A Control Panel is a software tool that is used to manage the content of a website hosting account. This can include, but is not limited to, files, e-mail messages, databases, statistics and various operations executed with them. The CP provides a web-based interface to manage these things and anything else relevant to the website hosting service through different sections where you can access functions through menus and/or buttons. The easier to use a CP is, the simpler it shall be for you to manage your web presence in general. In the common scenario, the CP is the web hosting account’s back office, while an independent billing account is used to manage payments and domain name registrations - if the company provides that particular service. Trouble tickets may be dealt with via the billing account or through a different system.