Control panels handle many tasks on a daily basis, and are even called the backbone of a website by many people. Most website owners know that a good control panel can simplify the site building and maintenance process, which increases productivity, but one advantageous aspect of a good control panel that is not commonly mentioned is the traffic analysis tools it provides. At first glance, traffic analysis and traffic generation appear to be two completely different subjects. However, the two are very closely related, as the results of traffic generation techniques can be greatly improved by the insight provided by traffic analysis. Since cPanel is the most commonly used control panel, it is only befitting to discuss the traffic analysis tools provided within this popular control panel, and how they can improve traffic generation.

Using Complex traffic Analysis Tools

The cPanel control panel comes with three incredibly useful traffic analysis tools; Webalizer, Awstats and Analog. All of these tools provide a different level of insight and can be used in various situations accordingly. The Analog tool is the hard est to use but provides the most comprehensive overview of website traffic analysis. Analog bears it’s name because it presents information in text format rather than images or graphs. If you can learn how to use Analog, then you won’t have any need for the other two tools provided in cPanel.

Using Basic Traffic Analysis Tools

If you are not interested in surpassing the steep learning curve for Analog, then you may want to try a simpler solution such as Awstats. Awstats is relatively easy to use and lets you schedule comprehensive analytical reports for maximum productivity. This tool is perfect for webmasters that are experimenting with more immediate forms of traffic generation such as social bookmarking. The final tool, Webalizer provides detailed traffic reports on a monthly basis via graphs. Although the reports are infrequent they provide great insight to the long term progress of your website.

Using the Analytical Data to Generate Traffic

Once you have learned how to use the tools mentioned above, you may wonder how you’re going to use the data to generate traffic. The answer is actually quite simple; you are going to remove most of the error from “trial and error!” Virtually all traffic generating techniques require patience, including search engine optimization. The problem is, it can be hard to find out what works and what doesn’t. Which could cause you to waste tie promoting methods that are ineffective. In order to get the best results possible out of your efforts, you’ll need to know how much traffic is coming in and where it is coming from. Once you have this information you can use it to scale up and create a formula that consistently brings your website the desired amount of traffic.

There are many types of web hosting services available, with each one presenting a solution for a specific situation. With so many choices, one may become overwhelmed while trying to find one that will best accommodate their needs.

The main types of web hosting are dedicated hosting, shared hosting, and VPS hosting. Dedicated hosting provides a dedicated IP address and in some cases a dedicated server for maximum performance. Many companies delegate a certain amount of server resources to the customer to give them all of the performance they need to run their online business.

Shared hosting gives users a server that is shared amongst the customers of the web hosting company. This type of web hosting solution generally has less to offer than dedicated hosting, but is also cheaper.

The third kind of hosting is VPS( Virtual Private Server) hosting. VPS hosting offers the best of both worlds, giving the user optimal performance as well as reliability.   VMware hosting is a kind of VPS hosting that provides all of the necessary resources in a virtualized fashion. The following benefits make VMware a suitable solution for many web hosts.

Flexibility

Aside from being a purely virtual solution, VMware can be used in conjunction with physical servers to offer the user even more resources. Since the server is virtualized, all of the data can be monitored from a centralized location and the chances of data loss is low considering the information is hosted on a virtualized server. Since you’ll able to utilize the resources of a physical server in a virtualized solution, you’ll be able to save time and and money by preventing the startup costs that are associated with physicals server setup.

Security and Reliability

Having secure data is perhaps the most important aspect of a web hosting plan. By using VMware hosting you can have your data available at all times, and back it up with ease, which completely prevent all forms of data loss. This means that regardless of the situation, you can rest assured that your websites data is safe with VMware web hosting.

Functionality

Since the server resources provide by VMware are virtually unlimited, users can enjoy premium functionality at a reduced price. Users can also enjoy increased ease of use, since installing web applications is much easier. Instead of worrying about setting up applications on a physical server, the entire process can be managed online in a user-friendly interface.

Price

Since no physical hardware is required, a VMware hosting plan is usually much cheaper than its conventional counterparts. In fact many people consider VMware hosting to be the most cost effective hosting solution available. VMware is perfect for users that are looking for a low cost solution that provides optimal functionality, reliability, simplicity, and support. By utilizing VMware, users have the opportunity to host their website with very little effort, for a fraction of the cost of hosting a physical server. At the same time they have access to the resources of a physical server, and they have the option of using a physical server in conjunction with their VMware hosting plan.

