{"id":4236,"date":"2012-01-06T13:26:08","date_gmt":"2012-01-06T18:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/?p=4236"},"modified":"2021-10-19T06:49:03","modified_gmt":"2021-10-19T10:49:03","slug":"control-panel-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/control-panel-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Control Panel: Advantages & Disadvantages"},"content":{"rendered":"

To control panel, or not to control panel? It\u2019s a perennial question, and one all conscientious web masters have had to ask at some point during their career. It doesn\u2019t matter what kind, style, or flavor of website you\u2019re hoping to create: Odds are you\u2019ll have to wage the costs and benefits of using a control panel (like cPanel<\/a>) to manage your media, or going Bear Grylls and relying entirely on the command shell. However, just because the problem is a ubiquitous one does not mean it has to be a hard one. In fact, with a little foreknowledge and just a smidgen of guidance, you might find the decision between graphical front-ends and pure control is simpler than you think. With that in mind, we\u2019ve compiled a short list of some of the pros and cons of using a control panel<\/a> alongside your website. It\u2019s by no means a complete listing, but if you\u2019re on the fence, it will certainly help you along the right path.
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\nPros:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 No Software Required:<\/strong> We may have just modified a Phil Collins song to meet our needs, but that doesn\u2019t make the point any less valid: If you\u2019re using a control panel, there\u2019s absolutely no need to clutter up your home computer with FTP software<\/a> of any kind. This, after all, is really the point of having a control panel in the first place. With something like cPanel<\/a> in place, you can access your site from any location around the globe via browser. From there, you\u2019re free to upload, mangle, and download your system\u2019s files as needed. It\u2019s quick, efficient, and saves you hard drive space in the long run.<\/p>\n

2.Easy Stats:<\/strong> Another advantage to using a control panel over the traditional terminal are the various statistical tools available for your perusal. Using these tools, you can stay up to date on a minute-by-minute basis with who has been accessing your site, from where, and when down to the second. Want to know how many of your users have been coming from the Southeast? With a control panel in place, it\u2019s no problem at all to find out. In fact, we might even say it\u2019s easy as pie\u2014especially considering pie charts are a definite possibility.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Ease of Installation<\/strong>: Another benefit to using a control panel is its ease of software installation. Essentially, with a package like cPanel creating a front-end for your site, you\u2019re allowed to add, remove, or modify web applications as you please. Want to add a forum to your site? No problem, assuming you have a control panel! How about shopping carts, bags, help desks, image galleries, billing software, or even a content management software like WordPress? With all of the above, it\u2019s a done deal, assuming you\u2019ve got the control panel to match. Best of all, these installations can be removed just as easily as they\u2019re added, allowing for an unprecedented level of control over your site\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Know Your Usage<\/strong>: Typically, when a web hosting provider comes stock with a control panel, the panel is capable of tracking your data usage, just like Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T allow users to track their minutes and allowances from the Web. In this way, it\u2019s a cinch to keep a tab on just how much of your plan you\u2019ve been using, allowing you to scale back next month if needed, or ramp up the features, should your site experience a sudden hike in popularity.<\/p>\n

Cons:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Big Tasks Suck<\/strong>: However, a control panel isn\u2019t always sunshine and rainbows. In fact, when it comes to certain filing procedures, they can be a right pain in the derriere. For example, let\u2019s imagine you have a directory that\u2019s currently housing something like 5,000 unique files. Now, what if you wanted to move all 5k of these items to a new folder? How about only the files that begin with a specific phrase? Using a graphical control panel, this could take hours of tedious clicking and sorting. However, with the command line, a single string can take care of the whole operation in only seconds. Now that\u2019s power!<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Getting Dirty Requires Less<\/strong>: Let\u2019s create another example: Let\u2019s say your server begins acting strangely, and all of your files suddenly change their permission states. With a control panel, sorting out the mess could, again, require hours of manipulation, and even then, privileges are notoriously hard to manage with a graphical front-end. When it comes to such root level functions as modifying folder permissions, visibility, or password protection, using the shell terminal is really the only way to go.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Security is Shell-Oriented<\/strong>: Another notch in the terminals favor is the fact that graphical interfaces are typically far less secure. These control panels rely on a software relationship between the hardware, the shell, and the pretty, eye-candy studded panel you deal with on a daily basis. All of this connectivity adds up to an impressive level of control, but also to a lot of compromised security. Not to mention the fact that cPanel\u2019s popularity makes it a prime target for hackers looking to make a quick steal. The shell terminal, on the other hand, is direct, password encrypted, and one-way. With this in mind, it\u2019s nearly impossible to hijack a shell tunnel, providing an infinitely more secure experience, and at no cost to your overall control.<\/p>\n

So there you have it! On the whole, there\u2019s really only one quick question you need to ask yourself when considering the application of a graphical control panel: And that is, \u201cHow much ease of use am I really after?\u201d If quickly and simply managing your site is of the utmost importance to you, there\u2019s no better way to do it than with a program like cPanel. Otherwise, for the dedicated and control-based webmaster, the shell truly is king.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To control panel, or not to control panel? It\u2019s a perennial question, and one all conscientious web masters have had to ask at some point during their career. It doesn\u2019t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[19,20,70],"class_list":["post-4236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-control-panels","tag-control-panel","tag-cpanel","tag-ftp"],"views":157,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webhostinggeeks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}