A Control Panel is a web-based interface using which you can control different aspects of your web presence. As an illustration, you can easily create or change site files, create and check email messages, handle databases, check visitor stats and so on. Those things are executed through buttons and menus in a web browser and the Control Panel could also be called ‘back office’, i.e. the administration area associated with your web hosting account. Most Control Panels on the market will enable you to handle all hosting-related matters, but you'll normally need a different system to control payments or to get a new domain name when the company offers domain registrations. With respect to the platform they use, you may be able to use the billing account to open a support ticket to ask a question or to troubleshoot and fix a problem also, or you may have to employ a 3rd system.