Choosing Control Panels - cPanel or Plesk

Thursday, 27 January 2011

The control panel is where a variety of functions for the web hosting are managed by the web developer.  They are a special type of web based server management system platform which can provide advanced functions for the server without having direct access to the server.  Although there are a large variety of options for control panel software, the most popular and well known options are cPanel and Plesk.

cPanel Hosting Control Panel

The use of cPanel has been prominent for a greater part of the last two decades.  It is one of the control panels of choice for use in shared hosting.  The use of cPanel is common with Unix based systems and has a Windows counterpart called "Enkompass".  Plesk was developed just after the turn of the millennium and can be used on both Unix and Windows based servers.

Users of cPanel will find that it have several advantages.  It is very immersive and users have great control over everything they are doing by using the cPanel software.  One thing that cPanel has gotten correct is the use of a graphical user interface.  The control panel is visually pleasing and makes it simple to understand what is being controlled by using it.  The learning curve for cPanel can be much shorter than most control panel software because everything can be assessed from the information that is provided throughout the GUI.  It can easily provide a wide range of uses for the average user and can provide much deeper control when necessary.

Plesk Hosting Control Panel

Plesk is also a very powerful control panel software which has gained in popularity in recent times.  The ability to support a wide variety of operating systems makes it possible to use with most hosting services.  Plesk can be used by a wider range of consumers without having to use a port or redesigned option unlike cPanel.  Plesk is cost efficient and makes it possible to license for much less with use on a server.  Automation and multiple server access is very useful through Plesk and can be done with greater accuracy than cPanel.

Customers looking to choose a web hosting option which will benefit them should take the control panel into consideration.  The control panel can mean the difference between having the necessary control over the server as needed and being unable to perform specific functions to better control the hosting option.  The control panel is really designed to make server management easier on the user so if one has made it more difficult to control the needs of the server then the other may be an option to look into.  Some hosting companies can provide alternative methods to manage the servers and can provide them to the users if a control panel is too difficult to use or does not provide the accurate functions necessary for the client.  Choosing between them is really a matter of preference from the client which could be for function or simplicity towards the application of the control panel.