Web Hosting

Control Panel Options for Resellers

As a reseller, one of the most important decisions you will have to make is choosing a control panel.  When selecting the right software, you can save yourself a lot of time, money and frustration.  This article will give you an overview on some of the most popular control panels available for reseller hosting.

cPanel

cPanel makes a great choice for reselling because it is incredibly easy to use and loaded with features.  The standard cPanel reseller package comes with two separate applications: WHM and cPanel.  WHM (Web Host Manager) is the control panel used to create user accounts and web hosting packages.  Other features include the ability to modify plans, add and suspend sites, park domains, view bandwidth statistics and perform other administrative tasks.  Clients of the reseller are provided with the end-user version of cPanel to manage their own sites.

A cPanel reseller hosting package also includes an optional application called WHM Autopilot.  This program allows you to configure account creation and suspensions, email notifications and other automated functions.  WHM Autopilot can be seamlessly integrated with numerous payment gateways and includes a built-in helpdesk, invoice module and several administrative tools.

H-Sphere

H-Sphere is a cross-platform control panel that allows resellers to set up hosting plans on both Windows and Linux systems.  It provides the unique ability to manage sites on different servers from a single interface even though the control panel is actually on a separate server.  H-Sphere completely automates the management processing, allowing you to easily make configurations, process credit card payments, handle domain name registrations and send out email notifications.  This control panel also has a built-in helpdesk, a billing module and supports more than 20 payment gateways.

The advanced features and functionality of H-Sphere results in a steeper learning curve than other control panels.  For this reason, beginners may find this software a bit too complex for their needs.  On the other hand, more advanced users appreciate the flexibility and control H-Sphere offers.  Aside from the features mentioned, H-Sphere also comes with the SiteStudio website builder that allows end-users to create websites from a number of pre-designed themes.  This gives domain owners the ability to build professional sites regardless of their experience with FTP or HTML.

Plesk

The Plesk control panel is known as one of the most stable and secure on the market.  Resellers and end-users both admire the software’s clean interface, simple navigation and professional appearance.  Plesk offers control on four different levels: Server administrator, Client/Reseller, Domain owner and Mail user.  Each level gives users control of their particular level along with the level below them.  For instance, the server administrator can view information about the reseller, the reseller can view the details on their clients and so forth.

Plesk’s developer Swsoft, also offers Site Builder through the control panel, a program that provides end-users with an easy way to create their sites.  Site Builder has more than 300 templates in numerous categories, allowing reseller clients to create sites with no programming or FTP knowledge.  When combined with HSPcomplete, another Swsoft creation, Plesk delivers automation that allows you to process credit card payments, send email notifications and much more.

Understanding Domain Name Transfers

There may come a point in your internet life when you need to transfer a domain name.  Perhaps you are unhappy with the current service and want to take your domain to a new registrar.  Whatever the reason is, you should know what to expect in order to ensure a smooth transition.

What is a Domain Name Transfer?

A domain name transfer describes the process of taking the name you registered with one registrar and moving it to another.  This simply means you only want to switch your domain name service provider.  Everything about your website and actual domain name remains the same.  Keep in mind that a domain name transfer isn’t the same as transferring your website from one server to another.

The Transfer Process

The first step in transferring a domain name is initiating the transfer.  While it is up to you to make the request, only the new registrar can initiate the transfer.  After purchasing an account and getting set up with the new registrar, you should see a link or button that reads “transfer domain”.  In most cases, you will be prompted to enter the domain name, confirm and click “OK”.

What you don’t see behind the scenes is the email exchange between the new registrar and the WHOIS database regarding your domain.  The transfer process moves along once the WHOIS administrative contact accepts the transfer by clicking on a link in the email.  Once the transfer has been approved, the new registrar sends notification to the TLD Registry (Top Level Domain) for further approval.

In order for your domain name to work, it be must active.  If it is inactive, pending, or locked, you will not be able to make the transfer.  This is why it is recommended to transfer your domain name well before the expiration date to avoid such issues.  If your domain is active and registered for 60 days or more, the TLD registry will inform the new registrar that the transfer can continue.   From there, the registry lets the old registrar known that a transfer request has been made.  The old registrar generally has about five days to respond to the TLD registry.  If they do not respond in the given amount of time, the registry will automatically assume approval by default.  While this helps you make a transfer from a hesitant registrar, it also increases the potential of domain theft.  For this reason, it is advisable to sign up with a registrar that offers domain locking and other protective features.

