Server and WHM setup
Initial WHM configuration, hostname and rDNS, nameservers, packages and feature lists, and Tweak Settings that are usually left at unhelpful defaults.
Servers, Hosting & DevOps
cPanel & WHM management
cPanel is what most shared and reseller hosting actually runs on, and it hides a great deal of complexity behind a friendly interface. That is useful right up until something breaks, at which point the useful skill is knowing which underlying service the interface was talking to.
I work at both levels: the cPanel and WHM side for day-to-day account, email and backup work, and the shell underneath when a problem needs the actual logs.
How I work on it
Process
Adjusted to the job, but this is the shape it usually takes.
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Confirm the layer
Half of cPanel problems are DNS problems and a quarter are permissions. Identifying which layer is at fault comes before changing anything.
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Change with a rollback
Configuration changes on a live hosting server affect every account on it. Backups and a documented previous state come first.
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Verify from outside
Mail and SSL are checked from an external tool, not from the server itself, because the server will happily lie to you about both.
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Document account conventions
Naming, package structure and limits written down so the next admin does not invent a second scheme.
Questions
Things people ask
Almost always one of four things: no SPF record, no DKIM signing, missing or mismatched reverse DNS on the server IP, or the IP being on a blocklist because of an earlier compromise. All four are checkable in about ten minutes.
The usual cause is that the domain's DNS still points somewhere else, so the validation request never reaches this server. Second most common is a redirect or a .htaccess rule blocking the /.well-known/ path.
Yes. WHM's transfer tool handles most of it, and I cover the parts it does not: DNS cutover timing, SSL reissue, cron jobs and anything living outside the account home directory.