A web hosting control panel is a set of software instruments that you can access from a browser to manage your online content. Since you'll have a graphic point-and-click interface, you'll 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 controlling your files, emails and databases or accessing statistics and logs, yet several of them are a lot easier to use than others and include more features that will save you efforts and time. That's why, the control panel that you'll acquire with a new hosting account can really make a difference, so you should check it and see whether it'll provide what you need before you sign up for the service.