In the world of web hosting, the control panel plays a vital role in managing hosting space effectively. It helps in many ways to organize the data of a website. With a control panel’s help, you can do many things such as managing domain names, installing web applications on websites, managing email services, including creating and updating email accounts, and most importantly, uploading website files.
No doubt, most hosting control panels are flexible and easy to use. However, they also have some downsides that users should be aware of. For instance, if you are not familiar with the functionality of a hosting control panel, one mistake can crash your website almost instantaneously. That’s why it requires some technical knowledge to use a hosting control panel effectively. However, it’s quite easy to learn the basics for operating a hosting control panel and doesn’t take much of your time.
10 Best Hosting Control Panels
To get a good idea about how a hosting control panel works, think of it as a car dashboard where you are the driver and everything essential control is in front of you. However, it is incredibly crucial to choose the best control panel for your web hosting because it will help you manage your hosting space conveniently.
In this article, we will discuss the 10 best hosting control panels along with their pros and cons. Thus, it will be easier for you to pick the ideal control panel for your web hosting.
1. cPanel
The cPanel is available only for Linux OS. It is one of the most popular control panels in the hosting community. cPanel provides many features that make it possible to perform a variety of operations ranging from file management to installing CMS on your website. Also, you can connect your email accounts and manage them easily.
Another great thing about this control panel is that it perfectly suits the needs of beginners as well as seasoned developers. cPanel hosting panel comes with certain requirements that are satisfied by most Linux-based operating systems. It requires a minimum of 20GB disk space and 512 MB of RAM.
Pros
- The installation process of cPanel is straightforward.
- The most significant advantage of cPanel is that it is compatible with all the major browsers.
- It has a feature that automatically detects errors and restarts the server.
Cons
- It does not access files with one click.
- There have been many cases where cPanel has faced downtime.
2. Plesk
Plesk is another popular hosting control panel available for Linux and Windows. Besides, it is incredibly famous in the European hosting community. Another major reason for its widespread popularity is that it is among the best control panels that are available for Windows.
Some of the top features of Plesk include the availability of command-line access tools and unlimited accounts and domain support. All the features are well-organized into different categories for ease of use. You can find the list of functions easily in the left corner. As compared to cPanel, the interface of Plesk is more intuitive and relatively simple to use.
Pros
- Plesk protects applications and websites automatically.
- Comes with a variety of admin tools.
- It has a very intuitive GUI.
Cons
- Lack of integration support with third-party software.
- It has some performance issues.
3. hPanel
hPanel is a control panel developed by Hostinger for its clients. The hosting control panel is available for Linux distributions. hPanel is only available with the shared hosting plans purchased from Hostinger. The great thing about hPanel is that it matches explicitly with cPanel, even though it is a lighter version. The interface is much easier to use and navigate through.
hPanel comes with numerous features, including domain and email management, file and database manager, and DNS zone editor. It allows you to manage and have control over your account security. You can set up passwords for directories, configure hotline protection and block IPs.
Pros
- It provides a robust security connection for the website to prevent malicious activity.
- hPanel gives you full control of your account. You can also use tools such as block IPs and configure hotlink protection to secure your account.
- hPanel works just like cPanel. You can manage your email and domain from one place.
Cons
- Since it has been developed by Hostinger, it is not free.
- You will get this control panel only if you purchase hosting services from Hostinger.
4. DirectAdmin
The DirectAdmin control panel is available for Linux and BSD systems. It is considered to be among the fastest, easiest, and most stable control panels in the hosting community. The best thing about DirectAdmin is its interface which is quite user-friendly. Besides, it is also one of the cheapest hosting control panels.
The control panel also supports multiple access levels such as Reseller, User, and Administrator. Aside from this, the DirectAdmin panel ensures complete account security with its anti-spam tools.
Pros
- It is simple and easy to use.
- DirectAdmin prevents downtime by automatically recovering from crashes.
Cons
- Less popular as compared to cPanel.
5. Webmin
Webmin web panel is available for all Unix systems, including all Linux distributions and Solaris. Additionally, Webmin is also available for Windows operating systems. It means you can easily use Webmin on your Windows machine.
The overall design of Webmin is not very user-friendly. Many functions will be displayed on the screen as you open it on Windows, While these things might seem negative but it is also highly customizable at the same time. Moreover, Webmin comes with an Apache webserver to configure Apache directives and features.
Pros
- Webmin provides the ultimate DNS Zone editor.
- It provides Cloudmin & Virtualmin that is used to manage multiple virtual hosts.
