Hosting Control Panels: A Web Host Comparison
A control panel is provided by a web host. As suggested by the name, it is the controlling mechanism for the website and helps in managing the website. Control panel is the one place from where a user can do everything that is needed to be done, while hosting a website, this includes tracking statistical information like traffic information, creating FTP accounts, setting up email accounts, adding sub-domains, databases, managing files, among many other things.
There is a white variety of control panels available. cPanel is the most popular but others include NextGenCp, VDeck, Ensim, Sphera or Hostopia. Each panel is different and offer many tools and functions peculiar to their own product. The panel you receive may depend upon which platform you our web host uses. Factors for changing a control panel includes what features they have and how do they perform on a specific platform.
These are all features that can be found in a control panel:
Mail Manager
Parked Domains
Addon Domains
FTP Manager
Hot Link Protection
Index Manager
Backup
Backup
File Manager
MySQL Database Manager
FTP Manager
File Manager
MS SQL Manager(Windows only)
Redirects
Password Protect Directories
Frontpage Extensions
MySQL Database Manager
Raw Access Logs
Raw Log Manager
Redirects
CGI Center
Cron Jobs
Web/FTP Stats
Network Tools
Hot Link Protection
IP Deny manager
How easy a control panel is to use is a good way of noticing the difference between them. A panel such as Plesk is really simple to use whereas the functionality of cPanel is highly regarded. To make the best choice between these control panels, it helps to know the strengths and weaknesses of them. What follows is a brief overview of the control panels:
cPanel:
cPanel is very commonly used on Linux based systems, it provides support for more than 10 different flavors of Linux, and as of yet, it does not have a Windows or OSX based version. cPanel helps users in managing/controlling everything, from administering MySQL database to creating and deleting email accounts and much more.
cPanel has more features and options than most of the control panels available in the market at present. This is one of the reasons for its popularity, along with the fact that it is quite inexpensive.
Plesk:
Plesk can cater for Linux and Windows which is an advantage over many control panels. Plesk has an interface that is similar to Windows XP which is good for many users and there is a good style to the package. In addition to this, Plesk offers web building support and a large number of functions. These functions do mean an increased price tag though and it is more expensive than many of its rivals, including cPanel.
H-Sphere:
H-Sphere is also a popular control panel used by web hosts. Just like Plesk, it is also available for Windows, as well as Linux based web hosting servers. It offers a good range of features ranging from complete automation to key functionalities. However when compared with cPanel and Plesk it has less features.
DirectAdmin
If you want options that many control panels do not offer then DirectAdmin is for you. It has a wider range but it lacks some features that make Plesk or cPanel so popular. It is also purely for a small number of Linux varieties but it is considerably cheaper than cPanel.
Ensim
Available for Windows and Linux, Ensim doesn’t have a lot of features but it has an interface that is adequate.
Interworx
Interworx is purely for Linux web hosts but it has a simple interface and features like usage snapshot which are impressive.
Hosting Accelerator
Hosting accelerator supports only Windows Web hosting servers. Its interface is not well organized and appears crowded with options which may overwhelm inexperienced users.
Helm
A key feature of Helm is the ability to view bills within the control panel but it is only available on Windows.
CWIPanel
There is not a lot to be said for CWIPanel except it offers Windows support and is quite average.
InsPanel
This control panel has also been made only for windows based web hosting server. This is an average product with standard features.
There are many control panels but cPanel remains the favorite due to its cost, easy to use functions and wide range of features.
However, there are new control panels emerging all the time and NextGenCP looks very impressive. It may have been developed over a number of years but it appears to be worth the wait.
The most up to date internet technologies have assisted the creation of NextGenCP. It is a speedy and simple product that is perfect for web hosts. The quality of the service is shown by the fact that beginners can get to grips with it very easily. The design of NextGenCP is so strong that all features can be found within three clicks of the mouse. Do not be fooled by this simplicity though as there is a whole range of features available. And if this wasn’t enough, Pandela.com has said that if any user can think of any feature that isn’t included in the current model, it will be implemented in the next version of NextGenCP.
Features contained within NextGenCP:
Gain control over your domain:
Users have full control over their domain as well as sub-domain. They can also register and host their own domain names easily and quickly.
Database Management:
NextGenCP makes it very easy to create a database for the website. All it takes is a few clicks! The database management is done by phpMyAdmin and the data is backed up by Database Backup Manager.
Accounts for mail:
It is very simple to add and control email accounts using this system. Pandela.com have provided many SPAM filters which should vastly reduce the amount of junk a user receives. There are also features to organize mail accounts, and look through and filter mail that is not desired.
Tools for the Site:
NextGenCP offers many tools to improve the site and managing a website has never been simpler. Script Installer, Hotlink protection and IP Access Manager are just some of the tools on offer.
Sites Statistics;
Site statistics options in NextGenCP, provides complete information about the visitors, and the amount of bandwidth/traffic consumed by the site and mail accounts on a daily basis.
Support System
Having full access to a support system is a great feature offered by NextGenCP. Anytime a user notices a problem, they have to submit a ticket and they will be offered assistance from a member of staff as quickly as possible. It usually takes no more than fifteen minutes to be responded to.
All of the above features have contributed to making NextGenCP, one of the best control panels for web site hosting available in the market. And Pandela.com is not resting on this achievement, but moving on to make NextGenCP even better, with every passing day.
About the author:Tired of hyped up web hosting companies that don’t deliver? Get the tools and real user reviews you need to find the best hosting companies for you at www.webhostingmadness.com.
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