As you have learned, what truly makes a capable web host are the features offered. The company that wins your service needs to provide everything that is required to make your website standout in amongst the endless sea of millions. They must have a substantial amount of disk space and bandwidth, whether the server is being shared or not. The web host needs to have a solid support system to aid you when editing becomes confusing. Another crucial feature you will need is a control panel, the central headquarters of your website.
A control panel is an essential element of any hosting plan; without it, your website will probably look rather bland and unattractive. These applications give a user access to all the wonderful features advertised by a web host, the factors that were influential to your overall interest.
The control panel gives a user administrative power, allowing them complete authority of the website whether it’s with designs or managing files and accounts. Here are a few other common denominators related to a control panel:
• Users can view visitor statistic by using state of the art web analyzing software
• Users can view details on how much disk space and bandwidth is available
• Users have access to a file manager
• Users can setup email accounts
• Users can manage the database
• Users can maintain use of FTP accounts
• Users have access to logs on the server
While they all have the same basic functions, different control panels will grant a user different administrative powers; some applications are more capable than others. Some control panels also function better with certain web hosting platforms, where they may be exclusive to that service. A few of them integrate well with both Linux and Windows. Several of the popular control panels that are being advertised on a web hosting server may include cPanel, Ensim, Plesk, Sphera, Hostopia and VDeck among others. All of these applications have a different look and feel to them, catering to the needs of specific users. The most significant difference is of course the hosting platform they are integrated with.
Regardless of your experience, a control panel may take some practice before a user completely masters it. This is true with most new software. Some control panels are very user friendly and are simple to figure out after playing with the interface for a while. Others are more capable in the way of functions but require significant levels of practice. Accessing the needs of your website is a factor that will certainly come into play when it’s time to choose the web host with the right control panel.
When it comes to quality paid web hosting, cPanel and Plesk are the two control panels used the most; another case of Linux versus Windows. These two applications are very similar yet diverse at the same time. Individuals that work with Plesk seem to enjoy its simplicity, while users operating cPanel admire the extreme capability.
A few companies have found a way to benefit from the perks of both programs by combining the power of cPanel and Plesk. One such company is iPower Inc. They have successfully designed an application that has swayed users of both cPanel and Plesk. iPower Inc. calls this innovation vDeck, a control panel that only a few web hosting companies have access to.
Let us now go over the functions of cPanel, Plesk and a few other control panels and describe how they can help to power a website:
cPanel - The cPanel application was designed with end users in mind. This program enables them to administer everything from adding and removing content to managing any kind of SQL database. cPanel is mostly found within servers on a Linux based web hosting platform. Some of the vendors include Red Hat and many more Linux distributors. Users will find cPanel to be a very clean interface with several options and exceptional features. After settling in behind the controls, you will understand why cPanel is the number one used control panel on the market today. Some web hosting companies will even allow users to play with a demo version and take a test drive before signing up for service.
Global Rating: 5 Stars
As of now cPanel is not available for Windows or Mac X operating systems. Though it has a few worthy competitors, matching the capability has been a tall task for any other control panel.
Plesk - cPanel’s most comparable rival is Plesk. This control panel program is available for hosting servers operating on both Linux and Windows. This form of compatibility actually gives them a slight advantage over the cPanel application. The interface found on Plesk resembles the functions of Windows XP. It consists of soft colors and plentiful icons that make for easy navigation that works wonders for overall presentation. Plesk also is equipped with many of the basic features found with cPanel.
Global Rating: 4 Stars
H-Sphere - This is another very capable control panel that you will find with many web hosts. H-Sphere is a product created by Positive Software that also supports both the Linux and Windows operating system. This program has many favorable features that allow users to manage a website. Though it will certainly get the job done, H-Sphere is somewhat inferior when compared to cPanel or Plesk. The user interface leaves a bit to be desired but is manageable for the most part. I look for this application to improve with future versions in order to compete with the two most popular brands.
Global Rating: 4 Stars
Ensim - Here is another handy control panel that is liable to meet your needs. Ensim comes with the many great features and is able to support Linux and Windows as well. The interface on this application is suitable for almost any web hosting platform, making it a very manageable control panel.
Global Rating: 4 Stars
DirectAdmin - Clever name for this next web hosting component. The people who created DirectAdmin say its control panel is the most easy to use, compared to all other brands on the market. The features they advertise are rather extensive yet are merely the same ones you would find on cPanel or Plesk. Similar to cPanel, DirectAdmin is only available on a few Linux web hosting platforms and has not adapted to the Windows operating system yet. The interface holds true to its ease of use but still lacks a bit in comparison to the two top names.
Global Rating: 4 Stars
Interworx - Here is another control panel exclusive to Linux hosting. Don’t worry yourself about this fact; there are plenty of quality Linux web servers available to you. You will not find many flaws at all in this program. This interface makes for easy management and is very capable of ascending a user’s skill to the level of webmaster. One of their most attractive features is a neat little function called “Snapshot.” This gives a user access to a chart to view the process of upstreaming and downstreaming. I would say that aside from it’s inability to support Windows, Interworx is just a step above Plesk and knocking on the door of cPanel.
Global Rating: 5 Stars
Helm - We have covered a variety of control panels, many of them exclusive to the Linux hosting platform. Let us now look at one dedicated to the Windows server. Helm is a control panel with a huge list of features and backs them up with an easy to manage interface. One great area of control is that users can view billing information with a few simple clicks and have easy access to email and other functions.
Global Rating: 4 Stars
Hosting Accelerator - We’re on a roll with another control panel that caters to the Windows operating system. In truth, this control panel lacks a few of the key features found in the applications mentioned above. This is because the interface is much too cluttered and can be rather confusing. Having everything right in your face may be a plus for an experienced webmaster but can also be a turn off for someone new to hosting.
Global Rating: 3 Stars
InsPanel - Here we are again with another control panel that powers a Windows web server. I would rate this as a very worthy service. The software comes with many capable features, but after evaluating the competition none of them really stand out. On the other hand, this control panel is put together rather nicely which makes it a fairly decent product.
Global Rating: 4 Stars
CWIPanel - This company speaks very highly of their control panel. In actuality the look and feel is very similar to the other Windows based applications. One downside was the fact that no demo was offered to test out the software. Other than that, it seems to be a very worthy control panel.
Global Rating: 3.5 Stars
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