Which Hosting Platform?
One of the most difficult decisions any new comer will need to make is which top web hosting sites platform would he or she wants their server to be on. Two of the most popular choices are Linux and Windows web servers. Before we can tell which web server is more appropriate for our website, it is worth-while to research some of the key functionalities, advantages and weaknesses of these 2 types of web hosting platforms in advance to facilitate the necessary selections.
• Cost – as Microsoft owned the Windows operating system, it is much more expensive to setup up and run a Windows server as compared to Linux, which is an open source operating system which is free of charge, available to anyone.
• FTP commands and control panel – Both Linux and Windows servers support these well, however some of the FTP commands are slightly different between 2 operating systems because some of the FTP programs are designed with one or another in mind. That’s the reason why occasionally you will get error messages running some of the FTP commands on your server.
• Support – compared to Windows, Linux has limited support for some of their technology which proved to be expensive and limited at times. Linux is running on much specific technologies as compared to Windows which is much more generic.
• Security and reliability – As Windows is widely used for home PC, there is a tendency that the security features incorporated for this operating system is not as high technology as those for Linux, which are mostly used by developers and system engineers only. The probability of successful hack attack on Windows OS is a lot higher than Linux OS may also be contributed to their end users as people tend to look for flaws in these common systems.
• Performance – Linux has been reported to be of high performance mainly due to the way Linux servers are packaged. Linux plans are more specifically designed for their target customers. On the other hand, Windows usually offer an ” all in one ” package to their users as general. Thus, with Windows, the users get most of the features, if not all, from the Windows OS, while for Linux, their customers will only get what they specifically have called out for.
• Conversion – if there are plans for you to change your OS in the near future, then having a Linux web server now is fine as this conversion should be smooth and easy to have your website converted from Linux hosting to Windows hosting. On the contrary, it is indeed a nightmare for anyone who wished to convert their website from Windows hosting to top webhosting.
• Ease of interaction – if there are any needs for interactions between your website and the visitors or customers, it is more suitable for your website to be with Windows hosting as this OS support online chat services and messaging services much better than Linux hosting.
• Level of expertise – Windows hosting is more user-friendly and it is suitable to be used by anyone, even those with no experience find Windows unlimited bandwidth service easy to learn and manage, while for Linux hosting, it is designed for those with extensive experience and knowledge on web hosting and technical back-ground.