PanelAlpha integration

PanelAlpha is an optional, self-hosted control panel that uses WP Cloud as the WordPress hosting backend. PanelAlpha supplies white-label customer and team interfaces, hosting plans, billing integrations, onboarding, and site-management workflows. WP Cloud supplies and bills the underlying WordPress infrastructure.

The partner maintains accounts with both providers and operates the server that runs PanelAlpha. A PanelAlpha license change does not delete the WP Cloud sites, but the partner must use another management interface when PanelAlpha can no longer access them.

What the integration provides

PanelAlpha adds the customer-facing and business layer around WP Cloud. Its current product can provide a white-label control panel, customer and team accounts, hosting-plan configuration, WHMCS billing integration, onboarding, site organization, updates, backup controls, DNS workflows, activity logs, and marketplaces for partner-selected products. Review PanelAlpha’s WP Cloud integration page for the current feature set.

These are PanelAlpha features, not additional WP Cloud platform guarantees. The partner decides which actions and plan values to expose to end users. WP Cloud remains the authority for API behavior, site limits, resource settings, staging eligibility, and infrastructure billing.

Who should use PanelAlpha

PanelAlpha can suit hosting providers, domain registrars, agencies, and multi-site organizations that want a self-hosted, white-label panel instead of building a customer interface from the WP Cloud API. The partner needs a server and operational ownership for PanelAlpha itself; WP Cloud hosts the WordPress sites created through it, not the control panel application.

A team that already has its own portal can integrate with the WP Cloud API directly. Compare customer management, branding, billing, access controls, automation, and ongoing PanelAlpha operations before choosing either path.

Prepare WP Cloud access

1. Create a dedicated key in Manage and secure API keys and restrict it to the endpoints PanelAlpha needs. A managed partner without Partner Portal key management can request the key and scope through WP Cloud support.
2. Add the PanelAlpha server’s static egress address to the key’s allowed IP ranges.
3. Configure Client SSH if the PanelAlpha workflows will use it. Current PanelAlpha versions can prepare and register their Client SSH key through the WP Cloud API, but the host client’s SSH firewall and allowed source address still need to permit the connection.
4. Keep the API key, client identifier, and SSH key restricted to the PanelAlpha server. Do not reuse a developer’s personal key.

Add WP Cloud to PanelAlpha

Follow PanelAlpha’s current WP Cloud hosting-server documentation. During its installation wizard, add WP Cloud in Connect Your Server. In an existing installation, use Configuration → Servers → Hosting Servers → Add Server. Enter the client identifier and dedicated API key, then test the connection.

Create a PanelAlpha hosting plan for that server. Its WP Cloud options can include storage, PHP workers and memory, bursting, data center, and SSH access. The current limits and billing rules in Configure resources, site type, and billing with site meta remain authoritative when a PanelAlpha field or default differs.

PanelAlpha and WP Cloud are separate accounts. WP Cloud bills the host client for the infrastructure and configured WP Cloud sites. PanelAlpha licenses its self-hosted control-panel software separately. Keep both accounts and their operational contacts current while PanelAlpha is the partner’s management interface.

Test the customer workflow

Create a non-production site through PanelAlpha and confirm:

• the Atomic Site ID and domain appear in the Partner Portal inventory;
• its resource values and site type are correct;
• the intended TLS and DNS records are present;
• SSO, wp-admin, SSH, and SFTP access behave as the plan promises;
• backups, cache controls, and site actions reach the intended WP Cloud site; and
• a staging site follows the WP Cloud staging rules.

PanelAlpha can also create DNS templates for WP Cloud transactional-email records. Use Transactional email as the source for the current SPF, DKIM, and DMARC guidance.

When this test succeeds, the same Atomic Site ID and intended configuration should appear in PanelAlpha and the Partner Portal, and each enabled customer action should affect that site. Test destructive actions, access controls, and billing-related plan changes separately before offering them to end users.

The expected result is one consistent site record across both systems, with the customer seeing only the actions and values allowed by the hosting plan. Resolve any mismatch before using that plan for production provisioning.

Diagnose integration failures

For an API connection failure, compare the key’s allowed IPs with the PanelAlpha server’s actual egress address, confirm its endpoint scope, and check that the client identifier and key contain no added whitespace. When the API test succeeds but Client SSH does not, check the Client SSH firewall, registered key, public-key alias, and source address.

For a provisioning failure, read the returned WP Cloud API error and check account capacity, domain ownership, supported PHP versions, and plan values. PanelAlpha controls its user interface, plan configuration, WHMCS integration, customer management, and licensing; its documentation and support are the authority for those behaviors.

Common questions

Does PanelAlpha host the WordPress sites? No. PanelAlpha is the management panel; WP Cloud supplies the WordPress hosting infrastructure.

Can the service be offered under the partner’s brand? Yes. PanelAlpha is designed for white-label customer experiences, while WP Cloud operates below the API layer unless the partner chooses to identify it.

What happens if PanelAlpha is disconnected? The WP Cloud sites remain on WP Cloud and continue to follow their WP Cloud billing and lifecycle settings. PanelAlpha cannot manage them after its key is revoked, so the partner needs an alternative interface or direct API process.

Which limits apply? WP Cloud account and site limits apply to the hosting infrastructure. PanelAlpha’s license and plan limits apply to the control panel. Check both before promising a site count or customer feature.