Cons
- Developers might find it complicated.
- Lack of popularity due to its strange interface.
6. ISPmanager
ISPmanager is another control panel that is Linux-based and is compatible with Windows. Web-hosting providers, mail users, administrators, and domain owners can use this control panel with ease. The great thing about this panel is that it is available for all the leading UNIX and Linux-based operating systems. Many databases and web servers use ISPmanger as their primary control panel.
Another beneficial feature of ISPmanager is that it allows you to develop mail lists. It is very much possible for users to customize the themes and list of features in the ISPmanager. It is also possible to back up all the important website data right from the control panel. With ISPmanager the server resources do not take much toll.
Pros
- ISPmanger ISPmanger is a reliable hosting control manager.
- Most of the features can be accessed with a single click.
Cons
- As compared to many other hosting control panels, ISPmanager is a bit expensive.
7. Ajenti
Ajenti is another control panel that is available for most Linux and BSD systems. Without a doubt, it is one of the best admin panels that you can use for free. Ajenti is a web-based and open-source control panel used for accomplishing a variety of tasks related to hosting management. Ajentis’ intuitive interface allows effortless server management.
With Ajenti, you will get many pre-built extensions to configure the admin panel based on your requirements. One of the top features of Ajenti is that it is an extremely lightweight and portable software that roughly requires 30 MB of memory with an addition of 5 MB per session.
Pros
- Developers and programmers can customize this control panel using Python and JavaScript programming languages.
- Ajenti is available for Ubuntu and Debian operating systems.
Cons
- Since it has a small community, support is not so great on this one.
- Many website owners tend to ignore using this control panel due to the lack of authority.
8. OpenPanel
OpenPanel is one of the best open-source control panels we have on our list. It is entirely available for free. OpenPanel provides a rich set of add-ons that make the task of managing remote servers both productive and effortless. It has a powerful CLI (Command Line Interface) alongside an intuitive AJAX web interface. The best thing about this control panel is that it allows admins to add domains, set up email accounts, and create multiple users.
One of the prevalent advantages of this panel is that it provides information that flows efficiently and it is not very difficult to find what you are looking for. Besides, it can easily meet the different requirements of the users. OpenPanel is very easy to set up. That is one of the reasons why it is loved by a lot of people.
Pros
- It gives excellent support for virtual apache hosts, PureFTPd chroot FTP-accounts, Courier-IMAP hosted mails, and MySQL.
- OpenPanel provides a visually appealing yet straightforward user interface with in-built JavaScript support.
- It features OpenSSH access to admins and provides flexible Linux iptables configuration.
Cons
- Despite having tremendous features, it isn’t a popular choice.
9. EHCP
EHCP is also known as the easy hosting control panel and it is among the best free web hosting control panels. The panel comes with many useful features that allow admins to create and manage remote servers quickly. One of the great things about EHCP is its pre-built support for PHP-FPm and the Nginx web server.
However, EHCP is not compatible with Apache and cannot be the right choice for a site that serves a lot of dynamic content. The hosting control panel allows web admins to easily manage MySQL databases, email accounts, domains, and FTP accounts. It is perfectly suitable for small businesses.
Pros
- EHCP perfectly suits for managing a web server that mostly serves static content
- EHCP provides an excellent solution for low-cost servers due to its negligible resource consumption.
- Admins can securely create several users and resellers and set required permission from the dashboard.
Cons
- Since EHCP is freely available, many developers tend to ignore implementing a premium website on this panel.
- It has limited functionality, which makes it unsuitable for large organizations.
10. ispCP
ispCP is also known as the Internet Service Provider Control Panel. It provides an interactive admin dashboard for hosting providers, internet service providers, and other IT professionals. The control panel is easy to install and you can set it up in no time.
The best thing about ispCP is providing premium services that are used by a lot of enterprises for free. Moreover, ispCP is a worthy alternative to the paid control panels and is suitable for small and medium-sized businesses. One of the best features of ispCP is that it comes with an exemplary ticketing system that helps admins to automate customer service management.
Pros
- It enables you to easily create and manage multiple accounts of users, resellers, and other associated entities.
- ispCP’s email management included robust antivirus and antispam utilities.
Cons
- It needs more visibility and credibility; many web hosting providers give priority to other popular hosting control panels.
Conclusion
In this article, we have shared the 10 best hosting control panels available in the market. Whether you want to start an online business or simply launch your first hosting company, you need to choose a control panel that can meet both your requirements and budget. While choosing a hosting control panel, it’s imperative to be aware of its technical aspects as well as the features provided.
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