How does cpanel-based web hosting operate?
For your info, it's good to be aware that most of the cPanel web space hosting offerings on the present hosting marketplace are supplied by a quite inconsiderable business segment (as far as annual cash flow is concerned) dubbed hosting reseller. Reseller web space hosting is a sort of a small business niche, which supplies an immense quantity of different web hosting brand names, yet furnishing exactly the same thing: chiefly cPanel web hosting solutions. This is bad news for everybody. Why? Because at least ninety eight percent of the web space hosting offers on the entire webspace hosting marketplace provide absolutely the same thing: cPanel. There's no variety at all. Even the cPanel web hosting prices are alike. Very identical. Giving those who demand a top web hosting service almost no other web space hosting platform/website hosting Control Panel option. So, there is simply one single fact: out of more than 200,000 site hosting brand names worldwide, the non-cPanel based ones are less than 2, remark that one...
200,000 "web site hosting service providers", all cPanel-based, yet uniquely named
The web hosting "variety" and the site hosting "offerings" Google presents to us come down to just one solution: cPanel. Under hundreds of 1000's of different web hosting brand names. Assume you are only an average chap who's not very well familiar with (as the majority of us) with the web page creation procedures and the web site hosting platforms, which actually power the different domains and web sites . Are you prepared to make your hosting decision? Is there any site hosting alternative you can opt for? Of course there is, right now there are more than 200k web hosting companies in existence. Formally. Then where is the difficulty? Here's where: more than 98% of these 200k+ unique web site hosting brands in the world will give you the very same cPanel web hosting Control Panel and platform, named differently, with literally the same price tags! WOW! That's how huge the diversity on the current hosting market is... Full stop.
The hosting LOTTERY we are all part of
Simple mathematics shows that to run into a non-cPanel based web hosting corporation is a mammoth strike of luck. There is a less than 1 in fifty chance that a thing like that will happen! Less than 1 in fifty...
The strengths and weaknesses of the cPanel hosting solution
Let's not be pitiless with cPanel. After all, in the years 2001-2004 cPanel was modern and presumably met most web site hosting market requirements. In short, cPanel can do the job for you if you have only one domain to host. But, if you have more domain names...
Problem Number 1: A foolish domain folder configuration
If you have two or more domain names, however, be ultra watchful not to remove completely the add-on ones (that's how cPanel will call each new hosted domain, which is not the default one: an add-on domain name). The files of the add-on domain names are very easy to erase on the hosting server, since they all are placed into the root folder of the default domain, which is the quite well known public_html folder. Each add-on domain is a folder placed inside the folder of the default domain. Like a sub-folder. Next time try not to remove the files of the add-on domains, please. Determine for yourself how good cPanel's domain folder system is:
public_html (here my-default-domain.com is placed)public_html/my-family (a folder part of my-default-domain.com)
public_html/my-second-domain.com (an add-on domain name)
public_html/my-second-wife (a folder part of my-default-domain.com)
public_html/my-second-wife.net (an add-on domain name)
public_html/my-third-domain.com (an add-on domain)
public_html/my-third-wife (a folder part of my-default-domain.com)
public_html/my-third-wife.net (an add-on domain)
public_html/rebeka (a folder part of my-default-domain.com)
public_html/rebeka.my-third-wife.net (a sub-domain of an add-on domain)
Are you becoming disorientated? We undoubtedly are!
Weak Side No.2: The same electronic mail folder setup
The e-mail folder configuration on the server is absolutely the same as that of the domain names... Making the very same mistake twice?!? The admin blokes firmly fortify their belief in God when dealing with the email folders on the electronic mail server, hoping not to bungle things up too fatally.
Drawback Number Three: A complete shortage of domain name management sections
Do we need to bring up the complete deficiency of a modern domain name manipulation menu - a place where you can: register/migrate/renew/park or administer domain names, change domain names' Whois information, secure the Whois info, alter/set up nameservers (DNS) and Domain Name System resource records? cPanel does not offer such a "contemporary" GUI at all. That's a huge predicament. An unpardonable one, we wish to point out...
Weak Point Number 4: Multiple login locations (min two, maximum three)
What about the necessity for an additional login to use the invoicing transaction, domain name and technical support administration tool? That's aside from the cPanel user account login credentials you've been already given by the cPanel web space hosting firm. Occasionally, based on the billing system (especially made for cPanel exclusively) the cPanel web hosting vendor is making use of, the enthusiastic customers can wind up with two extra logins (1: the invoicing/domain name administration section; 2: the trouble ticket support user interface), ending up with a total of 3 login places (counting cPanel).
Negative Point Number Five: More than one hundred and twenty web space hosting Control Panel areas to get acquainted with... swiftly
cPanel presents for your consideration 120+ menus inside the web site hosting Control Panel. It's a fabulous idea to become familiar with each one of them. And you'd better become familiar with them fast... That's extremely impudent on cPanel's side.
With all due recognition, we have a rhetorical question for all cPanel-based web site hosting companies:
As far as we are aware of, it's not the year 2001, is it? Note that one too...