Just Web Hosting Solution

Are you confused between these two hosting platforms? Lots of people are, including myself when I first got started with web hosting.

Technically speaking, Linux and Windows servers do not really differ much in their performance as they both use very different technologies and software. Hence, it’s almost impossible to do a head-to-head comparison between them. However, there still are some apparent differences between the 2 operating systems (OS) that you ought to know in order to help you find the best hosting solution for your web business.

Windows Hosting is More Expensive Than Linux Hosting?

Not exactly. In dedicated server hosting, you can generally find them charging the same price for the same web hosting plan. It’s the hardware difference that makes their price the same. But in shared hosting, Windows server tends to cost higher. Simply because Microsoft develops and owns Windows operating system, whereas Linux is an open source Unix-like operating system that is generally free. Also, Windows uses more resources, hence you pay more for Windows hosting in a shared server.

Why Windows Hosting?

Good question. Windows hosting is more for websites that use specific applications like ASP.NET, MSSQL, MS Access, Expression Web, Plesk, FrontPage, Windows Streaming Media, or any of the other Microsoft proprietary technologies.

If those terms look Greek to you, then Windows hosting is not for you. Linux hosting suits you best as you basically do not need to be tech savvy just to host your website with it. That explains why most people (even tech savvy) go with Linux hosting.

Uptime Concern

If you were to host your website on Windows server, do get prepared for slightly more downtime. As Windows OS takes up more resources by running more processes / services even at its idle state* (not doing anything), you can expect more issues to occur and thus require more reboots to get any problematic processes / services back to normal again.

On the other hand, it’s not surprising to see your website running at 100% uptime for a straight 3 months… thanks to the more stable Linux platform.

* At idle state, Windows is still running a graphical user interface (GUI) whereas Linux only has a blinking cursor on a black screen. That’s why Windows server occupies more resources than a Linux server.

Major Advantage of Linux Hosting

When you change web host, it’s easier for you to focus on the quality of web hosting company rather than having to focus on the specifics of whether that web hosting service can provide you with what you need for your Windows hosting requirements.

Let’s say you’re hosting your site on Linux server with web hosting service A. But overall, you don’t quite like their service. So you go look for a better web host. Your prime concern will probably be how fast the new hosting service can load your site, its bandwidth, price, control panel, uptime etc. Hundreds of web hosts out there for you to choose from and compare against one another until you find one you like.

Let’s now look at what you’ll face if you’re moving your Windows-specific site to another web hosting service.

Other than the loading speed of site, its bandwidth, price, control panel, uptime and other features the new web host should provide, you must also make sure the new web hosting service can support your Windows-specific site that only Windows operating system can host.

You might find a web host of very good review, however, it doesn’t support Windows hosting. You might find another web host that supports Windows hosting, but it’s blasted with hundreds of bullet holes shot through by unhappy users.

You’ll face hard time looking for a reliable, reasonably priced web host that supports Windows hosting because right now only a small number of web hosts offer Windows hosting plan.

Some people also believe that Windows platform is less secure than Linux due to it being a popular operating system that hackers favor. But that shouldn’t stop you from using Windows hosting if you do really need to work with Windows OS.

Case Sensitive, Linux or Windows?

One more difference you might be interested to learn about is that Linux files are case-sensitive while Windows files are not. For example, on a Linux server, diehardwebhosting.com/web-hosting-tips/ is not the same as diehardwebhosting.com/Web-Hosting-Tips/ when you enter them in your browser. Try to copy and paste these two links and see the difference yourself as this web hosting site is hosted on Linux. But it doesn’t matter whether the domain name (diehardwebhosting.com) is upper or lower case.

While on a Windows server, /Web-Hosting-Tips/ and /web-hosting-tips/ are both considered the same name. That makes it easier for people to not having to memorize if a particular web page name of yours is upper case or lower case.

Not to worry about the case sensitive issue though if you’re going with Linux hosting. You can easily get around it by naming all your files or web pages in lower case across the entire platform, since 99% of Internet surfers aren’t expecting any web page to use uppercase.

That’s it. Problem solved.

So now, what’s your decision? If you don’t know anything about Windows applications running on a Windows server, you’d better not go with that. Linux web hosting is what I’d suggest to most people.

Tip: Whether you choose Linux or Windows as your hosting platform, it’s crucial to learn how to pick a web hosting service that helps you earn the most profits. That’s the key to a successful online business.