CPanel is where you monitor and manage your website, or in other words it is a web based client interface. CPanel is the most popular interface used by web hosts, and at least until recently has been more popular with bloggers and home users than the more expensive Microsoft offering. The other contender, which is used in Europe more than elsewhere in the world, is the Plesk interface. CPanel has become so common because it makes simple so many aspects of running and maintaining web space on a server that would once have required IT staff with professional training to perform.
As a result the CPanel control panel software is provided by the hosting providers on a lot of dedicated servers, and is used for almost all US web hosting packages that I have seen.
CPanel also has an easy to use email utility which helps to create email account for the users with user friendly interface. This easy to use interface is packed full of useful features.
CPanel lets you control your host account environment. The main advantage of this operating system is that it is so simple to use that your below average computer user cannot easily mess there sites up! It allows users to monitor things like disk space and bandwidth usage. CPanel also allows you to store your data in MySQL databases. Within the CPanel you will usually also have access to PhpMyAdmin, which offers you a feature to store database backups on a file and download a dump of the database.
Many hosting providers advertise that you can host unlimited sites, create your own packages and control it all within a slightly more expensive reseller package. This is achieved by using a software add-on to Cpanel called WHM. Which for the master account url for the reseller account means that WHM can be opened and from within WHM all the sub-accounts can be viewed and maintained. If you plan to create a few web sites then we recommend that you go for a reseller package even if you have no intention of reselling web space and supporting other users.
If you are thinking of starting your own web site hosting service we recommend that you offer your customers quality products like cPanel and Fantastico. Fantastico is a system which comes with Cpanel systems, and which provides a simply method to quickly and without training set-up a range of very useful scripts, on your web space. These scripts vary widely in their applications from shopping site payment cart systems, to complete web site content management, and all come free in addition to the CPanel itself.
The larger hosting providers offer four different dedicated home and business server hosting options to provide something for every individual and all sizes of business. People choose their web services providers because for great web hosting features with CPanel, stable and secure servers, outstanding technical support, and low prices.
Having sung the praises of Cpanel, Plesk is also a very capable system, although if you are familiar already with the Cpanel it will need a little while to learn. The current Plesk version (8.1) is reportedly the most stable and secure Plesk software for Linux and UNIX ever released. Plesk has different versions for Windows and the Linux operating systems. So, with Plesk you can even use the same control panel for different operating systems.
We like the CPanel Email Account Creator which is the perfect script to setup a Hotmail / Yahoo like web email system to allow your users to signup and start sending emails to friends and family with your hosting. All you need is a CPanel hosting account and as we have already said there are so many good hosting companies which offer it.
The CPanel system helps you to set up databases and forces your databases to include a special prefix so that it may distinguish your database from ones owned by other users on the server which have the same name.
Having said that CPanel is easily learnt, you will find though that individual hosting companies do customize it extensively. The CPanel features provided by the free web space hosting providers that use it, for example, will vary, but usually they still include at least a file manager for uploading and editing your free web pages online.
Some include all the features of paid hosting companies, such as MySQL databases, Fantastico script installer, cron jobs manager, add-on domains, Email management tools, AWSTATS and the Webalizer and other website statistics programs, and so on. If they do provide even half of tehse for free, you have found a great offering This will allow you to try before you buy, and only buy once you know your web site is a success, and worth the investment.
SpamAssassin is available on many CPanel hosting sites. If so, you will find that SpamAssassin can be easily enabled and configured for your account directly through the CPanel hosting control panel. SpamAssassin is a mail filtering system which scans each and every email received under the email accounts hosted from your CPanel account for characteristics which are typical of spam messages. Each characteristic found inside of an email message is given a specific score, and if a threshold is exceed the email will be automatically labeled as spam and sent to a special spam inbox ready for deletion.
The first impression of cPanel’s control panel can be expressed as basic, but don’t be fooled by apparent simplicity. You will see nothing fancy or flashy, just a simple interface with several icons representing the control panel’s functions.
CPanel seems to be, in the view of most web site creators, the best software which provides you with so many easy services to maintain your website as an owner. In other words, CPanel has won the popular vote and is seen as second to none when it comes to managing your website and databases.
