Cron jobs run scripts automatically at scheduled times, for example for maintenance, data synchronisation or backups. This guide explains how to create, edit and delete cron jobs and configure email notifications.
Which hosting services does this guide apply to?
This guide applies exclusively to customers whose hosting is on the new Webland platform (WHMCS) and uses cPanel.
It does not apply to Essential Hosting without cPanel.
If you use the previous Webland platform with System Configurator or Domain Manager, sign in at classic.webland.ch. The following steps do not apply to that platform.
Requirements
You have access to your cPanel hosting and the Cron Jobs feature.
You know the required command and your application’s instructions.
The required script is available on your hosting.
Your hosting user has the necessary permissions.
Important: A script started directly requires execute permission and an appropriate interpreter invocation. When a PHP file is explicitly run through the PHP executable, the PHP file itself normally only requires read permission. Additional permissions depend on the files the script reads or changes.
Allow enough time between runs. Cron jobs do not automatically prevent multiple instances of the same script from running simultaneously. Check commands carefully, especially if they delete files or modify data.
Step 1: Log in to cPanel
Sign in to the client area on the new Webland platform.
Find your hosting under your active services.
Click Log in to cPanel.
You will be logged in automatically.
Step 2: Open Cron Jobs
In cPanel, go to Advanced and click Cron Jobs.
Step 3: Configure email notifications
Find Cron Email.
Enter the desired recipient address.
Click Update Email.
If a cron job produces output or error messages that have not been redirected, these can be delivered by email. A run that produces no output does not generate a corresponding notification.
Not receiving an email therefore does not automatically mean the cron job failed.
Step 4: Set the schedule
Find Add New Cron Job.
Select a suitable interval under Common Settings.
Check the automatically populated schedule fields.
You can also enter the values manually. For example, use these settings to run a task daily at 03:00:
Field | Value |
Minute |
|
Hour |
|
Day |
|
Month |
|
Weekday |
|
An asterisk means every possible value for that field.
The execution time follows the server time zone used by cron. Do not assume it matches the time on your computer. Contact Webland Support if you are unsure.
Step 5: Enter the command and save the cron job
Enter the complete command in Command. Use absolute paths to both the executable and the script.
For a PHP file, the structure could look like this:
/PATH/TO/php /home/USERNAME/public_html/script.php
This example contains placeholders and must be adjusted. Replace the PHP path, username and script path with the actual values for your hosting. Contact Webland Support if you need the appropriate PHP command.
The PHP version used by the cron job may differ from your website’s PHP version. Check your application’s requirements.
Step 6: View and edit existing cron jobs
All created cron jobs are displayed in the Current Cron Jobs table.
Here you can:
View existing cron jobs
Review schedules
Edit configurations
Delete cron jobs that are no longer needed
Suppress output for an individual cron job
Add the following to the end of the command:
> /dev/null 2>&1
This discards both standard output and error messages. Only use it once the cron job works reliably, as it also suppresses useful error information. It does not disable emails sent by the script itself.
Step 7: Delete a cron job
Find the entry under Current Cron Jobs.
Click Delete.
Confirm the deletion.
This removes future scheduled runs. The script file remains in place. An execution that is already running is not automatically stopped.
Troubleshooting
The cron job does not perform the task
Check the schedule, server time zone, absolute paths and required permissions. For PHP scripts, also check the PHP version. Temporarily remove output suppression so that error messages are available.
I am not receiving emails
Check the configured recipient address and spam folder. Confirm that the command actually produces output and that its output is not redirected.
The cron job causes high resource usage
Check whether runs overlap or the same task has been scheduled more than once. Increase the interval according to your application’s requirements and investigate the script’s execution time.