Thalasar Ventures

There are tons of questions that may (and sometimes have to) be asked when you’re choosing a web hosting company to provide a server for your website. While things like how much you want to pay for the server, if they’re reliable, and of course if you’re going to want a shared server or a dedicated server are all equally important questions to ask, there is one more. That is, should you opt for a Windows or a Linux hosting site?

The assumption that many people make, particularly those without a vast knowledge of computers and the world of web hosting, is that a windows machine can only run on a windows server, and vise versa for a Linux machine. However, that is not true. Regardless of what type of machine you’re using, it has nothing to do with what kind of hosting you use – rather, what type of website you are running is what matters when choosing the type of hosting you use.

One of the most basic programming languages is HTML – this produces basic websites. If your website is going to be only in HTML, then which system you use doesn’t really matter. However, if you’re looking to start up a more interactive page – such as a shopping site where a visitor can put items into their virtual shopping cart – then it changes things a bit. The most common programming languages for this type of website are PHP and ASP. While PHP works equally well with both Linux and Windows hosting, ASP only works on Windows. This means that if you insist on working with ASP, Windows is your only choice for a hosting system.

However, there are other factors that would effect your choice of hosting besides the programming language of the site. An obvious one is brand loyalty – which is particularly prevalent in the world of operating systems. For example, if you’ve always been a fan of Linux, then you’re likely to automatically choose a Linux hosting service. While brand loyalty like this isn’t the most efficient or best way of making a choice about your hosting service, it is a way that many people do choose. However, you will find that both systems have their ups and downs, and both are excellent choices depending on what type of website you’re planning on starting. There is no right choice in this case – it’s simply a matter of what works best for you and your website on a more personal level.