A hosting control panel is a group of instruments that you can access via an Internet browser to manage your online content. Since you will get a graphic point-and-click interface, you can use these tools to do various tasks a lot 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 opening logs and stats, however a few of them are a lot easier to use than others and offer more features that can save you time and efforts. In this light, the control panel that you will obtain with a new hosting account can make a difference, so you should check it and see if it'll meet your requirements before you register for the service.