If the registrar actively approves the transfer, they will do so by responding to the TLD registry.  The registry then takes the name from the old registrar, notifies the new registrar and adds it to their account.  That is the domain name transfer process in a nutshell.  As long as you know what to expect, it can all be a painless task.  Although most support staff members are more than willingly to walk you through the process, it is always good to understand what goes on for yourself.

Content Management with Post Nuke

Open-source content management systems are available by the masses and getting hold of one is no difficult task.  While there are many systems to choose from, few of them offer the power and user-friendliness of Post Nuke.

What is Post Nuke?

Post Nuke began as a fork of the original PHP Nuke CMS.  The project was initiated because many of its users believed the development environment should be more open and demographic.  Users realized that the only way to achieve this was to create their own CMS.  Post Nuke has grown and stands on its own merits apart from PHP Nuke.  Fully modular and capable of running on both Apache and IIS web servers, this CMS offers a wide range of benefits to anyone who interacts with the software.

Benefits of Post Nuke

Cost-effective – Released under the GPL license, Post Nuke is an open-source application that can be used, modified and distributed for free.  The software can be downloaded from online and easily incorporated into your hosting environment.

Easy to Use – Post Nuke is the ultimate CMS, providing a way to easily create and maintain a large community website.  Users can post comments, share messages internally, publish news articles, search the site by word or phrase and much more.

Access Control – The Post Nuke CMS offers a Permissions Control feature that lets certain users access specific areas based on settings made by the website administrator.  This same feature also provides the ability to create a subscriber-based site where users are given additional administrative privileges.

Flexibility – With Post Nuke, administrators can control the look and feel of a website through the software’s comprehensive, flexible theme system.  Those with a basic knowledge of HTML can instantly enhance the presentation of their site without needing to code with PHP.

Fast and Efficient – Post Nuke comes with a built-in catching system that results in a high-performance website that offers excellent value to the end-user.

W3C Compliant - The Post Nuke system is well designed and in accordance with W3C guidelines.  This allows visitors to get the most out of a Post Nuke website from their browser.

Efficient Banner System – An integrated banner module makes it easy for affiliates to keep up with click counts and activity for their banner ads placed on a Post Nuke website.

Quality Support – One of the greatest attributes of Post Nuke is that the software is supported by a large community of developers and users across the world.  These people make sure that bugs and problems are addressed and fixed quickly.  You will find many Post Nuke forums around the web where active users offer tips to help out the user community.

Development for Post Nuke ceased in 2007 but it still remains one of the most widely used content management systems on the open-source market.  The software is robust, feature-rich and easier to use than most other systems.  The only downside is that with the halt in development, finding a web host that supports Post Nuke may be harder than before.

Introduction to ASP Hosting

The types of web hosting can be grouped in many classifications.  Some of them are actually extensions of other types of hosting.  One that falls under the Windows branch is ASP hosting, a type of hosting that revolves around ASP.  Short for Active Server Pages, ASP is Microsoft’s answer to open-source server-side programming languages such as PHP and Python.  Though used to create dynamic web pages like other technologies, ASP was developed to function specifically with Microsoft’s IIS (Internet Information Services) web server application.  Originally released with IIS version 3.0, ASP quickly became one of most the popular scripting technologies available.  Though overshadowed by its successor ASP.NET, ASP is still widely used today.

Inside ASP Hosting

The ASP language utilizes various built-in objects that correspond to specific functions when creating dynamic web pages.  Whereas static web pages are merely composed of basic text and graphics, dynamic pages contain content that changes and allows users to interact.  The data on a dynamic web page can change before your eyes without the need to be reloaded or refreshed.  The makeup of ASP gives it more functionality than alternative solutions, allowing experienced developers to create more appealing websites with ease.  In fact, almost anyone familiar with client-side programming languages such as VBscript can excel with ASP.

Since the initial launch, Microsoft has released numerous versions of ASP, with the most recent being ASP 3.0.  The company has decided to phase out this language with ASP.NET which is faster, more robust and often considered the next generation of web development.  The original language is now referred to as Classic ASP.   However, ASP 3.0 remains popular because its built-in objects tend to be easier to work with.  One of them is the Session object that administers numerous functions for web pages and applications.

