A Control Panel is a web-based interface via which you can manage different aspects of your presence online. For instance, you may create or change website files, create and check email messages, handle databases, check visitor statistics etc. These things are performed using buttons and menus inside an internet browser and the CP may also be called ‘back office’, i.e. the admin area associated with your Internet hosting account. Most of the Control Panels out there will enable you to handle all hosting-related matters, but you'll often require a different system to handle payments or to get a new domain name in case the company offers domain registrations. With respect to the platform they employ, you may be able to use the billing account to open a support ticket to ask a question or to troubleshoot a problem too, or you might have to use a 3rd system.