Types Of Free And Paid Web Host Control Panel Programs
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010Today there are plenty of web hosting control panels out there. Linux and Windows both have a selection of panels suited to different server environments. Both operating systems also have a number of both free and paid solutions, so there is indeed a panel for every aspiring web host out there.
One of the most popular Unix web host control panels is cPanel. This control panel is a proprietary system- and licenses can run as much as $425 per year. Developers of cPanel have also created a mirror software platform that runs on Windows, so it can be used by virtually any server type. cPanel has a low learning curve, making it perfect for first-time web hosts.
The open source movement is everywhere- and that includes the web hosting community! Webmin is an example of an open source software package for Unix systems. Webmin also has modules such as Virtualmin and Usermin to extend the functionality of the core hosting panel. Users agree that making modifications to Webmin is painless- and it’s selling feature.
It’s good to see that some web hosting panels are working in modern features into their inner core. An example would be with GNUPanel, which allows hosting managers to accept online payment processors automatically. Other packages such as cPanel may be able to do this with third party software, but it isn’t built into the system. GNUPanel is based on PHP 5, so it’s also a rather mainstream and easy to pick up code base. GNUPanel supports many features cPanel does, such as one-click installation of Joomla!
Perhaps one of the few true competitors to cPanel in terms of licensed panels is Plesk. Plesk is said to be more user friendly because of its interface, but the true decision should be left up to the end user. Plesk is very comparable to cPanel otherwise: being able to do just about anything equally as well, with the same sense of security. The interface and licensing fees are the two main deciding factors for new web hosting managers.
InterWorx is a unique web hosting control panel, in that it is able to support multiple servers at once. It specializes in load balancing in a cluster server environment, so that high-traffic websites can still function despite intensive server usage. InterWorx is a proprietary system, but has competitive pricing that allows users to pay by the month, quarterly, or annually. Paying more for a custom installation or custom support options is also available to those who need a little extra from their web hosting control panel.
In Conclusion
There are many control panels to pick from. Whether you need a specific price, server environment, or feature set- there are free demonstrations available from all reputable panel developers. Take the time to try out each one and make a solid decision on who to pick.
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