One of the factors I research when shopping for web hosting is what kind of control panel for domain management they use. Plesk, ensim, and Direct Admin are common web administration packages used by webhosts with cPanel being the one I see advertised most.  Some web hosts, like DreamHost, use their own proprietary web panel.

Normally I shy away from hosts with proprietary control panels, because they often have clumsy interfaces and lack the features that cPanel and other panels have include as basic functions. Dreamhost, however, has created their own fantastic web panel.

DreamHost Web Panel Positives:

• DreamHost’s Web Panel gives users access to all the same options as cPanel, plus it has Billing and Support features integrated right in the panel. With almost any other hosting company I have had to log into a seperate control panel(s) to access billing options or submit a support ticket.
• DreamHost’s 1 click installs are better, easy & updated more than Fantastico (cPanel’s comparable feature).
• DreamHost’s Web Panel offers many goodies not available from cPanel, like streaming media tools.

DreamHost Web Panel Negatives:

• Does not have skin (themes) support like cPanel.
• Users accustomed to Cpanel may feel a bit awkward when first learning Web Panel. However, the learning curve isn’t very steep — and becomes second nature quickly.

Further Reading:

DreamHost Wiki page about the Web Panel - Details and tutorials on features accessable through the web panel.