Difference between cPanel and Ensim web hosting control panel:
There are many different control panels that are offered to webhosts. Although all of these choices are very good control panel options, this article will focus on cPanel and Ensim, the two leading web control panels.
Each control panel offers different advantages over its competition. Lets first examine the advantages and disadvantages of cPanel, the worlds leading web control panel:
cPanel
Advantages:
- Easy to navigate, colorful, and vibrant client interface:
cPanel offers a beautiful client-side interface. It is extremely easy to navigate, with an icon-based menu on the main page, linking the user to the important features which the control panel offers.
- Wide array of supported operating systems, including Redhat, Free BSD, CentOS, Fedora, Debian, and Trustix:
cPanel has been developed to offer support for many of the most popular operating systems for web servers. This allows the control panel to be utilized by almost every webhosting company. The developers of cPanel are also working on versions which will be compatible with the Windows and Mac OSX operating systems.
- Widely accepted by potential webhosting clients:
cPanel is the biggest name in the webhosting control panel industry, and is recognized by almost all potential webhosting clients. This gives the client a sense of familiarity, and also gives the client piece of mind, as they know that they are getting a stable control panel system.
- Relatively low-cost solution, if purchased through a datacenter:
Various dedicated server providers, such as EV1 Servers, Layered Technologies and CyberWurx have partnerships with cPanel which allows them to get low-cost licenses for their dedicated server clients. cPanel can be added to servers, in most cases, for as low as $25.00/month, which is a far cry from the hundreds of dollars it would cost to purchase a license direct from cPanel.
- Various addons to the control panel, such as cPanel PRO and Fantastico available:
cPanel has made it easy to incorporate third-party applications into their control panel software. The most popular cPanel addon is, without a doubt Fantastico, developed by Netenberg. Fantastico is an auto installer program, which allows the hosting client to set-up scripts from a library of over 50 within seconds.
cPanel PRO is an addon for the cPanel control panel, released and developed by cPanel, Inc. cPanel PRO offers various addons to the control panel, including a built-in support submission form.
- Easily skinnable, many skins available:
cPanel is an extremely easy control panel to skin, and many design and skinning companies have taken advantage of this. Skins such as iCandy and cPanel XP 2004 provide an amazing interface design, which can set your company apart from the competition. In addition, skin sets such as cPanel XP 2004 and RV Skin take advantage of the WHM API, and incorporate various features to the control panel, including custom pages.
- Frequent software updates:
cPanel releases updates to their software quite often. Many times, upgrades are available daily, or on an every other day basis. This proves cPanel, Inc’s dedication to providing a quality control panel product.
Disadvantages:
- Different layout for WHM, the reseller control panel, which can make usage difficult for the user:
Web Host Manager, cPanel’s reseller control panel, uses a different layout than that of the cPanel interface. The WHM offers a framed layout, with an elongated navigation on the left, and an icon-based menu in the right window. Although navigation in the Web Host Manager interface is incredibly easy, it can prove to be confusing for some resellers. Many other control panel softwares use the same base layout/design for both the reseller control panel and the end-user panel.
- Interface is not extremely professional:
Compared to the interfaces of several other control panels, the cPanel control panel is not very professional. Although it is easy to use, it can be viewed as too much of an ‘eye candy’ interface. Many webhosts and customers alike believe that more time could be spent developing new features for the control panel, than by creating a design which is not entirely professional, and in some cases, overdone.
- Used by MANY webhosts, therefore the control panel does not set your business apart from the rest:
Unlike other control panels, cPanel is the most widely used in the webhosting industry. Thus, the competition between cPanel webhosts, and the market within is much more flooded than the markets of other control panels. A cPanel webhost has much less of a chance of being chosen by a potential webhosting customer, than a company which uses Ensim
- mainly because the Ensim market is much less saturated.
cPanel is an extremely powerful control panel. It’s advantages far outweigh it’s disadvantages, as you can deduce from the above. As we know, a company’s control panel choice is based solely upon an opinion. cPanel can not be considered the best because it is the most widely used - there are many comparable control panels available on the market, and the term ‘best’ is simply a matter of opinion. Regardless, cPanel is an excellent piece of webhosting software, and it would most certainly be an excellent choice.
