Linux VPS hosting is the obvious way forward for website owners who have outgrown their shared hosting. It is ideal for larger websites, running business applications, hosting multiple sites and even for smaller scale resellers – and it is far more affordable than a dedicated server. One thing you will need to consider, however, is your choice of control panel and in this post, we’ll explain why cPanel with WHM is ideal for Linux VPS.
Why do you need a control panel?
You don’t actually need a control panel to administer your website or your VPS web server as all your admin tasks can be undertaken using a CMD command interface, scripts and SSH client connection tools, like PuTTY. However, most website owners don’t have the technical skills to do this and even those that do find that a control panel makes tasks easier and quicker to perform. For resellers, most of your clients will need a control panel of some kind.
Why cPanel?
One of the benefits of cPanel is that it is well established as the leading Linux control panel on the market and is used by many large organisations and major web hosting companies. This popularity tells you something about its reputation for quality and reliability – if it wasn’t so good, people wouldn’t use it.
And with so many users, there is also a great deal of online help to be found to assist you in carrying out any tasks, which is useful if you struggle with some of the more technical aspects of managing your website or server. Though if you are a WHUK customer, all our technical support team have completed official ‘cPanel University’ training, so help is available by online chat, telephone or email whenever you need it.
Why cPanel with WHM?
While cPanel is essentially a control panel used to manage individual websites, those who opt for Linux VPS hosting also get its sister software, WHM (Web Host Manager). This operates at a higher level and brings the speed and simplicity of cPanel to the actual management of your VPS server and, if you have one, your reseller environment. Essentially, WHM enables users to configure their server and, if needed, manage their multi-client hosting accounts.
cPanel and WHM make things easy by providing a user-friendly, intuitively designed, graphical interface that enables you to carry out a broad range of tasks.
Key features of WHM
One of the main features of WHM is that it enables a VPS to be configured in the same way as a dedicated server, for example, letting you set the server hostname, configure the mail server, and assign nameservers and IP addresses.
You can also use WHM to set up your own reseller hosting packages. You can create customer hosting accounts, assign the features you want to provide to your clients, and set limits for bandwidth usage and storage, just like any web host does on a shared hosting server. If your VPS server is big enough, you can even create and sell your own reseller packages.
Key features of cPanel
If you are upgrading from shared hosting to VPS, there’s more than a good chance that you are already familiar with the cPanel interface. However, as a control panel, it’s good to know that its programmers are constantly working to develop the software: improving the interface, updating existing features and adding new ones. You’ll also find there are regular updates to fix bugs and strengthen security. For those with VPS hosting accounts, updates to cPanel-WHM will be taken care of by your web host on your behalf.
When it comes to features of cPanel, you are spoiled for choice. It offers a highly comprehensive suite of tools for managing every aspect of your website.
Its main features are:
- Domain management: set up subdomains, parked domains, addon domains, and redirects.
- Security: configure password-protected directories, SSL/TLS, IP address blocks, set up access restrictions and protect the site with features such as ModSecurity.
- File management: monitor storage usage and edit and backup files and folders.
- Logs: monitor your website performance and even get analytics data.
- Mail management: create mail accounts, autoresponders and forwarders, set up mailing lists, email authentication and filter spam.
- Database: use databases such as MySQL to restrict access and manage data storage.
Additional apps
Another advantage of being the leading control panel is that third-party developers see cPanel as a great tool to build add-ons for. For this reason, you’ll find a multitude of useful apps offering all kinds of additional features.
cPanel benefits for resellers
If you are a reseller, you’ll want your clients to have the best possible control panel to use on their websites. Using cPanel – WHM means cPanel’s features will be there for them to use. The additional benefit that this brings is that, as it is so easy to use and navigate, your clients are not going to need your own technical support as much they would do with other control panels.
Conclusion
As you can see, when it comes to Linux VPS hosting, cPanel – WHM offers users a wide range of benefits: comprehensive server and website management and a huge range of tools and features, all provided in a user-friendly interface. And with constant upgrades and reseller-friendly features too, you can see why it’s the number one choice.
If you are looking for VPS hosting with cPanel – WHM, check out the great VPS packages here at Webhosting UK.
