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CPanel Hosting
Using A Control Panel
The control panel is an important aspect of your hosting
account. It is the interface that enables you to manage
your account, your website, and your email. There are
many different control panels on the market and each has
its own unique features as well its own capabilities.
Plesk and cPanel are among the two most popular control
panels because they offer more in the way of
functionality and user friendliness. CPanel is the most
popular because it is also the most widely offered by
web hosts for its attractive GUI (Graphical User
Interface) and easy to use features.
Using The Latest Version
When looking for cPanel hosting you should always try to
ensure that you receive the latest version of cPanel
that is available. New versions have been released
fairly regularly and this means that old versions become
outdated quickly. While these are still very useful
control panels the latest version almost certainly
offers the latest in functionality, speed, and security.
A Web Based Control Panel
The first thing to note about cPanel is that it is
entirely web based giving you access from any computer
with Internet access. Whether you want to check your
account, update your site, or manage your emails from
work, from home, or from an Internet café you’re free to
do so.
Website And Domain Control
You can control all of your domains or websites through
your web based cPanel. This gives you complete access to
your domains, sites, and any files that are associated
with these sites. You have the ability to add new sites,
delete sites, amend pages, and add new files for
downloads as well as many other features.
The Range Of Statistics On Offer
Statistics and analytics are a big part of website
management. CPanel gives you access to a wide range of
these statistics. AW Stats is a graphical based log file
that presents you with information regarding traffic
statistics, log files, and even details regarding your
specific visitors. You can view the countries where they
live, the browser they use, and even the page that
referred them to you so you can keep track of your
advertising campaigns. CPanel also gives you access to
FTP stats, disk space and bandwidth usage statistics,
and web statistics.
Full FTP Access
FTP is the quickest and simplest way to upload and
download files to and from the server. It gives you
complete control over your website and enables you to
make quick changes and additions from an FTP management
application. For the more inexperienced designer, cPanel
also gives web access to this same information. While it
takes a little longer to edit information via the web
you also have access to a graphical WYSIWYG editor. You
can create new pages and even whole sites using this
editor.
Site Add-Ons Powered By CGI Scripts
The latest versions of cPanel also include a range of
CGI scripts. CGI scripts let you add various different
applications to your site. These interactive, dynamic
additions are certain to be a hit with visitors and will
keep on the pages of your site for longer and ensure
they return more often. CGI scripts include forums,
blogs, galleries, and even a content management system.
Choosing A CPanel Hosting Provider
Many hosting packages include cPanel because of its
power and user friendliness. This is good news for you,
as a Webmaster, because it means that you concentrate
your search on other factors. First, though, draw up a
list of the cPanel hosting accounts that offer the
latest version of cPanel. This will help to ensure that
you get the latest features and the most power from your
cPanel web interface.
Other Considerations
Consider how much bandwidth and disk space you will
require and think of other factors such as whether you
require support for certain programming languages or
scripts. Also decide whether you want a Linux or Windows
hosting plan. Always remember to remember to look at the
network uptime guarantee and ignore any that have an
uptime that is lower than 99.9%. Ensure that customer
service and technical service is available and consider
whether you would be more likely to contact them by
email, phone, or another method and determine whether
each host offers this availability.
CPanel Conclusion
CPanel is probably the most popular web control panel
available. It offers a rich set of features as well as a
GUI that is simple to understand and even more simple to
use. For these reasons cPanel hosting accounts are also
among the most popular making it very easy to find hosts
that offer it. Once you have a shortlist of the
companies that offer the latest version of cPanel then
you are free to consider other factors to help determine
which host you will use.
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