A control panel is a vital part of any web hosting service. Without some sort of control panel, you would not be able to do very much.
The control panel is where you perform actions on your website, such as creating email accounts, creating databases, setting up security, and many other things. You need some sort of control panel, even a basic one.
Among the most widely used web hosting panels are cPanel, Plesk, and DirectAdmin. Some control panels only run on Linux, some are meant for Windows, and some will work with both types of operating systems.
We exclusively use cPanel for our web hosting services running on CloudLinux as the operating system, as these have proven itself to the most stable, feature-rich and easy-to-use control panel available.
One Important Note: Just because your computer at home is running Windows, it doesn't mean that you need to find a Windows hosting account. You only need a Windows account if your website requires features that only work on Windows. Otherwise, a service running on Linux, or CloudLinux specifically, will work just as will, and with very few differences. Most Windows accounts cost a little more because of the license costs.
