A Control Panel is a web-based interface via which you can control different aspects of your world-wide web presence. As an illustration, you can easily set up or change website files, set up and check email messages, control databases, check visitor stats etc. Those things are executed through buttons and menus in a web browser and the CP may also be called ‘back office’, i.e. the administration area associated with your web hosting account. Most of the Control Panels these days will permit you to control all hosting-related matters, but you will normally require a different system to handle payments or to get a new domain if the company offers domain registrations. With respect to the platform they use, you could be able to use the billing account to open a support ticket to ask a question or to resolve a problem as well, or you might have to use a 3rd system.