The Benefits of ASP Hosting

Companies who specialize in ASP hosting are only providing their customers with the basics of the language.  The host enjoys the most benefits as administers have direct access to IIS and the Windows operating system.  Web hosts with ASP and ASP.NET installed on their servers get the best of server-side scripting along with other Microsoft technologies such as MS Access and the SQL Server.  ASP allows these companies to create and manage powerful websites of their own.  Many of them use scripts to run special promotions, limited time offerings, collect data and even sell products and services with ASP shopping carts.  The enhanced functionality of ASP makes it the preferred choice for businesses of all types and sizes.

Finding ASP Hosting

Just as with any type of hosting, it always best to shop around and compare ASP hosts.  Aside from complimenting Microsoft technologies, you should also concentrate on finding a company able to suit your needs in other areas.  If you are not familiar with the language, it would be wise to find a solution that offers extensive support and documentation on ASP to shorten the learning curve.  Without a capable and reliable web hosting company behind you, it will be very difficult to enjoy all the benefits ASP has to offer.

Popular Shopping Cart Scripts

The very core of any e-commerce website is the shopping cart.  These programs are aptly named after the shopping baskets commonly used in supermarkets and retail stores.  Conventional shopping carts allow customers to walk through the aisles and select the items they want to purchase.  We all know it is a simple process as you can add and remove products without much thought or effort.  Shopping cart software offers functionality that translates the control and ease of purchasing items in the real world to the electronic world of e-commerce.  In this regard, a shopping cart is merely an extension of the basic order form, allowing customers to select certain products and choose from various options.

There are numerous shopping carts available, most of which are created by different programming technologies.  This article will introduce you to some of the most common and detail their advantages and disadvantages.

ASP Shopping Carts

Short for Active Server Pages, ASP is a server-side programming language developed by Microsoft.  ASP is quite advantageous in the e-commerce field and shopping carts are no different.  The power of the language makes an ASP shopping cart easy to develop and maintain.  Most software scripted in this language gives you a comprehensive back office to easily manage all the components of your online business.  Like most technologies created by Microsoft, ASP shopping carts tend to be more expensive than those scripted in other languages.

CGI Shopping Carts

CGI is one of the oldest development tools and responsible for powering many of today’s active shopping carts.  The biggest advantage of CGI shopping carts is that they are compatible with all major web browsers.  The downside is that they can be difficult to maintain, sluggish and consume precious system resources.

Cookie Shopping Carts

Cookie shopping carts are both easy to setup and manage.  They tend to be faster than CGI shopping carts and consume fewer system resources.  The major disadvantage is that they are not compatible with web browsers that do not support cookies.  This makes a CGI shopping cart useless for customers who disable cookies in their browsers.

Java Shopping Carts

Many shopping carts are scripted in Java, a client-side language that offers advanced functionality beyond HTML.  Java shopping carts are feature-rich and visually appealing.  Because this type of software calls for you to build your online store inside of an applet, it is generally slower and more difficult to customize.

Javascript Shopping Carts

Javascript shopping carts are fast, easy to set up and manage.  They are also easy to customize and light on critical system features.  The major drawback is that they are not compatible with web browsers that do not support Javascript or cookies.  Additionally, a Javascript shopping cart is not equipped to handle larger e-commerce stores.

These are just a few of the many types of shopping carts on the market.  Regardless of the programming technologies behind the software, it is always best to choose a shopping cart that offers the features you need and supports the number of products you want to sell.

Optimizing Your Website for MSN

Although SEO guidelines are generally the same for all search engines, MSN is one that has an identity all its on.  There are many tricks to increasing visibility but Microsoft has gone on the record to stress the importance of a well designed, optimized website.  The software giant even went on to say that you may want to consider hiring a reputable SEO firm to boost your chances of being properly indexed by the MSN search engine.  This makes perfect sense as the MSNBot, Microsoft’s aptly named search engine spider, is attracted to web pages that are easy to read and navigate.  Realizing that everyone cannot afford to invest in an SEO service, we have provided a few valuable tips for making an impression on the MSNBot.

Take Advantage of Meta Tegas

The MSNBot actively uses meta tags a part of its web page analysis.  Like other search engines, the title tag is weighed the heaviest within the indexing algorithm, followed up by the meta description tag.  It is recommended to insert your chosen keywords into both areas.  Although Microsoft has never stated that the MSNBot utilizes keyword meta tags, experts strongly suggest that keywords should be included in the title, description, tags and content.  In addition, keywords placed in these areas should all adhere to one another.

