Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

March 25, 2011

The Advantages of the Helm Control Panel

The control panel is perhaps one of the most important software aspects of a web hosting account, as they provide the webmaster with centralized and neatly organized control over all of their websites and Web server's administrative tasks. While most people are familiar with popular control panels like cPanel, there are other control panels that have gained a lot of notoriety in the last few years, such as Plesk, Virtuozzo, and Helm. Helm is somewhat similar to the Plesk control panel, and is becoming popular amongst experienced webmasters that are used to the graphical interface of the Plesk control panel. The following review briefly outlines some of the most appealing attributes, features, and capabilities of the Helm control panel.

Compact and Neatly Organized Functionality

While the majority of control panels have the administrative modules neatly organized into a variety of large sections that are located within the home page of the control panel, the Helm control panel is unique because it utilizes a plethora of sub menus that are not directly visible within the main menu. Thus, while novice users that are not used to the module configuration may find this somewhat confusing, experienced webmasters that have used the Plesk control panel may find this compact and neatly organized functionality to be time-saving. For example, before performing an administrative task the user is required to select one of their domains from the “my domains" section. This can simplify the management of dozens of websites by isolating specific duties, reminders, and Cron jobs to each website.

Comprehensive Navigational Wizards

Another appealing aspect of the Helm control panel is the extremely simple navigation found within each user account, which is facilitated by the use of robust step-by-step wizards, interactive tutorials, and detailed settings/preferences modules that allow you to the control the visual interface of each user account. In this regard, the Helm control panel is extremely similar to Plesk, primarily because of the image and banner designs, which really helps previous Plesk users feel at home right from the beginning. When you first start using the control panel, it is recommended that you become thoroughly acquainted with the 'wizards' section, as this module will do an excellent job of walking you through the use of other modules within the control panel.

The 'My Domains' Section

One unique aspect of the Helm control panel is the use of a my domains section, which allows you to control various aspects of each domain individually, including FTP (file transfer protocol) settings, URL forwarding, traffic statistics, e-mail account creation and management, site/server backup utilities and applications, and database creation and management. While some novice users may find this section of the control panel to be quite frustrating, as all other aspects of site management must be accessed through this section, others find it a convenient way to separate the individual tasks associated with each website. Regardless of whether you enjoy every feature of the Helm control panel, it is certainly worth checking out, especially for fans of the Plesk control panel series.

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