A Control Panel is a web-based user interface where you can handle numerous aspects of your presence online. As an example, you could set up or edit site files, set up and check email messages, control databases, check visitor statistics and so forth. Those things are performed using buttons and menus inside a browser and the Control Panel could also be called ‘back office’, i.e. the admin area associated with your web hosting account. Most of the Control Panels out there will enable you to handle all hosting-related matters, but you'll often need a different system to handle payments or to get a new domain in case the company offers domain registrations. Depending on 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 an issue too, or you may need to employ a 3rd system.