CPanel is a control panel that's been around since 1997 and sits at the back-end of countless Web sites. This commercial control panel script streamlines many cumbersome tasks that are difficult to execute through server-side scripting and commands. Instead of working through Telnet or SSH, you get a graphical user interface that allows you to perform tasks on cPanel VPS hosting, such as server reboots, file management and script installation. Here are five useful cPanel features any Web site owner should be using.

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1. Web site server statistics

Whether you're running an international business or a personal blog, it's good to know what kind of traffic you're getting to your Web site. CPanel has Web site statistics for all domains and subdomains hosted on the server. These statistics give vital information on the referring URLs, keywords and other information on your traffic. This information allows you to create Internet marketing campaigns that work well with the type of traffic you're getting. You can access server logs to keep track of who is accessing your server, which is essential if you're dealing with security breeches and other similar issues. CPanel also provides you with vital statistics on your hosting account, such as the amount of bandwidth and hard drive space you're using.

2. Security center

Hackers are an everyday part of life when you're running a Web site, and cPanel provides strong security features against viruses, code injections and other security exploits. A few security features include IP denial, SSH access, hotlink and bandwidth leeching protection, and GnuPG keys. No Web site is 100 percent secure, but when it's easy to implement security measures, you have a lot easier time with preventing casual intrusion.

3. Reseller control

If you want to resell web hosting services with your hosting account, cPanel provides a complete Reseller control panel that lets you manage all of your users, from the amount of bandwidth they can use, to the scripts they have access to. Even if you aren't reselling hosting, you can use reseller accounts to divide server resources between multiple users and manage them all from a single log-in.

4. Fantastico

Fantastico is the one-click install feature that makes this control panel perfect for inexperienced users. Instead of going through the full installation process for scripts such as WordPress, you enter in the username and password, and cPanel handles the rest. This includes creating the database for database-driven scripts, so the entire process is handled without user input.

5. Manual and scripted back-ups

Back-up functions are built into cPanel, but the default option is a manual back-up that requires you to remember when you need to create a copy of your files. This back-up feature does save your files, databases and other settings, so you won't have to deal with a lot of downtime if your files get corrupted, your server spontaneously explodes, or you have a hacker intrusion. There is a way to automate cPanel back-ups, although it takes some advanced web hosting know-how and experience with setting up cron jobs. You can create a simple back-up script that is set on a server schedule, so your files are automatically backed up on the interval you set.

What are your thoughts on cPanel? Share them in the comments.