If you are buying a web hosting service for your site and wondering if you mandatorily need a control panel with your VPS Hosting plan, then the answer is NO. You can run and manage your VPS without a control panel, provided you are technically proficient and aware of server management. A control panel is an easy-to-use interface for server management designed for site owners who are not tech-friendly.
If you are an experienced site owner:
If you are aware of server management and want to manage the server without using a control panel, you will have more opportunities for customization. A control panel is designed to help new users manage the server efficiently and NOT for advanced use. If you know how to use code to make changes to the server, then you don’t need a control panel with your virtual server.
If you are not aware of server management:
For site owners opting for Virtual Private Servers for their websites, knowing how to set up the site, database, and emails is necessary. However, if you are not technically proficient, then a control panel can be your best option.
There are different types of control panels offered with VPS Web Hosting that offer a one-click feature where you can install applications with a single click.
When you opt for the best VPS Hosting Plan, the provider offers a control panel that can help you reduce the VPS Server management time and increase your efficiency. For example, if you are opting for a Linux Virtual Server Hosting Plan, you can opt for cPanel or Plesk, two of the most popular control panels.
Here’s a video that goes through some of the differences between cPanel and Plesk:
cPanel vs Plesk Detailed Comparison of Web Hosting Control Panels
Here are some tasks that you can accomplish using a web hosting control panel:
- Account administration – this includes various tasks like password management, plan renewal, etc.
- Domain management – including domain renewal, forwarding, registration, DNS editing, etc.
- Installing applications – most control panels offer a one-click installer to install popular applications with ease.
- Email management – including setting up email accounts and managing them.
- Database management – helping you to keep tabs on your database and ensure that it performs optimally
- FTP management, etc.
With a control panel, most of your server management tasks are streamlined with a simple interface. This makes it easier for new site owners to run and manage their VPS Server in a hassle-free manner.
While you can employ the services of a server administrator for the job, using a control panel is more cost-effective and offer better control over the server environment.
Summing Up
While it is not necessary to have a control panel for your VPS unless you are fairly conversant with server management, using a control panel can help you manage your VPS Server with ease.
For site owners who are confident of making changes to the server manually, not opting for a control panel offers them more options to customize the server as per the website’s requirements.
Before deciding for or against a control panel, make sure that you also think about your time in managing the server.