Create Sub-accounts on DirectAdmin to Share Hosting with Clients

If you're a web agency or freelancer managing websites for multiple clients, buying separate hosting accounts for each one can quickly become expensive. DirectAdmin's Sub-user and Reseller system lets you divide hosting resources among multiple clients — with individually configurable quotas and permissions — all from a single control panel. Here's how to set it up.

1. What Are Sub-accounts in DirectAdmin?

DirectAdmin organizes users into three access levels:

• Admin — Top-level access; controls everything on the server.
• Reseller — Can create and manage User accounts, and distribute the resources allocated to them.
• User — Standard level; manages their own domains, email, and FTP accounts.

For a web agency or freelancer, you'll operate as a Reseller, creating and managing User accounts for each of your clients.

2. User vs Reseller vs Admin Differences

2b. DirectAdmin vs cPanel for Resellers

If you have previously worked with cPanel and WHM, it helps to understand where DirectAdmin's Reseller system differs:

DirectAdmin consolidates Reseller management into a single interface, eliminating the need to switch between WHM and cPanel. This makes managing sub-accounts significantly faster — especially when you are overseeing multiple clients at once.

3. How to Create a Sub-user on DirectAdmin

Log in to DirectAdmin as a Reseller, then follow these steps:

1. Go to Account Manager → Create User.
2. Fill in the required fields:
   • Username: Lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores only.
   • Email: The user's email for system notifications.
   • Password: A strong password.
   • Domain: The user's primary domain name.
   • Package: Select a package that defines resource quotas.
3. Click Create.

Once created, the user can log in to the same DirectAdmin URL using their new credentials.

4. Setting Quotas (Disk, Bandwidth, Email, Domain)

Before creating users, define a Package with standard quotas. Go to Reseller Level → Manage Packages → Add Package.

Key quota settings to configure:

• Disk Space (MB): Maximum storage for this user.
• Bandwidth (MB): Monthly transfer limit.
• Max Domains: Number of addon domains allowed.
• Max Email Accounts: Maximum email inboxes.
• Max MySQL Databases: Database count limit.
• Max FTP Accounts: FTP account count.
• Max Sub-domains: Number of subdomains allowed.

5. Logging in as a Sub-user

As a Reseller, you can use the Login As feature to access any client's account without knowing their password:

1. Go to Account Manager → List Users.
2. Click the username you want to access.
3. Click Login as this user.

This is particularly useful when a client reports an issue and you need to investigate or fix it directly in their account.

5d. Setting Up SSL Certificates for Sub-user Domains

One often-overlooked step after creating a sub-user is configuring SSL certificates for their domain. DirectAdmin supports free Let's Encrypt SSL, which issues certificates automatically. Here is how to set it up for a sub-user domain:

1. Log in to the sub-user's account (or use Login As from the Reseller panel).
2. Navigate to Advanced Features → SSL Certificates.
3. Select Let's Encrypt, enter the domain and any subdomains you need to cover.
4. Click Save. The certificate is issued automatically within 1–2 minutes.

Let's Encrypt certificates renew automatically every 90 days. A well-configured hosting provider will have auto-renewal set up by default, so clients do not need to do anything manually.

5e. Configuring Email Accounts for Sub-users

After receiving hosting access, one of the most common client requests is setting up email using their own domain name. DirectAdmin lets each sub-user manage their own email accounts independently:

Creating an email account in DirectAdmin

1. Go to Email Manager → Create Email Account.
2. Enter the email address — for example, [email protected].
3. Set a password and the mailbox quota size in MB.
4. Click Create Account.

Configuring an email client (Outlook / Thunderbird)

After the account is created, clients can access it through Webmail or configure it in a desktop email client using these settings:

Incoming: IMAP  server.hosting.example.com  port 993 (SSL)
Outgoing: SMTP  server.hosting.example.com  port 465 (SSL)
Username: [email protected]
Password: the password set during account creation

5f. Security Best Practices for Reseller Accounts

Managing hosting for multiple clients means that a single security lapse can affect all of them. Follow these practices to keep every sub-user account secure:

• Enforce strong password policies: Set a minimum password length and complexity requirement when creating each sub-user account. Avoid sending credentials over unencrypted channels.
• Review user permissions regularly: Periodically audit which features each sub-user has enabled. Remove access to features that the client does not actively use — for example, disable CGI execution for users who only run WordPress.
• Monitor disk and bandwidth usage: Log in to the Reseller panel weekly and check usage graphs. A sudden spike in bandwidth often indicates malware activity or a brute-force attack on one of your client accounts.
• Keep software updated: Outdated WordPress themes, plugins, and PHP versions are the most common entry points for attackers in shared hosting environments. Encourage clients to update regularly, or use DirectAdmin's Softaculous to schedule automatic updates.

Establishing these practices from the start of the client relationship is far easier than recovering from a security incident that affects multiple accounts simultaneously.

6. Use Cases: Web Agencies and Freelancers

For Web Agencies

An agency managing 5–20 clients can purchase a single Reseller Hosting plan and create separate User accounts for each client. Each client manages their own email, FTP, and databases independently, while the agency oversees all accounts from one Reseller panel — significantly reducing hosting costs.

For Freelancers

A freelancer taking on multiple web projects can buy one hosting plan and create separate sub-accounts for each project. This keeps files and databases isolated, reducing confusion when working across several projects simultaneously.