What is DirectAdmin?
Everything you need to know about this alternative web hosting control panel
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What do you typically need when starting a new online project? A great idea, a cleverdomain name, apowerful hosting server, and an intuitive platform to manage them all.
Today, we will be talking about the latter.
The hosting control panel market has long been dominated bycPaneland its incredible versatility. But as the management changed, so did the prices for the product, and not for the better too. Hosting providers suffered heavy hits overnight, with some companies seeing hundreds, even thousands of percent increase.
Regardless of cPanel’s many benefits, it seemed the time had come for more affordable alternatives.
It was time for DirectAdmin to shine!
What is DirectAdmin?
DirectAdmin has been out there since 2003, operating under a proprietary license from JBMC Software. The control panel was developed to ease the everyday tasks of webmasters, especially those with little to no previous experience.
Similar to cPanel, DirectAdmin can run perfectly underLinuxand its major distributions - CloudLinux, CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian, Red Hat, and more. Windows-basedoperating systemsare not supported.
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This affordable control panel solution is relatively easy on your server when it comes to its system requirements. DirectAdmin only needs:
Processor:500 MHz
RAM:at least 1 GB
Disk Space:2 GB
We can easily conclude the platform is simple and lightweight but is that enough to replace the benefits of cPanel or even Plesk?
Benefits of DirectAdmin
Under the hood, DirectAdmin has a few notable characteristics that can surely wow potential customers. While not unique per se, those are areas where DA greatly excels and improves with each new version:
Amazing Graphics Interface (GUI)- if you’re looking for simplicity - DirectAdmin is definitely the right pick. Instead of an overwhelming number of sections and options, all your features are stacked under three main branches -Account Manager,Email Manager, andAdditional Features. The feats are clearly visible, and most of them are self-explanatory even before you click them.
Affordable Subscription Plans- the reasonable pricing is what still keeps DirectAdmin competitive in a market where much more complete solutions exist. CPanel’s prices are already off the roof, and Plesk isn’t far behind. Compared to that, DirectAdmin offers afree trial account, as well as three premium options, starting fromjust $2/mo.
Integrated Ticketing Support- apart from your hosting provider’s support, you can also get direct assistance from the DirectAdmin technicians. Users on theLiteandStandardplans can benefit from anintegrated ticketing systeminside the control panel. This way, if there is something wrong with DirectAdmin and its operations - you can get help straight from the source.
Automatic Crash Recovery- another great thing that DirectAdmin watches over is the stability of your services. Should something unexpectedly go down, DA will first try torestart the serviceto see if this will fix the issue. If that doesn’t work - the system willsend an emergency notificationto the webmaster, helping them deal with the problem in due time.
DirectAdmin main features
To keep everything simple for the end user, DirectAdmin developers keep the range of features rather on the low side. Still, the platform offers all essential options for webmasters, developers, andresellersto easily manage aVPS or dedicated server. These include:
Account Manager- this is the section with your most important hosting functionalities. You can manageFTP accounts,MySQL databases, andSSL certificatesfrom this area. Your domain operations are included as well, giving you options to deal with subdomains, DNS zones, and site redirections.
Email Manager- everything related to the business communication with your domain name. Apart from the email accounts, you will find options forautorespondersandvacation messages. Email Manager also contains extensive settings foremail filtering, and the partnership with SpamAssassin will ensure no spam can breach your inboxes.
Additional Features- most of the features inside are better suited for advanced users, but it’s worth digging into a few of them. For example,two-factor authenticationcan greatly increase your defenses against outside breaches.Cron Jobscan help you automate some of your hosting tasks. Theaccount backup optionsare also here, and that’s definitely something you should keep an eye on.
You see, not every control panel on the market has to be stuffed with features. Sometimes going the simple route is better, and DirectAdmin gives you more than enough to operate a hosting account efficiently.
DirectAdmin pricing
If you’re unsure if DirectAdmin should be your weapon of choice, there is a risk-free way to gain more insights into the platform without paying a dime. TheFree Trialoption is valid for 60 days and includes all DirectAdmin features and any updates in this period.
After the trial period is over and you want to continue with this panel, there are three plans to choose from:
The best thing with all accounts is they offer one-of-a-kind protection against price increases. While that doesn’t cover external factors like global recession or extraordinary world events, you will be safe against policy changes like cPanel’s recent price hikes.
DirectAdmin alternatives
When it comes toweb hostingmanagement panels, DirectAdmin is not a fit-all solution. In fact, none of the available options really are. Users may have completely different needs, and this makes one platform more suitable than others. It’s always good to know what else the market has to offer.
Here to stay
Powering websites in 130 countries and adding over 1,400 changes since its inception, it surely seems that DirectAdmin is here to stay. Betting hard on usability and intuitive controls, the control panel is well suited for beginners who don’t need any fancy tools or complex options they will never use.
Should the market lean toward more affordability, or the R&D departments should focus on constant innovations? Why not both, though?
Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled inwebsite buildersandweb hostingwhen DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.
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