The configuration that makes it work.
THE FOUR VALUES
Database name Username Password Host
All four must be correct or the site shows a connection error.
WHERE THEY LIVE
- WordPress:
wp-config.php, as DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD and DB_HOST - Joomla: configuration.php
- Laravel: the
.envfile - Others: their own configuration file
THE HOST VALUE
On shared hosting this is localhost. The database runs on the same server as the site.
If it says anything else, that is usually wrong.
THE PREFIX
Both the database name and the username carry your cPanel username followed by an underscore.
If your cPanel user is zkhuser and you create a database called shop, the actual name is zkhuser_shop.
Forgetting the prefix is the most common configuration error.
THE TABLE PREFIX
Separate from the above. It prefixes the tables inside the database, typically wp_ for WordPress.
It is set at installation and must match the actual tables.