Keep Page Size to a Minimum

The MSN search engine requires that your pages are no more than 150k in size.  This gives indication that the bot with either stop scanning or may simply skip over the page entirely.  The good thing is that a web page with a size of 150k has enough room to contain a considerable amount of relative text.  Keep in mind that if you plan to add a lot of fancy graphics, the size of your pages will expand greatly.  Similar to other search engines, MSN prefers text over graphics so you always want to keep them to a minimum.

Efficient Linking

As you would expect, links are an important equation of the MSNBot’s indexing algorithm.  Microsoft offers two suggestions on what type of links will be deemed the most essential: links on the home page or your website, and links that are no more than three levels deep.  This simply means that all the links on your site should be accessible within three or less clicks from one another for maximum efficiency.  Although this could be a problem for larger sites, MSN says its bot will offer a deeper crawl as the search engine becomes more sophisticated.

Submit Your Site

Some of the experts will tell you that search engine submissions are no longer significant while others say they are still important.  We will tell you that every effort helps.  Microsoft allows you to submit your site at no cost but there are some factors to consider.  First, you should check and see if your site is already indexed in the MSN database.  If so, resubmitting will be nothing but a waste of time.  Secondly, MSN requires that you manually submit your website.  This is a fairly simple process as all you have to do is enter the provided code along with your URL into the appropriate field.

Google and Yahoo are the leading search engines, but increasing your visibility in MSN can help you attract a broader range of targeted traffic.  Growing more popular by the year, optimizing for this search engine is definitely worth it.

Fighting Back Against Website Attacks

Despite all the advancements that have been made in information security, hacking attacks continue to be a major problem, inflicting damage on some of the biggest companies.  Every year, it seems as if we hear a story where some major company has been hacked and thieved of invaluable information. Although large corporations make better targets, small businesses are not exempt from such attacks.   You may feel that the data on your website is not all that confidential or mission-critical, but an ambitious hacker might think otherwise.

What Motivates a Hacker?

Hackers hack websites for a number of reasons.  Some are after personal information while others merely do it for the thrill and gaining stripes in the hacker community.  While every hacker has their own motivation, a successful attack boils down to one factor – the webmaster’s lack of knowledge.  Even an intermediate hacker can break into your website, change your home page and steal sensitive information all by downloading readily available tools from the internet.  Whether you are a beginner or seasoned webmaster, the best way to protect yourself against website hacking is knowing how a hacker operates.

A Two-step Approach

The first step a hacker will take is to scan your web applications for any known vulnerabilities.  This can be done with a penetrating test process that is performed either manually are automated by certain programs or scripts.  Finding an insecure application is the most crucial step in any website attack and translates to holes you can’t afford to leave open.

The next step in website hacking is coming up with an exploit able to take advantage of the vulnerabilities.  There are many exploits but all share the similar goal of allowing an intruder to penetrate your website.  Here is where you need to be aggressive and take steps to prevent an exploit rather than trying to bounce back after the attack.  If you scripted your own applications, you need to go back carefully and look them over to process any modifications that may be needed to the source codes to close the gaps.  When done correctly, you can dramatically reduce the probability of a website attack.

Practicing Website Security

Properly securing your applications is something that can be accomplished even if you are not an expert in the security field or simply do not have the money required to hire a thorough, experienced web developer.  In fact, security knowledge comes at an inexpensive price and is worth looking into when considering that it can keep your website safe.  Basic knowledge can be obtained by keeping yourself informed on the web applications you are using along with all known vulnerabilities that relate to them.  Additionally, you can minimize vulnerabilities by applying the latest updates and patches to your applications and using the best security practices.

Aside from practicing website security, it also a good idea to have a basic understanding of common techniques attackers employ to hack websites.  Some of the most popular methods include SQL injection and cross site scripting to name a few.  The best way to deter the attempts of a savvy hacker is to defeat them with your own knowledge.

Fasthosts Takes on a New Green Initiative

Green web hosting services are emerging as more companies come to realize the negative affect data centers of the world have on the environment.  Some of the industry’s biggest names are making the switch to green energy, a trend that is being seen throughout North America and Europe as well.

Based in the United Kingdom, reseller hosting provider Fasthosts is actively participating in a green initiative to reduce its impact on the environment.  The move is said to ensure that all web hosting services will be run out of a green data center, making it the only provider that offers unlimited green reseller hosting solutions.

