Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

August 05, 2009

SiteWorx Control Panel Review

The website administration tool for the Interworx server management application, SiteWorx is a piece of software that defines what a control panel should truly be.  It offers all the basic functionality that allows you to seamlessly mange your emails, domains, files and databases in an easy and efficient.  Similar to cPanel, all of your main features are gathered on a single page which adds to the convenience.  SiteWorx is gaining ground in the web hosting control panel market but how does it really stack up against the major players?

Easy Navigation

Upon logging into the SiteWorx control panel, you will immediately get the feeling of how easy it is to maintain your hosting account.  Everything you need to control or view, whether it is disk space and bandwidth usage, FTP accounts or databases is right at your fingertips.  The main navigation window presents a vertical side bar that contains your primary features, while this is supported by another sidebar that holds categorized listings of your site services.   SiteWorx focuses on user-friendliness to provide the novice user with an easy and convenient way to manage their web hosting account, though it still lends some advanced capabilities to the webmaster who knows their way around a control panel.

Comprehensive Traffic Statistics

Having the ability to view and analyze traffic stats is crucial for anyone looking to consistently attract visitors to their site.  SiteWorx makes sure you can do this and more by providing easy to read logs and reports to dramatically improve your website.  Although its default tools are nice, analyzing your traffic is even more simple and intuitive with the inclusion of popular applications such as Analog, AwStats and Webalizer.  This collection of tools can help you determine how frequently visitors are coming in, where they are coming from, and what you can do to raise and maintain the consistency.

Scripts Galore

Like many web hosting control panels on the market, SiteWorx provides a facility that allows you to implement a large variety of add-on programs in a few easy clicks.  Known as ScriptWorx, this handy utility lets you install applications that range from blogs and forums to content management systems and e-commerce shopping carts.  Some of the most notable programs it includes are phpBB, WordPress, Drupal and osCommerce among several others.  While the list is short in comparison to what you get with cPanel and Fantastico, SiteWorx made sure to add approximately 20 of the most popular scripts on the market.

Conclusion

SiteWorx is a user-friendly tool that allows you to control and manage virtual every aspect of your website.  Though it is missing some of the features commonly found in similar products, it does deliver all the basics along with some advanced ones such as a backup and restore utility, cron jobs and directory access via .htaccess.  SiteWorx could use some enhancements before competing with cPanel or Plesk, but right now, it is very serviceable for most of your website management needs.

Tags: website administration,  analyze traffic,  traffic statistics,  SiteWorx,  scripts,  InterWorx,  control panel