Many business owners do not realize that maintaining website performance is every bit as important as making the website appear to be professional. In fact, many site owners make the mistake of overloading their site with too much information and thereby hindering the speed and functionality of their website. While having complex flash presentations, eye-catching media, and other entertaining features on your website is optimal, it should not sacrifice the performance of your website. After all, how many people will want to stay at your site if all of these features are taking an hour to load? In order to crate a well balanced website and monitor the server load of your website you’ll need a competent control panel, and you’ll need to know how to use it as well.

Database Management

Managing databases and managing your website might as well be interchangeable phrases, as the databases of your website basically comprise it’s existence. Without the right database management skills, you could find yourself staring at a cluttered unorganized mess of date. Using a control panel to maintain cleaned and up to date databases is a good way to improve the speed of your website.  Using database servers like MySQL will let you use several databases for multiple reasons, thereby balancing some of the load placed on the web server. Using a control panel like cPanel will let you manage all of your databases with ease.

Controlling File Transfer Protocol

Uploading files to the server can be a daunting task, especially when you have a lot of content for your site. To lessen the amount of time it takes to upload, it is best to become familiar with your control panels FTP module. You’ll also want to outsource some of the work eventually, especially if you have people producing content for you in large quantities. A good control panel will let you create new FTP accounts for each user, so they can upload the content straight to the website, saving you a lot of time and frustration. Each FTP account can be given limitations or permissions that allow certain users to handle certain tasks. For example, a writer would only be able to upload written content to the site.

Analyzing Traffic with Your Control Panel

Another way to boost productivity and manage the loaf placed on your website is to use the traffic analyzing utilities that are included with your control panel. Using these tools you can find a plethora of statistics that lend insight to the nature of your website’s traffic. This information can help you make decisions in regards to upgrading your web hosting plan, and judging when it is time to expand your server capabilities. The number one reason why website owners suffer from poor website performance is because they fail to upgrade when it is time to do so. Staying on top of your website’s traffic habits not only lets you monitor your servers capability, but you’ll also be able to see what traffic generating techniques work for you by analyzing daily and weekly traffic statistics.

Understanding your website’s traffic is a crucial part of enhancing your search engine optimization efforts.  Knowing where most of your website’s traffic is originating from will allow you to place more emphasis on that traffic stream. For example if you know that most of your traffic is coming from YouTube, then you may want to increase your video marketing efforts. Likewise, you can focus more on the weaker sources of traffic to improve your overall outreach. Any online business owner should be well aware of their website’s traffic stats if they want their visitor base to grow.  Many people opt to use expensive softwares to analyze stats. However this is not necessary, as most of the analytics needed can be found within your control panel which is provided by your web hosting provider.

cPanel Web Analytics

Since cPanel is by fare the most widely-used control panel around, we’ll use it as our primary example of how a control panel can provide all of the website traffic statistics needed. cPanel includes three analytic tools; Analog, AwStats and Webalizer.  When you first discover these tools they can be a bit difficult to use, however as you begin to explore the various features, you’ll soon learn just how simple they are to use. To help you get started using these tools we have included a quick overview of each one.

Analog

Out of the three tools offered by cPanel, Analog is the most advanced. The analytic results offered by Analog are presented in text from, instead of in graphs. However, all of the information you’ll need to improve your website’s traffic flow can be found in Analog. Although this tool has a relatively steep learning curve, learning to use it will improve your site’s performance greatly.

AwStats and Webalizer

The second most advanced tool offered by control panel is AwStats. Although it provides detailed analytical information, it also presents this information in easy to understand charts and graphs. With AwStats, you can analyze statistics concerning email, media viewing and even File Transfer Protocol.  This tool also let’s you create scheduled and requested  reports via it’s simple user interface. You should use AwStats to setup weekly reports of your website’s traffic, and use Analog to analyze your daily traffic.

Webalizer provides statistical analysis on a monthly basis, giving you a broader understanding of your site’s long term stats. Like AwStats, Webalizer also presents information in very simple graphs and charts that anyone can understand. Although the stats provided by Webalizer are basic, they provide great insight to your site’s progression. I would not recommend using Webalizer as your sole means of understanding your website’s traffic though. It is best to use all three of these tools in combination to achieve optimal results.

It is important to note that all of these programs are included free with cPanel, and many other control panels include similar tools. You should remember this before you make the decision to purchase expensive web analytics software unnecessarily.