On Tuesday February 17, Fasthosts was announced as being a part of United Internet’s Global Green Initiative, a program that uses renewable energy to prevent an estimated 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the environment.  Additionally, Fasthosts is deemed a certified green host by Green-e, a voluntary non-profit certification organization that specializes in programs for renewable energy.  The UK reseller host also announced that it would be purchasing  enough RECs (renewable energy credits) from the non-profit BEF (Bonneville Environmental Foundation) to entirely offset electricity usage at its data center located in Kansas.

Steve Holford, Chief Marketing Officer at Fasthosts, says it is important for the company to deliver its resellers a service that allows them to succeed.   Holford’s statement also touched on how environmentally hosting products and services are in great demand, leading to the provider’s decision to offer customers the ability to sell their own green hosting packages at no additional cost.  Aside from being a valuable selling point for resellers, Fasthosts prides itself on being a company that is running an environmentally responsible service.

Many companies are boasting green hosting but not all are making the efforts required to run an eco-friendly service.  In fact, several web hosts simply offset their greenhouse gas emissions by investing in green initiatives in other locations, ultimately facing criticism for merely paying someone else to pollute the environment.  The Fasthost partnership with BEF gives the assurance that revenue generated from RECs provides direct support for new watershed ecosystem restoration and renewable energy projects.  According to an October announcement, the majority of the RECs will be contributed to the Power Company and Bowersock Mills facilities in Lawrence, Kansas.

Considered a veteran in the industry, Fasthost has being serving small and medium sized businesses in the UK for nearly 10 years, making it one of the largest providers in the region.  The company launched its service in the United States back in September of 2008, hoping to use its market experience to garner success in North America.  Fasthosts claims that its U.S. customers are provided with around the clock service as well as localized support agents that can be reached via phone or email.  All of its U.S. customers get the benefit of the provider’s state of the art green data facility in Lenexa, Kansas and an infrastructure that delivers 30 gigabit high-speed internet connectivity.

Three Steps to Finding a New Web Host

Because nothing lasts forever, there may come a time when you need to break it off with your web hosting company.  This could be for a number of reasons.  Perhaps the customer service and technical support isn’t up to your standards.  Maybe the host doesn’t necessarily provide all the services as advertised.  It could be that your website has grown considerably and the provider can no longer meet your needs.  Whatever the reason, you must find yourself a new host before cutting ties with the old one.

Test the Support

If your web hosting company isn’t providing you with quality, responsive support, that is all the more reason to get out on the hunt for a new service.  In order to avoid making the same mistake, you must be very selective when choosing a new host.  It is best to sign up with a company that offers various means of support, not just email.  Think support ticket, live chat and most importantly, toll-free phone.  You may also want to look for a host that offers self-help resources such as a knowledge base, FAQ page or video tutorials.  How will you know if the company offers good support?  Send them an email during the late night hours or call the toll-free line over the weekend.  If you get fast, satisfactory answers, there is a good chance the host will be responsive throughout the relationship.

Check Out the Reputation

There are literally thousands of web hosts in existence and it is impossible for you to know about each and everyone of them.  Most of these companies will be foreign to you.  With that said, it is important to do your research and learn more about the provider’s reputation.  Some companies have been in the industry since the very beginning while others are relatively new.  Although every host has to start somewhere, it is best to choose one that is more likely to be around in the future.  You would be surprised at the number of web hosting companies that have failed and taken their customers down with them.

Know How to Research

Sometimes, customers find themselves in a bad situation because they rushed into purchasing service without investigating first.  In order to learn a company’s background, you must know how to perform the necessary research.  A good place to start would be discussion forums that focus on web hosting.  Another option you have is reading web hosting reviews.  Both will provide you with customer feedback about particular web hosting companies.  They generally tell you about the costs, features, methods of support and the overall quality of service. To get a few expert opinions, you can refer to editorial reviews.  This is great way to get a good mix of views and decipher genuine feedback from biased spins.

Even if you have a good relationship with your web host, there still may come a point where you feel it is time to move.  Whatever drives you to a new host, always seek out a provider that is able to meet your needs in terms of features, reliability and support.

Introduction to VDS Hosting?

The great demand for more secure, reliable services has made virtualization technology increasingly popular in the web hosting industry.  While many customers are not ready to handle the costs and responsibility that comes along with a dedicated server, more are discovering that the shared hosting platform isn’t necessarily the best choice for mission-critical operations.  VDS is the latest in virtualization, a technology that offers more control than shared hosting and the power of a dedicated server at a fraction of the cost.

