Linux is one of the most common open source platform used for web hosting these days. Linux web hosting is not only considered affordable but quite reliable too. Linux hosting services start from as low as Rs. 540 per month, and most of the shared Linux web hosting plans can match the features offered by the Windows hosting plans.

Linux versus Windows Hosting
Sure thing, Windows hosting is indeed quite popular, but the level of popularity of Linux hosting has been increasing steadily. The biggest reason behind this is of course the pricing, and at the same time Linux hosting has been discovered to be quite secure and reliable too.

Now, when the discussion boils down to the selection of the choice of hosting platform, it is impossible to say whether Windows hosting is better or Linux. Basically, it all depends upon the functions you wish to incorporate in your website. If you plan on developing your website and web applications based on ASP and .NET, you can’t dream of Linux web hosting, because there would be no compatibility between the two.

On the other hand, if you’re a developer who needs root level access to the web server and needs to execute Shell scripts, or just an ordinary website owner who wishes to host a traditional website with low-to-moderate level of complexity, there won’t be any problems with Linux hosting. Conversely, if you’re looking to set-up Wordpress blogs, phpBB discussion boards and other software that run exclusively on Unix/Linux environment, Windows hosting may not be an ideal choice. Therefore, there’s always a trade-off while selecting the hosting platform and depending upon your needs, you should pick the one that meets all your requirements.

Top 5 Myths Regarding Linux Web Hosting

Linux Lacks Support

Gone are the days when people had the notion that open source platforms like Linux had lack of support. Today, there’s a huge developer community and you can seek instant help in the community and forums, where thousands of peer developers are available to help you anytime. So, in case you’ve any wrong feelings in your mind as to Linux lacks support, then you should give it a second thought.

Windows Hosting is Superior Because Windows OS is More Popular

The Windows Operating System is definitely popular amongst the PC users, but when it comes to Windows Server hosting, things tend to differ a bit. A Linux web server is lot cheaper to run and maintain, and it works on the open source platform, hence most of the licenses are free under the GNU/GPL. Next, when you consider robustness, flexibility and security, Linux web servers again come on top. Windows Web Servers are relatively costlier, and are known to have several security issues. Hence, despite the fact that about 75% of the operating system used by PC users is Windows, the Windows hosting isn’t equally popular. The Linux hosting provider have the added advantage of distributing all the software under the GNU/GPL and the users can also make changes to the source code of any application or software.

Linux Web Site Hosting is More Complex in Nature

Some of the website owners have a notion that Linux website hosting is more complex in nature, though they don’t know the specifics of the complexity. However, in reality all the Linux shared hosting providers facilitate the users to manage their websites and data files via a user-friendly cPanel or Admin Panel. And, the cPanel offered by Linux hosting providers as well as Windows hosting providers are almost identical so the end users can’t really make out the underlying platform or technology. As a matter of fact, development work on Linux platform is lot easier, because one can easily alter the source code, which is literally impossible in case of Windows hosting wherein you can’t even get root level access to the web server in normal cases.

Windows Web Servers are Faster than Linux Web Servers

It is impossible to make such a statement and justify it simply because some of the advanced Windows web servers are indeed very fast, while the best of Linux web servers have got the calibre to match their capabilities too. Therefore, it depends upon the two web servers you’re trying to compare. It is as good as saying Windows Vista is better than Ubuntu 4.5 (very old version of Linux OS). Hence, if you wish to compare the speeds of Windows and Linux Web Servers, then you should try to compare the latest editions of each platform that have been thoroughly tested already. Moreover, many such tests have been carried out in recent times, and the speed has been discovered to be almost the same, so Windows servers don’t score over Linux web servers in this regard.

You can’t host a site on Linux Server that’s developed in Windows Environment

The development environment and the hosting platform has absolutely no connection whatsoever. This simply means whether you develop your website on Ubuntu, Solaris, Linux, or Windows, you can host it on the platform of your choice. The choice of platform again depends upon the requirements of the website, but definitely not upon its development environment.

How Secure are Linux Web Hosting Services?

In general, Unix and Linux hosting services are known to be the most stable, reliable, and secure web hosting platforms. However, it all depends upon your host. If a host who’s providing cheap Linux web hosting is hosting spammy websites on the same web server on which, your site is also hosted then there could always be chances of trouble. On the other hand, if your web host ensures that only genuine and informative websites are hosted on the web server, there are very low chances of any security issues arising even in few years time.

Selecting the Best Linux hosting plans

Nobody can decide what’s good what’s bad, but an individual or a company can definitely decide what’s best for them. This applies to selecting of the Linux hosting plans too. Depending upon the features that you require, you should pick an appropriate affordable Linux hosting plan that comes with everything that you’re interested in. When you pick a Linux website hosting plan, you must not consider the features that you aren’t really going to use, and rather concentrate only on those things, which are going to be used frequently by you.

E-Commerce Capabilities

Of course, eCommerce has emerged out as one of the biggest aspects of hosting. Not all hosting providers support eCommerce features equally well, and it also varies as per the hosting environment. However, when you compare Windows and Linux web hosting choice, the Linux hosting environment provides full support to all kinds of eCommerce features. Therefore, even if you’re planning to launch an ecommerce website or an online store, you can make use of Linux hosting platform. As a matter of fact, Linux web hosting is ideal for ecommerce related websites as they require higher security levels, reliability and stability, which is offered by Linux hosting environment.

Pros of Linux Hosting

• The top advantage of Linux web hosting is of course that it is Open Source and hence absolutely FREE.
• Linux web hosting services are lot reliable and stable
• Linux based web hosting is cheaper and easier to maintain
• Linux web hosts have the flexibility to use open source goodies.

Cons of Linux Hosting

Set-up and configuration is difficult in comparison to the Windows hosting. Linux Hosting can’t support Microsoft proprietary coding platforms like ASP .NET and some of the Microsoft FrontPage extensions and latest offerings. The user-interface is not as friendly as Windows.

In a Nutshell

A website owner decides upon the requirements and a programmer codes it, not the operating system. Therefore, it is your choice to pick Windows or Linux hosting environments. Development environment of the website has no connection with the platform on which, it must be hosted. However, the coding platform must be supported by the web hosting platform. So, you must ensure this compatibility before you decide to go ahead with development work. You must not be prejudiced about either Windows or Linux hosting platforms, as both of them come with their own shares of pros and cons. It is impossible to point out the superior out of the two, but pertaining to your requirements either of the platforms can be picked.

Remember that the necessities of each website owner are unique. If your close pal is using Windows web hosting that doesn’t essentially mean that it would be ideal choice in your case too. He/she might be running a highly interactive site or one based on ASP/.NET, while you might be thinking of setting up a website with basic functionalities like blog, online galleries, shopping carts, discussion boards. So, you must pick the hosting environment solely based upon all your requirements.