So, you have finally made up your mind that you are going to launch a new website. That is fine but what about the web hosting? Are you going for the Linux web hosting or settling with Windows web hosting? Now, do not give me that blank look. If you do not know the difference between Linux web hosting and Windows web hosting, that is fine too because believe me (though I know it is hard to believe), a vast majority of website owners actually do not know the difference between them. Both the hosting types have their shares of advantages and disadvantages. So, you need weigh in on them before you can make the right decision. Here in this article, we are going to give you a short account of both the types of web hosting:
First Thing First: There is a common misperception prevailing among newbie bloggers and website owners that to be able to work with Linux Web hosting, they need to have Linux operating system in their machine. But this is definitely is not the case. OS of your PC has got nothing to do with the hosting type you choose.
Linux Web Hosting: As Linux is an open source system, it is quite evident that it is not going to make you feel the pinching effect in your pocket. In simple English, it is less expensive than the traditional Window hosting system. And the good thing is that Linux web hosting has no rough around the edges, means you will not have to make any kind of compromise on the security and stability front. Speed and performance are the two fronts where Linux web hosting excels. It offers support for a wide range of languages, software, and applications like PostgreSQL, MySQL, Perl etc.
Windows Web Hosting: The biggest advantage of using Windows Web Server is that it is highly sophisticated and it runs Microsoft software like Access and MS SQL. And the biggest benefit of using Windows Web hosting is that it will let your web developers to have access to some premium Microsoft programming languages like MS Index Server, Visual Basic Scripts etc.
So, that means, with Windows web hosting, you will be able to design and develop a database driven website with Microsoft SQL and Access. But yes, there is no denying of the fact that Windows web hosting is costlier than Linux and probably this is the reason why this is popular with sites with complex functionalities.
Control Panels: Linux and Windows servers have different control panels. Linux web hosting comes with Cpanel, which is quite popular, whereas Plesk is the control panel of Windows Web hosting.
Case Sensitivity: Linux files as case sensitive whereas Windows files do not have any such issue. For say, in Linux web hosting, the following two files – index.html and Index.html are different whereas in Windows Server, they are the same name.
About the AUthor: Michael Evan is a passionate writer and he has written several articles on how to build a website for Site2You.com.