Ensim
Advantages:
- Professional, well-organized Interface:
Ensim provides an extremely professional, and well-organized user interface. The navigation is divided into sections based on the various components of web hosting management. This includes e-mail management, database management, and sub domain management. Ensim’s professionalism in it’s interface is unmatched - the interface is well organized, cleanly designed, and does not incorporate useless and unprofessional “eye candy.”
- Wide array of supported operating systems, including Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise and Windows:
Unlike cPanel, the Ensim control panel offers support for the Windows Web and Standard Operating Systems. In addition, Ensim also offers support for Linux-based Operating systems such as Fedora and RedHat Enterprise.
- Excellent spam filter:
Ensim offers an excellent and powerful built-in spam filter. This spam filter works extremely well with the preinstalled Squirrelmail system that is standard on all Ensim-based systems. This spam filter is distributed along with the Ensim installation pack, and is developed by Ensim themselves.
- Reseller control panel boasts same design as client-end panel, which allows for ease of use between panels:
The reseller control panel of the Ensim control panel uses the same basic design and interface of both the client-end management panel, as well as the root access panel. This allows for a greater sense of familiarity for users who use a combination of the root, client-end, reseller and e-mail/user control panels.
- Extremely detailed and useful bandwidth reporting tools built-in:
New versions of Ensim offer unmatched bandwidth reporting tools. These tools make use of charts and graphs, and provide extremely detailed information.
- Ensim Power Tools available. (cPanels equivalent of Fantastico):
Ensim distributes an Ensim Power Tools license free with all new Ensim license purchases. The Ensim Power Tools addon is cPanel’s equivalent of Fantastico, but is not a third-party software.
- Ensim Power Tools distributed by Ensim:
As stated above, the Ensim Power Tools addon is NOT a third-party application/software addon.
- Not as widely used as cPanel, which allows for a greater differentiation between other hosts:
The Ensim hosting market is not nearly as saturated as that of the cPanel market. This allows for a greater chance of a potential client interested in a host with the Ensim software to choose your company. Lower saturation equals larger margin of success.
- Windows version supports .NET based hosting plans:
The Windows version of the Ensim control panel software integrates seamlessly and supports .NET based webhosting plans/packages.
- Almost all releases are very stable, therefore frequent updates are not necessary:
Unlike cPanel, almost all of the Ensim releases are stable, and do not require any subsequent updates to make previous releases stable. This allows Ensim to focus on creating improved versions of their software with new and more up to date features.
Disadvantages:
- Extremely hard to skin the interface, though you can brand-in your logo extremely easily:
Like cPanel, Ensim offers a branding option that allows you to add your logo into the Ensim interface quite seamlessly. However, cPanel does offer a more extensive branding feature.
In addition, the Ensim interface is extremely difficult to skin, and thus, there are very few skins available for purchase for the Ensim control panel software.
- Not extremely well-known among potential webhosting clients:
As the Ensim market is not as saturated as the cPanel market, less potential clients know about the Ensim software. This is not an entirely bad thing, though it does reflect upon Ensim’s standing as the second most used control panel.
- Does not contain some of the features that the new cPanel PRO offers, such as a built-in help form:
cPanel’s new PRO addon offers several new features which Ensim does not currently support within their control panel software. It is unknown whether Ensim will add features like those seen in the cPanel PRO addon.
- Interface can sometimes be hard to navigate, even though it is well laid out:
Along with Ensim’s more professional appearance, comes a more professional navigational structure. Although this navigational structure is very professional and well laid out, it can be confusion to some users. However, Ensim does offer very useful help documentation that will talk users through the navigation of their control panel software.
Like cPanel, Ensim has and extremely low amount of drawbacks, though cPanel and Ensim do have a lot of features which set them apart. Normally, you would expect me to tell you the best choice for your business, but I simply cannot do that. You have to choose a control panel based on what features suit you the best, and what disadvantages do not affect you, or that you can deal with or without. As a webhost myself, I offer both control panels.
