WHC Support Onboarding

Build expertise.
Support with confidence.

Welcome to the WHC Training Portal. Work through structured modules to master DNS, hosting fundamentals, and customer support scenarios.

Start Learning Take the Quiz

Core training modules

20min

Average completion time

100%

Scenario-based learning

Training Modules

What you'll learn

🌐

DNS Fundamentals

Understand how the Domain Name System works, from record types to propagation delays. Essential for every support interaction.

Core ~8 min

🖥️

Web Hosting Basics

Shared hosting, VPS, dedicated servers — know the differences and help customers choose the right plan.

Core ~6 min

🔒

SSL Certificates

From Let's Encrypt to Sectigo, understand certificate types, installation, and how to troubleshoot HTTPS errors.

Intermediate ~5 min

📧

Email Deliverability

SPF, DKIM, DMARC — understand how these DNS records protect email reputation and what to check when mail fails.

Intermediate ~7 min

🧠

Knowledge Check

Test what you've learned with a scenario-based quiz covering DNS, hosting, and common customer issues.

Assessment ~5 min

🚀

cPanel & WHM

Navigate the control panel confidently — manage domains, files, databases, and email accounts for customers.

Coming soon

Module 1

DNS & Hosting Fundamentals

The Domain Name System is the phonebook of the internet. Understanding it is the single most important skill for supporting hosting customers effectively.

What is DNS?

DNS (Domain Name System) translates human-readable domain names like example.com into IP addresses that computers use to communicate. Without DNS, users would need to memorize numeric IP addresses to visit every website.

When a user types a domain into their browser, a resolver queries a chain of servers — root servers, TLD servers, and finally the domain's authoritative nameservers — to find the correct IP address. This entire lookup typically completes in milliseconds.

Support Tip: When a customer says "my website isn't loading," always check DNS first. Use tools like nslookup or dig to verify what IP address their domain currently resolves to, and compare it against the server's actual IP.

DNS Record Types

Different record types serve different purposes. Knowing these by heart will dramatically speed up your troubleshooting.

A Record

Maps a domain or subdomain to an IPv4 address. The most common record type — this is what points a domain to a web server.

AAAA Record

Same as an A record, but for IPv6 addresses. Increasingly common as IPv4 addresses become scarce.

CNAME Record

Creates an alias from one domain name to another. Used for subdomains like www pointing to the root domain.

MX Record

Specifies the mail server responsible for accepting email for the domain. Priority values determine which server is tried first.

TXT Record

Stores text information. Used for domain verification, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC email authentication records.

NS Record

Specifies the authoritative nameservers for a domain. Changing nameservers points DNS management to a new provider.

DNS Propagation

When a DNS record is changed, the update doesn't appear instantly everywhere. Resolvers around the world cache DNS records for a set period determined by the record's TTL (Time to Live) — a value measured in seconds.

# Check what a DNS resolver sees for a domain
nslookup migration.whcdemo.ca 8.8.8.8   # Google DNS
nslookup migration.whcdemo.ca 1.1.1.1   # Cloudflare DNS

# Using dig for more detail
dig migration.whcdemo.ca A

# Typical TTL values
TTL 300    # 5 minutes — fast propagation
TTL 3600   # 1 hour — standard
TTL 86400  # 24 hours — slow propagation
        

Common Scenario: A customer updates their A record but their site still shows the old server. Ask: "What was the TTL on the previous record?" If it was 3600 (1 hour) and they changed it 20 minutes ago, the old record is still cached — they need to wait. Direct them to whatsmydns.net to monitor propagation in real time.

Hosting Types

WHC offers several types of hosting. Understanding the differences lets you recommend the right product and troubleshoot tier-specific issues.

Shared Hosting: Multiple customers share one server's resources. Cost-effective for small sites, but performance can be affected by neighbours. Managed via cPanel.

VPS (Virtual Private Server): Dedicated resources within a shared physical machine. Root access available. Better performance and isolation than shared hosting.

Dedicated Server: An entire physical server for one customer. Maximum performance and control. Typically used for high-traffic or resource-intensive applications.

WordPress Hosting: Optimized shared hosting with WordPress pre-installed, auto-updates, and performance tuning for WP sites.