What is a VDS?

Short for Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS), a VDS is created by virtualization software that partitions a single physical server into multiple isolated servers.  The result is a powerful platform that gives you the enhanced security of a dedicated server at a price that it isn’t too far off from shared hosting.  After being partitioned, a VDS is allocated with its own disk storage and data transfer for added stability.   The server has its own operating system along with isolated web server instances, a mail server and root access for custom software installations. This technology functions in a way that no matter what occurs on another customer’s VDS, it will have absolutely no impact on your environment.   Unlike its virtual counterpart VPS, a VDS is virtually like having the resources of an entire server.

VDS vs Shared Hosting

In a shared hosting arrangement, multiple websites are generally stored in a single directory.

The mere structure makes this a security risk.  With the average setup, shared customers have a dangerous level read and write access, meaning they could possibly access and modify your files. Other issues relate to stability as customers are required to share a variety of critical resources.  This includes the operating system, disk drive, CPU, memory and applications.  Depending on the severity, an error on a single account could force the entire server to run slow or even crash.  With VDS, the servers are completely isolated, giving you a level of privacy that is equivalent to running the server all by yourself.  In a VDS environment, you are completely protected from all the actions of other users hosting on the machine.

On a shared server, performance can still be an issue when no malicious actions or mistakes have been made.  For example, if one customer starts to experience a heavy load of traffic, their excessive bandwidth usage could slow down the entire machine.  This could result in a loss of HTTP requests and ultimately visitors for other customers on the server.  Additionally, the possibility of their being hundreds or thousands of domain owners on a single machine makes shared hosting very susceptible to sluggish performance.  This is especially true when many of them are using memory-hogging applications.

VDS is the perfect alternative to shared hosting as you are assured critical resources and the privacy you need from other customers.  In this environment, you will not have to worry about anyone consuming all the server’s memory and bandwidth or having the ability to view and edit your sensitive files.  The additional stability and security you get with VDS hosting makes it the next best thing to a dedicated server.

cPanel Then and Now

cPanel is an award-winning control panel you will find offered in numerous web hosting plans.  Its web-based Graphical User Interface is designed to provide users with the ability to handle website administration with ease, a reason why this control panel is preferred by many novice users.

Owned and distributed by cPanel Inc., the software is intended for the use of commercial web hosting companies, meaning it requires the purchase of a license.  However, cPanel is available for certain entities at discounted prices.  For example, non-profit organizations such as educational institutions can obtain a cPanel license for a reduced cost and sometimes free.  Dedicated and managed hosting companies can also purchase licenses at a reduced price when installing the control panel with their operating system.  cPanel is platform specific and runs on the Linux operating system.  Some of the variations it supports include CentOS, Fedora, Mandiva, Red Hat and SUSE among others.

Brief History of cPanel

The cPanel software was originally designed for Speed Hosting, a web hosting company that is now defunct.  Speed Hosting eventually merged with Web King, another web hosting provider that began using the software.  From there, the new company moved its servers to VDI, (Virtual Development Inc.), a web hosting company that is no longer around as well.  An agreement was made and cPanel was only made available to customers hosting with VDI.  It was not until 1999 that cPanel became a significant force on the control panel market.

1999 marked the release of cPanel 3, a version that offered many new improvements, including the addition of WHM (Web Host Manager).  Version 3 underwent a few upgrades including bug fixes and a facelift that gave it the default theme we all know today.  Because of internal conflict between VDI and original developer Nick Koston, the software was divided into two separate control panels – cPanel and WebPanel, with the latter being used by VDI.  Koston went on to work with other web hosts before deciding to focus solely on cPanel.   Now on version 11, cPanel is stable, reliable and the most widely used control panel on the market.

cPanel Features

cPanel offers a great level of control to the end-user, allowing you to handle various operations such as managing files and FTP accounts, administering PGP keys, adding domain names and much more.  The software also supports a number of third-party applications, the most popular being Fantastico.  With Fantastico, you can install a wide variety of programs such as WordPress, phpBB, Drupal, Tiki Wiki, Joomla and more than 50 others.

cPanel sets itself apart from many web hosting control panels with the ability to manage applications independent of the operating system.  For example, it can be used to automatically apply upgrades to software packages like PHP, the MySQL database server and Apache web server.  This functionality helps web hosting companies make sure that packages are always up to date and remain compatible with cPanel.  The power and simplicity of this control panel makes it a number one choice for server administrators and end-users alike.