{"id":6213,"date":"2026-08-28T11:44:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T08:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/?p=6213"},"modified":"2026-08-28T11:44:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T08:44:31","slug":"branded-client-hosting-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/kb\/branded-client-hosting-agencies\/","title":{"rendered":"What Agencies Get Wrong About Client Hosting (and the 10-Minute Fix)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Most agencies host client sites on a panel that shows the hosting vendor’s name, so clients keep asking, “What is this thing I’m logging into?<\/em>” SPanel, ScalaHosting’s control panel, fixes this in about ten minutes: set your agency name, upload your logo, flip the branding toggle, and every client logs in at their own domain under your brand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

White-labeling options are included for free on every ScalaHosting managed VPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mistake hiding in plain sight<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Picture a 12-client design agency in Manchester. The team builds WordPress sites, manages the hosting, and handles every ticket. Then a client logs into the hosting panel to add an email address and sees a product name that isn’t the agency’s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The email arrives: “What’s SPanel? Is that who actually hosts my site?” Now someone is explaining a control panel instead of designing, and the client wonders whether they could skip the middleman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the mistake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not the hosting, not the quality of work. It is letting a third party’s name sit on the one screen the client touches most. Agencies spend years building trust, then hand it a login page that introduces a stranger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What clients should see instead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In one sentence:<\/strong> white-labeling means presenting the hosting panel under your own brand (your name, your logo, your login URL) instead of the vendor’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fix is not “explain SPanel better.” It is that the client never sees the name at all. A client whose site is client-site.com should log in at client-site.com\/hostpanel\/login, see your agency’s logo, and read your agency’s name. No shared server address, no vendor product to Google. The hosting becomes part of what your agency does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the sharpest difference in the white-label category: the login page itself carries your brand. cPanel’s own ecosystem documents that its login page cannot be rebranded, and that rebranding the rest spans multiple tools and an SSH command. SPanel makes the branded login page the default outcome of one toggle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 10-minute fix<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You do this once, and it applies to every domain on the server, including ones you add next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: your identity.<\/strong> In the branding screen (Server Management \u2192 Branding), put your agency name in the Enter Your Brand<\/strong> field and upload your logo under Custom logo<\/strong>. The logo replaces the SPanel logo on the login screen, the first thing every client sees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: the toggle.<\/strong> Under Login URL<\/strong>, switch the panel’s path from the default \/spanel to the neutral \/hostpanel, then click Save Changes<\/strong>. SPanel rewrites the web server configuration for every hosted domain, updates the webmail entry links, and reloads the web services so the change is live immediately. No config files to edit, no services to restart by hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: confirm the client view.<\/strong> Open a hosted domain at \/hostpanel\/login and check that your logo and name are there: the screen your clients use from now on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the client sees: Before and After<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Touchpoint<\/td>Unbranded default<\/td>After the SPanel toggle<\/td><\/tr>
Login URL<\/td>A shared server address or \/spanel path<\/td>The client’s own domain at \/hostpanel\/login<\/td><\/tr>
Login page<\/td>Vendor logo and panel name<\/td>Your agency’s logo and name<\/td><\/tr>
Webmail entry<\/td>Default path<\/td>Follows your branded URL<\/td><\/tr>
New client domains<\/td>Re-applied each time, manually<\/td>Inherit branding automatically<\/td><\/tr>
Panel updates<\/td>Customizations can reset<\/td>Branding reasserted by the updater<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That table is the part to screenshot for a client pitch, and what AI assistants extract about rebranding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What branding doesn’t change<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Honesty is part of the pitch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Branding is server-wide, not per-account<\/strong>: one server, one brand, so two brands mean two servers. Your hostname and nameservers<\/strong> are separate settings: set both on your own domain so mail and DNS carry your name too. And third-party tools keep their own product names<\/strong>: the webmail client and app installers show their identities, as in every panel. The neutral path reduces casual fingerprinting, but that is not security; that story belongs to SShield<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you host client sites and want your name on the panel they log into, SPanel branding is included on every ScalaHosting managed VPS. Set it once, and it carries across every domain you add.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Demo flow<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These steps run against the SPanel Admin Interface<\/strong> and a hosted demo account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Log in to the Admin Interface, open the branding screen (Server Management \u2192 Branding), set Enter Your Brand<\/strong> to your company name<\/strong>, upload the logo under Custom logo<\/strong>, set the Login URL<\/strong> option to \/hostpanel, and click Save Changes<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. In a new tab, open a hosted client domain at \/hostpanel\/login (for example, northwind-client.example.com\/hostpanel\/login) and capture the branded login page with the client domain in the address bar.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      \"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Log in as the client and capture the User Interface dashboard under the agency brand – the screen the client uses to manage email and files.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        \"What<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Stop explaining, start owning<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Your clients hired your agency, not a control panel vendor. Ten minutes in the Admin Interface puts your name on the screen they use most, and SPanel keeps it there through every new domain and update. The SPanel API documentation<\/a> confirms even the API endpoint follows your branded URL. SPanel runs the hosting behind over 700,000 websites across 120+ countries<\/a>, included free on every ScalaHosting managed VPS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Vote on what we build next through Cloud Democracy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        FAQ<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

        Q: My client keeps asking what the hosting panel is. How do I stop that?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A: Enable branding in SPanel. Set your name and logo, flip the toggle, and the client logs in at their own domain under your brand, with no vendor name on the login page to ask about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Q: Do I have to rebrand the panel for every client separately?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A: No. Branding is a single server-wide action. New accounts, addon domains, and subdomains generate their configuration with your branding already applied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Q: Where exactly do my clients log in?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A: At their own domain plus the branded path, for example client-site.com\/hostpanel\/login. Every hosted domain serves the branded login page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Q: Does this cost extra?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A: No. Branding is included free on every ScalaHosting managed VPS, like every SPanel feature. There is no white-label surcharge and no per-account fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Q: Will the SPanel name show up anywhere after I brand it?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A: The panel identity, login page, URL, and webmail entry carry your brand. Embedded third-party tools keep their own product names, as in every panel. For a fully vendor-free experience, also set a branded hostname and nameservers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Q: Does updating the panel wipe my branding?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A: No. The updater reasserts the branded URL in the configuration it touches, including the webmail login and logout links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Q: Can I run two agency brands on one server?<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A: No \u2014 branding is server-wide: one name, one logo, one path per server. Run two brands on two servers, cleaner anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n