A hosting control panel is a collection of instruments that you can access via an Internet browser to manage your online content. As you'll have a graphic point-and-click interface, you will be able to use these tools to do various tasks much easier than if you need to type complex commands in a command line. All control panels allow you to do some basic things such as managing your files, emails and databases or browsing through stats and logs, but a few of them are much easier to use than others and contain more attributes that can save you time and efforts. That's why, the control panel that you'll obtain with a new web hosting account can make a difference, so you should check it and see whether it will suit your needs before you register for the service.