2020 has seen a big change for hosting clients. cPanel, a hosting admin panel that allows site owners to make changes to their hosting plans, has changed its pricing structure. As a result, the cost of hosting will likely increase for most hosting clients.
But it doesn’t need to. There are a number of cPanel alternatives available to site owners that are just as powerful (if not more powerful). Here, we’ll talk through one of those alternatives.
What Is cPanel?
When you host a site with any hosting provider, you’re able to make a number of changes to your hosting infrastructure. cPanel is a graphical interface that allows you to do this without having to work through the command line.
cPanel is a powerful tool for site administrators. It not only allows you to make changes to your hosting plan, it also allows you to:
- Add and change SSL certificates
- Create backups
- View access logs
- Access database administration
- Configure FTP settings
- Manage files
Unfortunately, cPanel is not owned by your hosting provider. As a result, cPanel manages its own pricing structure. As of January 1, 2020, they have adopted an account-based pricing structure.
What Does the cPanel Pricing Change Mean for You?
The new cost for users depends on the server and plan types they use. However, on average the cost for end-users (you) will increase by 25%-50%. Since the cost is calculated on a per-account basis, in some cases you may see costs rise by more than 100%.
This price change has come as a shock to much of the hosting community, with many users unsure of how to now keep costs low.
Luckily, we offer an alternative to cPanel, one which is just as powerful and that comes bundled with all of our hosting plans: The Nexcess Client Portal.
The Nexcess Client Portal is a custom hosting admin panel created for use by Nexcess customers. As it stands, The Nexcess Client Portal has thousands of licenses in production and as we continue to grow with our clients, we expect to increase that number by thousands more in the coming months.
cPanel Alternatives
The Nexcess Client Portal is similar to cPanel. It offers all the same features your find with cPanel in a slightly different interface. In addition, you’ll be able to access and configure the technology options you find with Nexcess that you won’t find anywhere else. This includes Nexcess Auto Scaling, Elasticsearch, and the Cloud Accelerator.
The Nexcess Client Portal makes site management easy.
You’ll immediately be given access to the Nexcess Client Portal as soon as you sign up for an account. The screenshot above provides a basic overview of the Client Portal for Managed WooCommerce plans.
Depending on the application you choose for your hosting service, you’ll have access to different features. Each of these is tailored to your specific setup and is designed to make developing your site as simple as possible.
A number of tutorials for how to use the Nexcess Client Portal can be found in the Knowledge Base.
Moving to the Nexcess Client Portal
If you’re not a Nexcess client yet and are interested in making the move to Nexcess services, you can get started by visiting our cloud hosting page and selecting the right plan for your requirements.
Alternatively, get in touch with a Nexcess support team member to discuss your options and how the Nexcess Client Portal can help you.
