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.

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.

The web hosting industry’s favorite control panel just got easier to use with the recent edge version release of cPanel/WHM 11.25.  While this is not the official version of the new cPanel, it does offer some improvements and features that deserve mentioning.

Improved Security

cPanel/WHM 11.25 bundles new security features to give server administrators and website owners a peace of mind.  A built-in token system appends URLs with session tokens to help thwart exploits such as XSRF (cross site request forgery) attacks.  cPanel also processes blank referrer checks in a more accurate manner and can trigger XSRF prevention pages to alert administrators of suspicious activity.

Enhancements in DNS Clustering

cPanel has made several enhancements to its DNS clustering facility.  In the latest version, the system syncs and deletes zones in batches, which dramatically reduces memory consumption during the process of DNS synchronization.  There is also the addition of a new feature with the ability to automatically disable any server in the cluster that continuously fails to respond to DNS commands, thus stopping outdated information from being delivered to updated servers when the troubled server is finally restored.

Better IMAP Support for Mobile Devices

Version 11.25 of the cPanel/WHM package has a number of enhancements that provide significantly improved access to the software via popular mobile devices.  For instance, instead of performing authentication with compatible devices over HTTP, the software uses cookies, which cuts the number of authentication requests by up to 50% in most instances.  IMAP IDLE support has also been added for Dovecot email servers, which enables near real-time message delivery to mobile devices.

Optimized Apache Configuration

In older versions of cPanel, using administrative tools such as the Tweak Settings function meant that the Apache web server needed to be restarted numerous times.  With 11.25, Apache is able to maintain a queue for restart requests, which drastically reduces the number of times the server needs to be restarted.  The generation times for httpd.config have also been enhanced, thus resulting in a much faster Apache configuration.

Enhanced Performance

cPanel/WHM is packaged with several enhancements that can lighten the load on the server and prompt faster response times.  Two prime examples are how the RoundCube webmail application can now be operated utilizing the SQLite database engine and the addition of a more robust log daemon that minimizes memory consumption and prevents log processing delays.  Moreover, administrators can now dramatically boost transfer time and create accounts faster than ever before.

Testing Driving cPanel/WHM 11.25

cPanel/WHM 11.25 has some irresistible qualities and even more are to be included in the final product.  Keep in mind that this is an edge version, which means that while it comes bundled with the latest technology and functionality, it also lacks comprehensive testing and therefore, is not recommended for use on a production server.  cPanel/WHM 11.25 will be released in several minor releases but the first major launch is expected to hit the market in the very near future.