Today there are many control panels available for many different uses. You have control panels that are geared towards large businesses, and control panels that work well in the dedicated hosting environment. However one of the more recent types of control panels are those that cater specifically  to the needs of bloggers. One such control panel is FirePow.  Many professional bloggers use FirePow to setup blogs quickly and efficiently. In fact, once you learn how to use this control panel effectively, you’ll be able to create an incredible amount of blogs in a short period of time. The practice of setting up blogs in such a short time span is called autoblogging. Many people make their living off of autoblogging. Some of them make the blogs for others and sell them as a service, while others setup blogs in hot niches to earn revenue with AdSense. Whatever your reasons for blogging are. FirePow is control panel that will increase your productivity as a blogger.

Blog Management With FirePow

The features included in FirePow make blog management extremely simple. Since FirePow is also compatible with a plethora of web applications, the expandability of the software offers supreme flexibility.  The user has extensive control over multiple blogs within a single interface. You can access unlimited blogs within the same control panel module, giving you the ability to edit many blogs in a short period of time.

On Demand Information For Multiple Blogs Simultaneously

In FirePow’s control panel interface you’ll find important information next to the name of each blog. You’ll also be able to access web applications for each blog by simply clicking the icons located next to the blog names. Some of the information shown next to the blog name is the blog’s post count, as well as the date of the last entry. Having this information at hand is very helpful, especially when you have multiple blog’s to handle.  Your WordPress status, including the current version you’re using is also displayed in the main control panel, and you can easily update to the latest version of WordPress with a single mouse-click!

Taking Your Blogging to the Next Level

With FirePow bloggers can go from being an ordinary blogger to becoming an autoblogger with hundreds of blogs. Having access to this many blogs really gives you an enormous web presence that can be used for so many purposes. These blogs can be linked to each other to create an enormous link network that will increase the backlink count of each blog, or you can link them all to one central domain to build your main website’s search engine ranking. You can drive traffic from one blog to the next and create a seemingly infinite network of blogs that could potentially dominate a particular niche. With the power to mange and create so many blogs in such a short period of time, you could take advantage of the most recent trends and set up twenty blogs about a hot topic in a matter of minutes! You could then sue these blogs to promote affiliate offers, make revenue with advertising, or simply resell them later on for a profit once you’ve built a substantial visitor base.

Every website is hosted by a web server that is responsible for storing and cataloging the website’s data. Most of the time this web server is provided by a third-party web hosting service, which also provides an administrative maintenance module for the server and your website known as a control panel.

A control panel gives you the power to oversee and adjust virtually every feature offered by the web hosting company. The administrative functions you can control include email account management, sub-domains, FTP clients, and database management. Although some web hosts give users the option of choosing their own control panel, most web hosts simply include a pre-configured control panel within the web hosting package. Usually the control panel offered depends upon the operating system the web hosting company is using, whether it be Linux or Windows.

Simplicity: The Deciding Factor

Among the most popular control panels are cPanel, vDeck, CubePanel, Hsphere and Plesk. Although all of these programs offer beneficial features, they have very different designs and user interfaces. All of them are capable of meeting the needs of most webmasters, however some are more effective at doing so, not because of more features, but because of the ease in which those features can be used. The best control panel for you, might not be the best control panel for another. Novice users may find that using a simple control panel such as cPanel suits their needs, while more experienced webmasters may want a more comprehensive control panel like Hsphere. As both off these control panels are capable of the same functions, simplicity is often the deciding factor.

Functionality vs. Ease of Use

Cpanel and Plesk are by far the tow most commonly used control panels. While both of the programs are capable of carrying out the same functions, cPanel is usually seen as being a more comprehensive solution with a longer learning curve. Plesk is very easy to use, and it is also compatible with both Windows and Linux, but there are certain areas in which Plesk has not caught up with cPanel. Many choose vDeck because it combines the simplicity of Plesk with the features of cPanel. However, vDeck is not commonly included in a web hosting package.

Learning to Use the Control Panel

Regardless of which control panel you use, there is going to be somewhat of a learning curve. You can shorten this learning curve by experimenting with the demo before you decide to purchase a control panel solution. This will give you a good idea of whether or not you are going to be compatible with the user-interface of the control panel. If you are having trouble using your control panel, don’t be afraid to contact your web hosts customer service department. They will be helpful in guiding you towards the tutorials you need to get started.

All websites are hosted by web servers that must be maintained to allow optimal functionality for the hosted web site. The manual maintenance of these servers would be an extremely time consuming and complex task without the help of a simplification module.

Each day, your website’s server handles hundreds, if not thousands of tasks. Each task is executed based on the administrative preferences and settings given to the server by the administrator. Without a user-friendly control panel interface, it would be very difficult to adjust and maintain the efficacy of your website’s server manually. Even tasks as simple as creating new email accounts would become time consuming, and the complexity of tasks such as database administration or FTP account creation would be too much to handle for most novice users. The control panel is indeed the most important application associated with your web hosting account. Let us discuss three obvious reasons why having a good control panel is imperative.

