Linux Community Magazine

In web hosting reseller business, the most important decision is choice of web hosting control panel software. Good web hosting software not only saves time or money but also it saves one from lot of frustration. There are several questions which are quite important while considering about the type of reseller web host. They are -What reseller control panel features should one chooses that reduces ones workload? What are the hosting software programs that are integrated with the reseller control panel or work with it? What are the website control panel features that ones client will like? Given below the comparison of 4 types of quality web hosting reseller software programs is given- Alabanza

cPanel

H-Sphere

Plesk

All of the above are the 4 types of reseller control panels that come with control panels for ones clients. They all are well equipped with several numerous features like advanced email management, web statistics, pre-installed scripts, multi-language support etc. All the above mainly work on Linux platforms, while H-Sphere and Plesk also work with Windows. As per cPanel website, a Windows version of cPanel is in development phase.

Other features that set these control panels apart are their degree of automation, the number of features and ease of use for the end user.

Alabanza:

When user becomes an Alabanza reseller, he/she not only gets the facility of a reseller account but he/she even can lease a dedicated server from Alabanza. Alabanza owns the control panel and the server, and one can easily resell directly for Alabanza. If one leases a dedicated Alabanza server, he/she can create his/her own reseller accounts. However, only the user can set up hosting plans; resellers below him/her will be confined only to hosting plans that user creates.

Alabanza offers resellers a very high degree of mechanization with its Domain System Manager (DSM), which can radically reduce overhead and time spent on routine tasks like Account creation, Billing and invoice management, Credit card processing, Domain registration, Email notifications and ordering fraud protection etc.
Even the beginners can sell hosting with this level of mechanization.

For domain name registration, DSM also integrates with bulkregister.com. However it does not integrate easily with other domain registrars.

A very important main feature that resellers use to offer to their client is the Xpress Product Suite, which serves as an important tool for web development and also works well as an email management tools. The Xpress Product Suite includes SiteXpress, which is a website-building program featuring more than 300 templates and even does not require web design skills.

Control panel for resellers and end users- cPanel is well known for its easiness of use and range of features. It consists of collection of more than 50 pre-installed scripts and Fantastico auto installer that assists clients to set up their sites even if they do not possess good web development knowledge.

A basic cPanel reseller account comes with two separate programs for resellers to manage their business:

Web Host Manager (WHM) is used to create accounts and packages, add and suspend sites, modify passwords, view bandwidth usage, park domains, install SSL certificates, and perform other administrative functions.

Now, from the resellers cPanel control panel, a drop-down menu takes the reseller to the control panels for each of the sites on the reseller account, including the resellers site.
WHM Autopilot is an additional optional program, by which one can automate account creation and suspension, email notifications, and other tasks. WHM Autopilot also integrates with common payment gateways and has a helpdesk, an invoice module, and other tools.

H-Sphere:-It is designed for both Linux and Windows platforms. Not only those resellers can even set t up plans for both Linux and Windows and administer sites on different servers from the same control panel. The control panel, which is actually a separate server, also provides administrative access to the integrated helpdesk.

The H-Sphere control panel provides utility in several forms like it enables server automates account configuration, credit card processing, domain registration, and email notifications etc. It also includes a built-in billing module and supports over 20 payment gateways.

From the resellers point of view, H-Sphere is equipped with a higher learning curve in comparison to other control panels because of its plentiful features example , when user is setting up a new plan, the administrator has two pages of features to select from, including setup and monthly pricing for optional services.

For beginners H-Sphere may look very much complicated for their needs. However for skilled users H-Sphere is like a complimentary feature. Main feature of H-Sphere is the ability to have control over separate domains with multi-domain hosting.

H-Sphere usually comes along with the website builder Site Studio, which guides users through a variety of style choices and stores content separately from the layout. Best part is for this no HTML or FTP knowledge is required.

Plesk:

Demand of Plesk is increasing day by day among users and resellers not only because of its quality of providing stability and security but also due to its simple navigation, clean interface, and its professional appearance. Moreover Plesk is available in versions for both Linux and Windows platforms.

With Plesk, all users like Server administrator , Client / reseller , Domain owner , Mail user etc use the same control panel but with different levels of control.

Each level of the control panel enables user control over both that level and the level(s) below it. It provides facility to Email users, to log into their mail user control panel so as to enable them to change their password, add auto responders, and change other personal settings without having access to the domain owner control panel etc.

Plesk handles Spam Assassin not at the domain level but at the mailbox level.
With this facility users are able to categorize email into white list or blacklist for each email address, which allows each email user to have individual settings.

One should have some automation available with his/her account, such as credit card charges, email notification etc. If ones Plesk reseller account is with a web host who offers HSP completely