When Should You Choose Windows Hosting?

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Web Hosting

Web hosting providers typically offer both Windows and Linux as operating system options. It is often challenging to decide which platform to use for your website, as it may not be obvious why one platform is better than the other. Even though it is usually the more pricey option, Windows hosting represents the best hosting platform all around. It offers more options in terms of website technologies, is often easier to configure for beginners, and has security backed by a leading U.S. corporation. For these reasons, take a good look at Windows hosting plans to see if they are right for you..

 

Choose Windows hosting if you are looking to develop websites with Microsoft-specific technology

Windows hosting offers almost every technology available for Linux plus some additional ones. If you are looking to develop websites with any Microsoft-specific technology, you will require Windows hosting. ASP.NET, SQL Server, and Active Directory are examples of programs that are exclusive to Windows. In addition, developing .NET websites through Windows hosting is generally quite easy with the free version of Visual Studio. Many large organizations that are concerned with security choose to develop in .NET because it is backed by a large corporation. In addition to supporting all the Windows programs, you can install PHP, MySQL, WordPress, and other open-source platforms on any Windows server as well. This makes Windows a very versatile platform all around as it supports most programming languages and databases available.

 

Choose Windows hosting if you are a beginner

Another benefit that Windows hosting provides is that it is very easy to configure for beginners. As an example, DNS servers can be very difficult to configure with Linux. With Windows hosting, creating your own DNS server is as easy as point-and-click. Similarly, installing and editing Apache configuration files on Linux can be challenging. Windows offers a graphical interface for managing its web server environment, IIS. Creating a new virtual host can be done intuitively by simply going into IIS Manager and adding a new site. Therefore, for new website admins, Windows hosting can provide significantly easier administration methods.

 

Choose Windows hosting if you are concerned about security

Security is a top concern for many websites. Windows is developed and backed by one of the United States’ largest corporations. As such, security patches are available frequently and for free. Updating your Windows server is also as simple as updating your desktop computer. Simply go to Windows Update and check for any downloads that are available. One negative to Windows hosting is that many times these updates require restarts. As such, you may find that you have very brief moments of downtime when you are restarting your server. If you are on shared hosting, then your provider will work to ensure you have no downtime.


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