While looking up web hosting services, web admins must clearly understand the nature of their proposed website and the type of control they would like to have over the possible changes to be incorporated. Websites differ in the type of upgradation required over time. Some may constantly require textual changes, while others may include photographs, graphics, etc. Control panels offered are varied according to the packages that are subscribed to. All the packages provide some essential components that are mandatory for the client. Options to add new domains, password change and addition of new accounts are some of the main features. Cpanel cPanel (control panel) is a graphical web-based control panel to simplify administration through the changes in the interface. The software is not freely available and is to be paid through a monthly subscription. CPanel is versatile enough to run on PHP, FreeBSD, Redhat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, and Windows Server. Since cPanel has become a commonly accepted tool for web hosting, a web admin can install and be linked to the website. Cpanel provides a statistics tool covering all details like disk space being used, domain name, monthly bandwidth changes, e-mails, secondary domains and SQL database. Managing FTP data and editing CGI scripts is more accessible with cPanel. CPanel supports Fantastico Deluxe and allows web admins to install 50 or more free scripts without any specific programming required. Switching the interface to suit particular needs becomes more accessible with cPanel. A cPanel-enabled computer allows the webmaster to access the website and upload, edit or delete files. The tool offers a provision for the backup of files in case of a system crash or accidental deletion of important data. Backup of mailing lists and e-mail information is also available.

Web hosting has evolved significantly since its early days, when it simply involved renting server space. Today, it’s a vibrant and competitive industry that provides a wealth of tools, features, and services to meet the needs of websites of all types and sizes. Regardless of whether you own a small business, an eCommerce website, or a large enterprise platform, enhancing your knowledge about modern web hosting options will ultimately empower you to make more educated decisions. Here’s a look at the essential tools, services, and technologies that make up the web hosting universe — and how to select the best one for you.

To see why the Internet and open source are a good fit for each other, we first have to look at the origins of the Internet as we know it today. Before the mainstream explosion of the web in the 1990s, the Internet was still very much the domain of universities, colleges, laboratories, and governments. It was still mainly under research, which gives us our first clue because the scientific community has long valued the open cooperation of its members. Initially, all software was open source simply because nobody had the idea of charging money for it. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, widely recognized as the father of the World Wide Web (before this, there was just “internet”), created the first web server while working at CERN running his HTTP protocol. His system was NeXTStep – a derivative of Unix and the BSD operating system. The web browser which first popularized the World Wide Web was Mosaic by NCSA, built on a Unix system and released as open source. So there was open source and Unix at the very beginning. Both of the major web browsers in use today, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox can trace their roots directly back to the Mosaic web browser. As for the World Wide Web, one need only consider that to this day, directory paths for website URLs follow the forward-slash (/) convention of Unix file systems rather than the back-slash () of DOS systems.