How does cpanel-based web site hosting function?
For your information, it's useful to know that most of the cPanel web page hosting offerings on the present web hosting marketplace are supplied by a quite inconsiderable marketing niche (as far as annual capital flow is concerned) named hosting reseller. Reseller web space hosting is a sort of a small marketing niche, which supplies a big number of different web hosting brands, yet offering literally the same thing: mostly cPanel web hosting solutions. This is bad news for everyone. Why? Because at least ninety eight percent of the hosting offerings on the entire site hosting market offer the same thing: cPanel. There's no diversity at all. Even the cPanel web hosting prices are similar. Quite identical. Giving those who need a top web hosting service virtually no other hosting platform/Control Panel alternative. So, there is only one single fact: out of more than 200k site hosting brands in the world, the non-cPanel based ones are less than two percent! Less than 2%, mark that one...
200k "site hosting firms", all cPanel-based, yet diversely branded
The hosting "diversity" and the web page hosting "offers" Google presents to all of us come down to just one solution: cPanel. Under hundreds of thousands of different web hosting trademarked names. Assume you are only a regular bloke who's not well aware of (as most of us) with the web site making procedures and the webspace hosting platforms, which actually power the individual domain names and web sites . Are you ready to make your web hosting decision? Is there any hosting alternative you can pick? Sure there is, these days there are more than 200k hosting distributors in existence. Formally. Then where is the problem? Here's where: more than 98% of these more than two hundred thousand unique website hosting brands around the world will offer you exactly the same cPanel web hosting CP and platform, dubbed differently, with the same price tags! WOW! That's how vast the assortment on the current hosting marketplace is... Full stop.
The web space hosting LOTTERY we are all paricipating in
Simple arithmetic demonstrates that to select a non-cPanel based web hosting service provider is a big strike of luck. There is a less than one in fifty chance that a thing like that will take place! Less than 1 in fifty...
The strengths and weaknesses of the cPanel web page hosting solution
Let's not be unfair with cPanel. At least, in the years 2001-2004 cPanel was modern and presumably fulfilled most web space hosting market prerequisites. In short, cPanel can achieve the desired result if you have only one domain name to host. But, if you have more domains...
Downside Number One: A dumb domain folder structure
If you have 2 or more domains, however, be very attentive not to remove entirely the add-on ones (that's how cPanel will refer to each new hosted domain, which is not the default one: an add-on domain). The files of the add-on domain names are very simple to erase on the hosting server, since they all are created into the root folder of the default domain name, which is the quite popular public_html folder. Each add-on domain name is a folder located inside the folder of the default domain. Like a sub-folder. Next time attempt not to remove the files of the add-on domains, please. Verify for yourself how fabulous cPanel's domain folder arrangement is:
public_html (here my-default-domain.com is located)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)
public_html/my-third-domain.com (an add-on domain name)
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 growing confused? We absolutely are!
Problem No.2: The same e-mail folder setup
The electronic mail folder configuration on the web hosting server is strictly the same as that of the domains... Repeating the same error twice?!? The admin chaps strongly reinforce their faith in God when tackling the electronic mail folders on the email server, hoping not to botch things up too seriously.
Negative Point Number Three: A complete deficiency of domain name management GUIs
Do we have to point out the total deficiency of a contemporary domain administration tool - a place where you can: register/migrate/renew/park or administer domains, modify domains' Whois details, secure the Whois information, alter/set up name servers (DNS) and DNS resource records? cPanel does not provide such a "contemporary" interface at all. That's a big inconvenience. An unforgettable one, we want to point out...
Negative Aspect Number Four: Multiple user login places (minimum 2, maximum three)
How about the need for an additional login to access the invoicing transaction, domain name and technical support management software? That's apart from the cPanel login credentials you've been already given by the cPanel-based site hosting supplier. Sometimes, based on the billing platform (particularly made for cPanel only) the cPanel web hosting provider is availing of, the avid customers can end up with 2 additional login locations (1: the invoicing transaction/domain name administration software solution; 2: the trouble ticket support tool), ending up with a total of three login locations (including cPanel).
Weak Point Number Five: More than one hundred and twenty webspace hosting CP departments to get to know... rapidly
cPanel presents for your consideration 120+ menus inside the Control Panel. It's a fabulous idea to get familiar with each of them. And you'd better get familiar with them rapidly... That's way too insolent on cPanel's side.
With all due appreciation, we have a rhetorical question for all cPanel-based web page hosting companies:
As far as we know, it's not the year 2001, is it? Note that one as well...