Some web hosts include a control panel with its web hosting packages, but in other cases, you might have to purchase one as an add-on. Two popular and commonly-offered control panel options are cPanel and Plesk.
cPanel and Plesk are two exclusive powerful manipulate panels that are implanted with excessive quality yet comparable functionalities and features. Speak about Plesk, it’s miles an entire multi-level website hosting manage panel that gives the server administrator with the huge variety of options which allows them to develop and preserve the hosting enterprise and additionally assist the quit customers complete manage over their websites. Additionally, it’s smooth to navigate interact gives plenty of comfort alternatives to the operators that permit them to guide a couple of sections.
Then again, cPanel is the Linux-based hosting manipulate panel this is recognized for its first-rate graphical automation and interface gear that is particularly designed to create the best web hosting method clean share efficient. The cPanel offers users a graphical interact from that is they could manage their share of a Unix server & thus, manipulate the net hosts in a suitable manner. The cPanel hosting and the Plesk hosting approaches are almost comparable, but there are a number of the small variations that hold them awesome from each different.
We will cover the similarities and differences between cPanel and Plesk so that you can make an informed decision when it comes time to buy.
Control Panels Overview
In general, control panels (regardless of which specific option you choose) tend to come with a common set of features for you to manage your server and web hosting environment. These features include:
- Domain name and IP address management (managing your current names, registering new ones, and so on)
- Email management
- File transfers using FTP
- Online file system management and access
- Database management
- Backup file creation
- Logging
- Extensibility for third-party tools
cPanel Overview
According to cPanel, someone uses cPanel to create a domain every six seconds and a hosting account every 14.5 seconds.
There are many reasons for this. cPanel boasts that its product is “built for everyone,” and its robust, worldwide setup means that they have the infrastructure necessary to provide the reliable, quality service its customers want.
Regardless of whether you want to make a simple change in the middle of the night or implement a major overhaul during the day, you can be assured that your cPanel will be available.
cPanel is a Linux-based tool (so it is not an option for you if your server is running Windows or any other operating system) that separates out the things you can do into three categories:
- Actions available to administrators
- Actions available to web hosting resellers
- Actions available to end-user website owners
In addition to the typical server system administration functionality (such as backup creation, file management, and resource usage analysis) you expect from a control panel, your cPanel account integrates with many third-party products so that you can manage multiple website-related tools in one place.
Sometimes you’ll see cPanel mentioned with WHM. cPanel is the “client-facing” product, or the one you use to do things like edit your website’s files, create new email accounts, or manage your databases.
WHM (which stands for Web Host Manager) is the administrative tool used to manage multiple cPanel accounts — if you have more than one website, you will likely have more than one cPanel, which you then manage using WHM.
Plesk Overview
Plesk bills itself as a tool designed to help you “build, secure, and run your apps and websites” in a simple manner. The company is a bit younger than cPanel (cPanel was initially released in 1996, and Plesk was first shipped in 2001).
The Plesk panel is very similar to cPanel and WHM (you can think of Plesk as something that can replace both these products). Unlike cPanel, Plesk is cross-platform and runs on Windows Server (as well as several different Linux distributions), so if you opt for Windows-based hosting, you most likely will end up using Plesk.
Like cPanel/WHM, Plesk allows you to complete the server system administration tasks for your server, as well as integrate with third-party tools so you can manage multiple aspects of your website in one location.
However, do note that you get both the “client-facing” functionality and the administrative functionality in one location, so you get a more powerful experience at the expense of a streamlined interface.
Plesk considers itself to be a complete “WebOps” server control panel, which means that you will get strong website and server security, the ability to manage multiple servers using one control panel, a large amount of flexibility and control, and extensibility so that you can create a Plesk implementation that does exactly what you need it to do.
Hosts that use Plesk for their Windows plans include ASPHostPortal and HostForLIFEASP.NET, some of the businesses that rely on Plesk’s products include Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Docker, Google, and Node.js.
Control Panel Differences – Things to Consider
Given the similarities between the two options, how do you make the decision between cPanel and Plesk?
In the following sections, we will cover feature differences, such as the actual feature sets, control panel layout, and level of control you have over your website. This is probably the information that you will find most helpful when it comes time to make your decision.
Compatibility
cPanel is a Linux-based program, so you will need to run one of the following supported operating systems if you want to use cPanel:
- CenOS
- CloudLinux
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- Amazon Linux
Plesk, however, is a cross-platform program that runs on multiple operating systems. They include:
- Debian
- Ubuntu
- CentOS
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux
- CloudLinux
- Virtuozzo Linux
- Windows Server
However, you do have to purchase the Plesk option for the specific operating system you are using — there is no option to purchase one software suite that you can then use on multiple machines running different operating systems.
For most people, the operating system is not a deciding factor between the two, since most web hosting is done on Linux machines (and therefore both options are available) — other features offered by these two are much more important.
However, if you use any other operating system, be sure to check the product’s compatibility with the operating system you are using.
Feature Sets
As we stated above, both products will come with the features you need to manage your website and server effectively. The biggest differences, therefore, come with the extensibility offered.
Extensibility describes the process of adding optional features or integrating third-party tools to modify the amount of control you exert over your environment.
For example, if you are using Plesk, you can easily integrate with Git for version control or Docker for development containers that isolate a subset of your code.
If you need support for commonly-used tools, such as WordPress or Virtualmin (a tool to manage multiple hosts using one cPanel or Plesk instance), you can opt for either since both will support such integrations.
Similarly, if you just need support for a tool and not a specific tool (for example, you might need a shopping cart, but you are not particularly loyal to any particular shopping cart), you will find that both can meet your needs.
Where cPanel and Plesk control panels begin to diverge in terms of the feature set is in terms of extensibility and the integrations supported.
For example, if you use Docker for some of your hosting needs, Plesk is certainly the option for you, since you will need to do a lot of hands-on tweaking of cPanel if you choose to go that route.
You can browse the cPanel App Store to see some of the options available to its users. If you are interested in Plesk, the company lists the Extensions they have made available to its customers.
User Experience and User Interfaces
We think that both the Plesk and cPanel control panels offer modern, aesthetically-pleasing, and user-friendly user interfaces.
However, if you are less comfortable with control panels and server management, you might find Plesk’s more streamlined approach friendlier (that’s not to say that cPanel is difficult to use, because it is not).
Plesk simply groups similar features together, so you do not have to wade through a large number of options before finding the one for which you are looking.
Summary
You can assume that most major Windows- or Linux-based web server/website administrative suites come with all the features you need to manage your hosting account and website. Plesk and cPanel are no different. cPanel and Plesk both are high-quality control panels for hosting as well as servers. All are packed by exquisite features and capabilities. The cPanel is first-rate for Linux primarily based customers and Plesk is the tremendous alternatives for the home windows fans.