and write that database.
Point your application at these values:
Host: localhost Database: cpaneluser_store Username: cpaneluser_dbadmin Password: the password you set
Use localhost when the site runs on the same server, which is the normal case. Only use the server IP as the host if the application connects from a different machine, which also requires enabling remote MySQL access.
What host should my app use?
localhost when the site runs on the same server, which is the normal case.
Why is my database named cpaneluser_something?
cPanel automatically prefixes database and user names with your account name.
These steps apply to any cPanel account on a SoftSys managed Linux VPS, where cPanel is available as a control panel and our team can pre-install it and tune MySQL for your workload.
