A control panel is a web based facility for managing or administering your web
hosting account. It allows you to easily, for example, set up an email account or
view your web site statistics.

There are many control panels available for web hosting. Probably the most common
is CPanel which is used extensively by web
hosting companies offering Linux based shared hosting.
DirectAdmin is another
control panel that is gaining both credibility and popularity.

Other control panels to consider are:

• CPanel
  
• DirectAdmin
  
• Plesk
  
• Ensim
  
• Webmin
  
• H-Sphere
  
• Helm (Windows only)
  

To find out which control panel is best for you, take some time to test each
one on your own, either by visiting the above sites and using a demo version
or by asking your potential host if you may test the control panel they offer.