--- title: "How to Log In to DirectAdmin" description: "Two ways to reach your DirectAdmin control panel on Noiz hosting: single sign-on from the client area, or directly in a browser on port 2222. Covers the certificate warning, the three account levels, and what to do when a login is refused." url: "https://docs.noiz.ie/directadmin/how-to-log-in-to-directadmin/" section: "DirectAdmin" categories: - "Control Panels > DirectAdmin > Administration" last_reviewed: "29 July 2026, against the current DirectAdmin release using the **Evolution** skin" --- # How to Log In to DirectAdmin DirectAdmin is the control panel on Noiz hosting in Ireland. It is where you manage websites, email accounts, databases, DNS, backups and SSL certificates, and nearly every other DirectAdmin guide starts by asking you to sign in. This article covers both routes in: through the client area, which needs no separate password, and directly in a browser, which is what to use when the client area is not to hand. **Last reviewed:** 29 July 2026, against the current DirectAdmin release using the **Evolution** skin. This guide is written for Noiz hosting and is kept current against DirectAdmin. It complements, and does not replace, the official DirectAdmin documentation linked below. ### Official Documentation Reference - [DirectAdmin General Usage](https://docs.directadmin.com/directadmin/general-usage/index.html) - [Evolution Skin](https://docs.directadmin.com/directadmin/skins-and-templates/evolution.html) - [Webmail](https://docs.directadmin.com/other-hosting-services/webmail/) ## Prerequisites - An active Noiz hosting plan on DirectAdmin. - The DirectAdmin sign-in URL, username and password from your Noiz welcome email. You do not need these for the client area route below. ## Log In to DirectAdmin From the Client Area (Recommended) Use this route if you are not certain of your DirectAdmin password. The client area signs you in for you, so there is no second password to keep track of. **Step 1:** Sign in to the [Noiz client area](https://www.noiz.co.za/clientarea.php) using the **Login** button at the top right of the website. Your username is your billing email address. If the password escapes you, the [password reset](https://www.noiz.co.za/password/reset) link sits below the login form. ![The Noiz Client Area login screen showing the Email Address and Password fields, the Remember Me option, the hCaptcha challenge and the Login button](/images/kb/127_noiz-client-area-login.png) **Step 2:** From the dashboard, open **My Services**, either from the **Services** tile or the **Services** menu in the top navigation. ![The Noiz Client Area dashboard with the Services tile and the Services dropdown in the top navigation](/images/kb/124_client-area-dashboard.png) **Step 3:** Click your hosting plan to open its details page. Click the tile rather than the domain name, because the domain name opens your website instead. **Step 4:** Click the DirectAdmin login button in the **Actions** panel in the left-hand sidebar. DirectAdmin opens in a new tab, already signed in. ## Log In to DirectAdmin Directly Use this route to reach DirectAdmin without the client area, or to give a developer access to the hosting account without handing over your billing login. **Step 1:** In your browser, go to your domain followed by port `2222`: ``` https://yourdomain.com:2222/ ``` Replace `yourdomain.com` with your own domain. DirectAdmin listens on port `2222`, so the port number is required. Leaving it off takes you to your website instead. **Step 2:** Enter your DirectAdmin username and password, then sign in. These are not your client area credentials. They were sent to you in your Noiz welcome email. ### If the Browser Warns You About the Certificate Visiting `https://yourdomain.com:2222/` usually produces a warning such as "Your connection is not private" or "Potential Security Risk Ahead". This is a name mismatch, not a broken connection. The control panel's certificate is issued to the server hostname, and you asked for your own domain, so the browser quite correctly reports that the two names differ. The connection is still encrypted. Two ways to handle it: - **Preferred:** use the server hostname instead, in the form `https://server-hostname:2222/`. The certificate matches that name, so no warning appears. Your server hostname is in your welcome email, and Noiz support can confirm it. - **Acceptable:** click **Advanced**, then **Continue** or **Accept the Risk and Continue**. Never click through a certificate warning on a page asking for card details, or on a site where you did not expect one. On a control panel reached by port number on a hostname you recognise, it is expected. ## Three Kinds of DirectAdmin Login DirectAdmin has three account levels, and knowing which one you hold explains what you can see after signing in. - **User.** A single hosting account: one set of websites, mailboxes and databases. This is what a Noiz shared hosting plan gives you, and what nearly every guide in this knowledgebase assumes. - **Reseller.** Creates and manages user accounts, with its own package limits. Only relevant on a reseller plan. - **Admin.** Server-wide control. Not issued on shared hosting. If a guide mentions a menu you cannot find, the usual explanation is that it describes a reseller or admin feature and your account is a user. ## If You Cannot Log In **You do not know your DirectAdmin password.** Use the client area route above, which does not need it, or [contact Noiz support](/getting-started/how-to-contact-noiz-for-support/) to have it reset. **The page does not load at all.** Check that you included `:2222` and that the address starts with `https://` rather than `http://`. If the address is correct and it still does not load, repeated failed logins may have caused the server firewall to block your IP address. Send Noiz support your current IP address and it can be cleared. **Your username and password are rejected.** DirectAdmin passwords are case sensitive, so check Caps Lock first. Then check which password you are using: the client area login (your billing email), the DirectAdmin login (the hosting account), and individual email account passwords are three different things, and they are easy to confuse. **You reach a login screen but it is not DirectAdmin.** Port `2222` is DirectAdmin. If a different control panel answers, your plan is on a different panel. See [How to Log In to Plesk](/plesk/how-to-log-in-to-plesk/) or [How to Log In to cPanel](/cpanel/how-to-log-in-to-cpanel/). ## Once You Are In Worth doing on a first visit: - Change the password from the one in your welcome email, under your account settings. - If you only want to read email, you do not need DirectAdmin at all. Go straight to [webmail](/directadmin/how-to-access-your-email-from-directadmin/). ## Summary There are two routes into DirectAdmin. The client area route needs no DirectAdmin password and suits day-to-day use. The direct route, `https://yourdomain.com:2222/`, is there when you want it, and the certificate warning it produces is a hostname mismatch rather than a fault. If neither route works, [contact Noiz support](/getting-started/how-to-contact-noiz-for-support/) with your domain name and the exact error you see. ## Related Guides - [How to Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) in DirectAdmin](/directadmin/how-to-enable-two-factor-authentication-2fa-in-directadmin/) --- Source: https://docs.noiz.ie/directadmin/how-to-log-in-to-directadmin/