SSL & HTTPS

SSL certificates encrypt the connection between a user's browser and the web server, displayed as the padlock icon in the browser. Without a valid SSL certificate, modern browsers show security warnings that can prevent visitors from reaching a site.

WHC offers free AutoSSL (Let's Encrypt) for all cPanel hosting accounts. Issues typically arise when the domain's A record doesn't point to the hosting server, when the certificate hasn't been issued yet, or when there's a mixed content problem in the site's code.

Email Authentication Records

Three DNS-based records work together to improve email deliverability and prevent spoofing:

# SPF — authorizes which servers can send mail for your domain
TXT  @  "v=spf1 include:spf.whc.ca ~all"

# DKIM — a cryptographic signature to verify mail authenticity
TXT  default._domainkey  "v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIIBIj..."

# DMARC — policy for handling SPF/DKIM failures
TXT  _dmarc  "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:reports@yourdomain.com"
        

When a customer's email lands in spam, always verify all three records are correctly set up before escalating. Use mail-tester.com or mxtoolbox.com to audit their configuration quickly.

Take the Knowledge Check → ← Back to Overview

Knowledge Check

Test Your Knowledge

5 scenario-based questions on DNS, propagation, and hosting fundamentals.

Question 1 of 5

A customer updated their A record 25 minutes ago but their site still resolves to the old IP. What is the most likely reason?

A The old record's TTL hasn't expired on cached resolvers

B The customer's web browser has a JavaScript error

C The new A record was saved incorrectly

D WHC's servers are experiencing downtime

✓ Correct! TTL determines how long resolvers cache a record. If the old TTL was 3600s (1 hour), resolvers will serve the old record until that cache expires — even after the change is live at the authoritative nameserver.

✗ Not quite. DNS propagation delays are caused by cached TTL values on resolvers worldwide. Until those caches expire, the old record continues to be served.

Question 2 of 5

Which DNS record type would you check first if a customer says they're not receiving any email?

A A Record

B MX Record

C CNAME Record

D AAAA Record

✓ Correct! MX (Mail Exchanger) records specify which mail servers accept incoming email for a domain. If these are missing or point to the wrong server, email will fail to deliver.

✗ The MX record is what controls where email is delivered. Always check this first for incoming email issues.

Question 3 of 5

A customer's email is landing in recipients' spam folders despite being sent correctly. Which trio of DNS records should you audit?

A A, AAAA, and CNAME records

B MX, NS, and TTL records

C SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records

D TXT, SOA, and PTR records

✓ Correct! SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are the three email authentication standards that receiving mail servers check. Missing or misconfigured records will cause legitimate mail to be flagged as spam.

✗ For spam/deliverability issues, the key trio is SPF (authorized senders), DKIM (message signature), and DMARC (policy for failures).

Question 4 of 5

What command would you run to check what IP address a domain resolves to specifically using Google's DNS resolver?

A ping example.com

B nslookup example.com 8.8.8.8

C tracert example.com

D ipconfig /flushdns

✓ Correct! nslookup domain resolver-ip queries a specific DNS resolver. Using 8.8.8.8 (Google) or 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) lets you bypass your local cache to see what the public internet is resolving.

✗ The correct tool is nslookup example.com 8.8.8.8 — this queries Google's DNS resolver (8.8.8.8) directly, bypassing your local cache.

Question 5 of 5

A customer migrating to WHC shared hosting wants the fastest possible DNS propagation after pointing their domain. What should you advise them to do before making the change?

A Delete the domain and recreate it fresh in their registrar

B Wait 48 hours after every change before testing

C Lower the TTL of the current records to 300 seconds well before the migration

D Set TTL to 86400 so the new record is cached quickly

✓ Correct! Reducing TTL to 300 seconds (5 minutes) a day or two before migration ensures that once the change is made, resolvers will re-query quickly. After propagation is confirmed, TTL can be raised back to a normal value.

✗ The best practice is to lower TTL to 300 seconds well before the migration. This shortens how long resolvers cache the old record, so the new IP is picked up much faster after the change.

0/5

Questions answered correctly

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Review Module

Build expertise.Support with confidence.

DNS & Hosting Fundamentals

What is DNS?

DNS Record Types

DNS Propagation

Hosting Types

SSL & HTTPS

Email Authentication Records

Test Your Knowledge

Build expertise.
Support with confidence.