Whether to install one, and which.
WITH A CONTROL PANEL
cPanel and WHM, or an alternative, gives you a familiar interface for accounts, domains, email, databases and SSL. Much of what you would otherwise configure by hand is handled for you.
Costs a licence fee, and consumes memory and disk.
WITHOUT ONE
You configure everything through the command line. Nothing to license, fewer resources consumed, and complete control.
Requires real competence and considerably more time.
WHO SHOULD USE ONE
Anyone hosting multiple sites or client accounts Anyone who wants email handled without configuring a mail stack Anyone who values their time over the licence cost
WHO SHOULD NOT
A developer running a single application who is comfortable on the command line, and does not need mail on the server.
THE ALTERNATIVES
Several free and low-cost panels exist. They vary in maturity, security record and support. Research before committing, because migrating between panels later is painful.
BEFORE INSTALLING
Install the panel on a fresh server. Adding one to a server with existing manual configuration frequently conflicts.
