linux vs windows web hosting?

Question

What is the difference between linux web hosting & Windows web hosting? Can't we built a website in windows if we take linux hosting and vice-versa?

Answer 1

All websites today currently run on either a Windows web server or a Linux-based server. The vast majority of websites run on a Linux-based platform as Linux has a strong reputation for security and web server performance. With standard (static) HTML-based websites, the web hosting platform doesn't make much difference. When it does make a difference, however, is when the website uses a dynamic scripting technology such as ASP (A Microsoft based technology), or PHP / PERL (Linux based technologies). A Windows-based hosting solution will run a Microsoft Windows server with IIS (Internet Information Server), and is necessary to run an ASP / ASP.NET scripted website. A Linux-based platform is typically used for PHP, Perl, and most other types of websites. Basically, unless your website uses ASP (pages ending in the .asp extention), Windows hosting is not neccessary.



As an experienced webmaster I recommend BlueHost service which I’m sure it would work for you and fulfill all your requirements. They have a really great offer for hosting & I have used them for over 3 yrs now, and have never had a single problem with them.



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Here I have copied and pasted its features from their website to view:



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- SSH (Secure Shell), SSL, FTP, Stats

- CGI, Ruby (RoR), Perl, PHP, MySQL

- 2000/2002 Front Page Extensions

- Free Site Builder

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- Free Search Engine Submission



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Good Luck!

Answer 2

New webmasters who are trying to choose a web host often find that they are confronted with a plethora of web hosts offering a wide variety of web hosting packages. Some web hosts give you a choice of packages using the Linux operating system, others FreeBSD, and still others Windows. I am sometimes asked by newcomers whether the operating system of the package matters, and whether they should choose a Linux package or a Windows one. Some tell me that they are using a Mac, and ask whether there is such a thing as a web host offering Mac packages.

The bottom line is, for those who hate to read long explanations, if you need to use Windows-specific technologies like ASP, .NET, MSSQL or Access on your website, it's probably easier to get a Windows web hosting package. In all other cases, including the situation where you have no idea what "ASP, .NET, MSSQL or Access" means, I personally feel that your life will be easier if you get a Unix-based (Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, etc) solution.

Answer 3

The type of hosting you need depends on what kind of development language or database you might use with your website. Your home operating system will not affect which hosting account you choose.



Choose a Linux Hosting account if you're going to use PHP, Perl, Python, or CGI scripting. Our Linux accounts use a MySQL database. If you plan on using a Web application to blog, podcast, or create a shopping cart, check to see what language the developers used to create the application.



Choose a Windows Hosting account if you're going to use ASP or ASP.NET. Our Windows hosting customers can also use SQL Server (MS SQL). If you plan on using a Web application to blog, podcast, or create a shopping cart, check to see what language the developers used to create the application. ASP.NET application typically require some programming on your computer before you can use the application online.

Answer 4

It depends on which technology you are going to use for your website development.

if you are going to use ASP.NET then it only runs on windows server you can't use linux hosting for asp.net sites.

if you are using PHP for website development it works on both.

Answer 5

Look i can see you are planning to make a html website for your concern thus for your reason there is no difference for linux / windows hosting packages.



you can opt any linux/windows packages to run your website difference is for super users/programmers of web only under the servers.



beware only thing can make you in trouble is this that linux hosting file names are case sensitive while windows not!

Answer 6

i think linux is the best



i use Dion Hosting http://www.dionhosting.com they use linux for their servers and its awesome

Answer 7

i found this website very usefull

http://www.web-host-finder.net



it has compared top 10 web hosting companies in a chart and will show the most reliable and affordable web hosting company

it has reviews for each web hosting company that will really help you to find the best web host provider company

Answer 8

i found this website very usefull

http://about-hosting-web.blogspot.com/



it has compared top 10 web hosting companies in a chart and will show the most reliable and affordable web hosting company

it has reviews for each web hosting company that will really help you to find the best web host provider company

Answer 9

Windows supports Microsoft extensions such as Frontpage.

Windows webhosting is generally more expensive than Linux webhosting.The best webhosting company is hostmonster webhosting since they offer unlimited bandwidth and free domain with their webhosting package and on every signup they give free $100 credits to advertise your website with the google & yahoo search engines.



http://www.hostmonster.com/track/hostmonsterwebhosting/

Answer 10

For a basic site -- yes.



PHP can run on both.



Note Linux was made for the internet -- windows was made for the desktop.



From a cost standpoint *nix platforms can be more secure, and cost less in maintenance.

Answer 11

Don't go Windows unless you really must. Linux is by far more secure (as long as it is a recent version of Linux, you need to check what they are using and see if there are any version upgrades they haven't made available).



It doesn't matter if you have Windows or Linux on your computer, both will work when uploading your site.

Answer 12

Linux would be my top choice. definately would NOT go windows... i mean... common no way. This is webhosting on the internet were talking about! anyways, when youre ready to get your web hosting set up, check out http://hostgumbo.com . there you can easily compare all of the top hosts and their features all on one page.

take care.

Answer 13

Windows hosting comes with native supposet for the ASP.net framework. If you want to use ASP instead of PHP, you should probably go with Windows hosting. PHP will run on both.



Windows hosting is generally more expensive in my experience. I host all my site on Linux plans (since I code with PHP). One big difference to someone like yourself would be that in a Windows enviroment,

mysite.com/Index.html = mysite.com/index.html

where as in Linux the filenames are case sensitive. There are TONS more differences, but to me this is one of the most noticeable ones.



In short, if you plan on using ASP, use windows. Since you shouldn't use ASP, use Linux.

Answer 14

No real difference. Windows supports Microsoft extensions such as Frontpage that can make it easier to build sites but that can lock your visitor into only using IE.



You can use most tools for either OS and I suggest testing your site with more than 1 browser (eg IE and Firefox)