Start here
This site's goal is to facilitate clear communication between cPanel's developers and our users, in both directions. We highly value our client's input, and integrate as much of it as we an into our development process. This site is just one part of that process.
We get feedback from cPanel users (internal and external), WHM users (internal and external), single-domain/VPS users, low-density webhosts, high-density webhosts, 100 server hosts, 150,000 server hosts. We get feedback through support tickets (individually, as well as by collecting data from all of them), phone calls, and directly through one-on-one interactions with our users. Each feedback source has different viewpoints, different priorities, and different needs.
The features site is meant to provide a very specific kind of feedback to our development team: crowdsourced. The votes here are not the sole method of determining what we're working on next, but the feedback we get here is invaluable.
The features.cpanel.net process
To ensure that processes don't get in the way of communication, we have kept the process here very simple.
- A new feature is submitted (by any registered user) & added to the moderation queue.
- The new feature is reviewed and either approved or rejected based on a generallist of criteria:
* Is this feature within the scope of cPanel's purview?
* Is this a new feature request?
* Is this a complete feature request?
- If necessary, discussion will be encouraged to clarify the desired functionality.
- If feature requests have had no interaction after 3 months they will be Archived.
These processes may be amended at any point to better serve our goal of communication.
The perfect feature request
The perfect feature request will be broken down into a single request, be simply stated, and will help us understand who you are and why you're requesting the feature. The scope of the request should be as narrow as possible.
A few examples of very helpful feature request:
- As a cPanel user I would like to be able to see all of my account users in a single interface, to save time and streamline my interactions with cPanel.
- As a root or reseller user I would like to be able to suspend multiple accounts at the same time to save time and make managing my accounts easier.
- As an server administrator I want to be notified when my backups do not complete correctly.
A few examples of feature requests that will require clarification:
- The email interface needs to allow me to specify more than one user.
- I need more backup options.
- postfix support
The examples above, while potentially completely valid requests, need more context in order to be something that we can communicate to our developers. If you want more information about formulating your feature request, you can read this blog post from Adam French.
What's next?
Once you have submitted your feature request, the next step is to see how the community feels about it. If you know others in the community that have expressed a desire for the same feature, feel free to have them add their voice to your request. When deciding what to include in our future releases, we take many factors into account, but the feature requests here with the most attention end up on our radar for sure. Beyond the features site we also consider the following:
- Industry movement Where is the industry headed in the next year? 3 years? 5 years?
- Direct requests When we bring customers on site, or take members of our team to visit them, we get the best and most productive feedback
Questions?
If you ever have any questions about this site, or anything that happens on it, feel free to email benny@cpanel.net with your questions.
Last Modified: 3/10/16