1.  Database Administration

Most novice users know very little about the fundamentals of database administration, yet databases are the backbones of every website. A database is to a website what a vault is to bank. All of your website’s information is stored in databases that need to be maintained and administered to obtain maximum speed and functionality for your website.  Most web hosting services use database servers such as MySQL, that allow the user to utilize multiple databases for various reasons. Control panels allow  users to manage these databases with very little foreknown knowledge. Since well-maintained databases are so critical to your website’s performance, having a good control panel that simplifies the process of database administration is crucial.

2. FTP Administration

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a common;y used web-based protocol that simplifies the process of uploading files to your web server.  Control panels enhance the simplicity and functionality of FTP even further, by letting webmasters create individual FTP accounts for their website’s users.  These individual FTP accounts include usernames/passwords, user directories, allocated disk space and more. Using a control panel to manage your FTP functions will remove all manual work, letting you upload files directly from your control panel’s user-friendly interface.

3. Email Account Administration

Having the ability to create multiple email accounts is a standard feature with any web hosting package. Control panels automate the creation and administration of  multiple email accounts, letting you set up useful tools such as autoresponders and message forwarders. Autoresponders are applications that allow the user to automatically respond to emails with a set of preconceived messages. Message forwarders automatically send received emails to specified email addresses based on your preferred criteria. These kind of email automation tools are essential in the productivity of online businesses. Having the ability to use these tools, and easily manage multiple email accounts is another reason why control panels are so important to novice and expert webmasters alike.

Server administration would be a daunting task for many webmasters without the help of a good control panel. Thanks to the development of software such as cPanel and Plesk, even the most novice users can now enjoy the full benefits of a properly maintained and personally adjusted web server.

A control panel is the application used to maintain and administrate your web hosting account, and ultimately your domain. Control panels will allow you to maximize your website’s productivity by making server/domain maintenance and administration a simple task. There are many choices a user has in regards to choosing a control panel, however the following five control panels are considered the most popular and useful control panels in the industry today.

cPanel

cPanel is by far the most popular and maybe even the most user-friendly control panel around. Cpanel provides more services and features than any other control panel in the industry, and it’s customer service is said to be second to none. Cpanel is an all-in-one web hosting solution, allowing it’s customers to administer all aspects of domain hosting, including FTP, email creation, and database maintenance. Cpanel customers also have the option to resell the web hosting services with a reseller’s account. The cPanel interface is so well designed that becoming an expert at using it takes only a few hours at the most. Since cPanel is the most popular control panel, it also has the most tutorials available online. All of this combines to make cPanel the most favored web hosting control panel on the internet.

Plesk for Linux

The Linux version of Plesk is said to be one of the most stable and powerful control panel on the market today.  Though Plesk does not carry as many attributes as cPanel, the learning curve for this control panel is very short. In fact, most of the functions are specifically designed to automate any administration function. Plesk for Linux is capable of controlling up to thirty domains by default, but you have the option of upgrading to an unlimited amount of domains if you’d like.

ServerCP

ServerCP is another user-friendly control panel that often comes integrated with VPS and dedicated  hosting packages. ServerCP is also an extremely powerful Linux-based web hosting solution, equipped with countless useful features.  ServerCP supports unlimited domains by default and also comes with a very user-friendly installation application that lets you install various popular web hosting applications such as blogging platforms (like Wordpress), photo galleries, and even e-commerce shopping carts.  ServerCP is currently available as a free edition (ServerCP Lite, or you can upgrade to the premium version of the software.

Virtuozzo Power Panel

Virtuozzo Power Panel is made by the company Parallels. This control panel is available in multiple  versions designed to support Windows and Linux VPS’s (virtual private servers).  The virtuozzo power panel allows you to access all administrative functions directly from your web browser. Some of the functions that can be accessed via your web browser include web service management processes, server reboots, backup restoring, log data viewing and server resource monitoring . The Virtuozzo Power Panel allows you to have an unprecedented amount of control via your web browser, and is said to be the most optimal control panel for users of Virtual Private Servers.

Once a web site has been established and is ready to roll, an important piece of software that might make the road to success a bit easier is a good control panel.  Control panels allow web site owners the ability to administer their accounts via a web interface.  Of the many programs available, DirectAdmin is one control panel that is easy to use, stable and is competitively priced.

