Handy Guide For Choosing Between Windows And Linux Website Hosting

While you can easily find numerous companies offering domain name registration and website hosting; however, selecting between Linux and Windows hosting may prove to be a challenge, especially for the newbies. While the common perception says that Windows is user-friendly while Linux is much more stable, the statement is primarily true for operating systems meant for personal computers; when it comes to server platforms, both Windows and Linux have their own significance.

To begin with, you need to understand that if you have been using Windows on your PC, you must opt for Windows hosting and vice versa. Instead, you need take into consideration the following factors:

Scripting
Most experts would concur that barring the use of scripting languages, there arent many differences between Linux and Windows website hosting. On one hand where ASP scripting is usually found on Windows; on the other, Linux is known for PHP scripting. So, when selecting the hosting service, you need to consider the scripts you will be using. If you need to use PHP, Ruby, Perl, Python, or CGI scripting, go for Linux hosting; if the scripts to be used are ASP, ASP.NET, or ASP.NET 2.0, go for Windows hosting.

Functionality
If your website will use an online database or interactive chat application, Windows hosting is likely to be the better choice. Though Windows hosting may cost you a tad more than Linux hosting; however, it will not be a wild leap of thoughts to say that you’ll get that back in better functionality. On the other hand, if your website makes interaction with the prospects through enquiry forms and catalogues, and involves e-commerce functions, it is recommended that you go for Linux hosting.

Compatibility
If you plan on using any specialized applications or VB for the development of your website, it is recommended that you go for Windows hosting as Linux based web servers are sometimes not fully compatible with Microsoft technologies. However, if scalability is on your mind, Linux is the way to go. With most of the expansion modules available for free, scalability is never really a concern for those who opt for Linux hosting.

In addition to the aforementioned, you must be sure about the competence of the provider. With a major surge in the demand of web services such as domain name registration and website hosting, numerous new players have joined the league. Therefore, the selection must be done with great caution.

The Significance Of Linux Web Hosting Plans

There are a number of web hosting plans available for website owners to choose from today. While this extensive variety makes people feel spoilt for choice, it also makes it tough to choose the right plan to cater to their requirements. Choosing the web hosting plans is not as easy as ABC. Despite the extensive variety and various challenges involved, most of the people prefer the Linux web hosting plan and the PHP web hosting plan. Though Windows hosting plans were considered to be the favourite a few years ago, today the preference is given to Linux and PHP plans. So, what brought about this radical change in the mindset of people?

Over the last few years, technology has improved in leaps and bounds. Along with this, there have also been tremendous changes in the software industry. Unlike a couple of decades ago, today there are various types of software that are can be used on the internet. The development of these software programs became necessary to support the advent of the ecommerce industry. There were a number of website hosting plans that also came into existence during this period, however, only a handful of plans were compatible with the advanced software. Windows is definitely user friendly software, but it is not website friendly. There are a number of limitations and restrictions associated to Windows based web hosting plans. This is why these plans began to take the backseat. The ability of Linux web hosting plans and PHP web hosting plans to support the latest software gave it an upper hand over Windows based plans.

Cost is one of the things that most of the website owners consider while selecting web hosting plans. A few years ago, it was challenging to establish the perfect balance between the cost and the type of hosting plan. This is no longer a concern, thanks to the Linux web hosting plan and the PHP web hosting plan. Though these plans support the latest software, the cost of availing them is just a fraction of opting for the Windows based plans. One of the main reasons for the higher cost of the Windows based hosting plans is the license. Windows is a registered platform and one needs to pay money in order to use it. On the other hand, Linux is an operating system that is built using open source code. This implies that there is no need to buy a license in order to use it, thus resulting is huge cost savings and making the hosting plans highly affordable.

The ease of use and the performance are two other aspects that work in favour of the Linux web hosting plans and PHP web hosting plans. Most people nurture the wrong notion that the Linux interface is not as easy to use as the Windows interface. Though there is a world of difference between the two, Linux is user friendly too. In fact, making changes to your website is easier if you choose the Linux or PHP hosting plans. You can save all the changes online as you work on it and preview the changes. You can also restore the website to its previous state if you are not happy with the changes. This kind of flexibility is absent in Windows based plans which is the reason they got left behind.