A Control Panel is a web-based user interface through which you can handle various aspects of your world-wide web presence. For example, you can easily create or edit site files, create and check emails, control databases, check visitor stats etc. Those things are performed through buttons and menus inside a browser and the CP could also be called ‘back office’, i.e. the administrative area associated with your web hosting account. Most Control Panels on the market will allow you to control all hosting-related matters, but you shall normally require a different system to deal with payments or to get a new domain name when 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 an issue too, or you may have to employ a third system.