User Features

On the user end of things, DirectAdmin has a number of helpful features that make administering a web site a thing of ease.  Five different menus are presented – e-mail, ftp, dns, statistics, and sub-domains.  FrontPage extensions can be easily enabled or disabled by clicking a button.  Instead of using ftp, users can opt to use the built in file manager to upload files and create new directories.  DirectAdmin also has an advanced tools section where users can install SSL certificates, view server information and even enable site redirection and domain pointers.

Reseller Features

For resellers, DirectAdmin is an administrative gift.  New hosting accounts can be created instantly and current accounts can be modified or deleted as needed.  Predefined account packages can be created allowing even quicker account creation.  The built in ticket support system is designed to allow resellers to contact all resold account owners in case of system wide messages.  IPs can be allocated and name servers can be personalized.  All in all, DirectAdmin works well for resellers.

Administrator Features

Server administrators benefit greatly from DirectAdmin as well.  Resellers and admin accounts can be created quickly, predefined reseller packages can be set up, and IPs can be easily allocated all within the administrator’s portion of the DirectAdmin program.  Every aspect of server administration is controlled through the control panel making the life of an administrator just a bit less hectic.

Overall Features

DirectAdmin comes bundled with a ticket support system.  When logging into the system, administrators and support staff will be greeted with how many messages are waiting to be attended to.  The ticket support system can be configured to send e-mail notifications when a ticket has been created.  DirectAdmin is set to update live which means no more having to manually download and install new versions of software.  A quick click on the “licensing/updates” button performs the update without hassle.  The control panel program is also completely customizable allowing web hosting providers to make their “premier” control panel unique and part of their web site theme.

Cost

Pricing for DirectAdmin is split into several options.  For $29 each month, web hosting providers can opt for a monthly license.  To save a bit of money, providers can go with the yearly option offered at $200 per year.  The most economical over time is the “Lifetime License.”  For a one-time fee of $299.00, web hosts can outright own their own copy of the control panel software.  This last option also comes with 90 days of technical support.

Final Thoughts

Administrating a web site, reseller site or an entire server should not be a chore.  DirectAdmin is one control panel that takes the hard work out of being a web site owner and makes it fun again.

ISPmanager is a powerful, but easy to use control panel designed for automating the management of shared, VPS, VDS (virtual dedicated server) and dedicated hosting environments.  Originally launched by ISPsystem in 1998 as an in-house solution, it has become one of the leading server control panels on today’s market.  A few clicks of the mouse is all it takes to create web hosting plans, manage user accounts, mailboxes, databases and much more.  ISPmanager takes a centralized approach that enables streamlined administration from a single location in a fast and intuitive way.

ISPmanager Features

ISPmanager is used by major hosting providers all over the world, giving them the automated power to efficiently manage their servers while allowing clients to easily administer their own websites.  The software has four login levels that give administrators, clients, domain owners and mail users extensive control of their respective environments.  Aside from management capabilities, ISPmanager offers a host of features that make it one of the most complete control panel solutions available.

Core Features

- Support for all major Linux distributions including, Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS and Debian.  ISPmanager also supports Unix-based operating systems such as FreeBSD and Microsoft Windows as well.

- Support for both Apache and nginx web servers.

- Support for a wide range of mail servers, including CommuniGatePro, Exim, Postfix and Sendmail.

- Support for MySQL and PostgreSQL database servers.

- Multilingual support

- Flexible API and plugins allow for the integration of various new services.

Management Features

- Ability to automatically update time zones and other network settings.

- Compatible with PHP and Perl programming languages.

- Built-in cron job management facility.

- Ability to create and manage mail lists.

- Integrated file manager complete with extensive editing capabilities and data backup support.

- Instantly configure websites and updates application settings.

Advantages of ISPManager

There are both pros and cons to using ISPmanager as a server control panel.  One of the greatest advantages is that the software acts a multi-server solution that enables the streamlined management of web, database, FTP and mail servers.   It is also much lighter on system resources than other control panels and installs easily without needing changing your operating system configuration.  End-customers benefit as well with a host of useful features such as one-click application installers, database management with PHPMyAdmin, web stat tools and much more.

Disadvantages of ISPmanager

The major downside to ISPmanager is that the software does not come cheap.  If you want the Pro version, a one-year license will cost you a steep $453.16.  You can save yourself a lot of money with the lifetime license for $333.20.

Conclusion

ISPmanager is a fully featured control panel that offers plenty of advantages to the web host, server administrator and web hosting customer.  Though already equipped with an extensive set of features, ISPsystem is constantly incorporating new additions in its continuous mission to the make the software more powerful and easy to use.  Track record means a lot in the hosting business, and this mature control panel has the solid reputation you can count on.