If you are shopping for web hosting services

you may have already been presented with a tough choice: Windows hosting or Linux hosting. What is the difference?

Windows web hosting

is commercial hosting courtesy of Microsoft. (In fact, what isn’t courtesy of Microsoft these days?) Linux is free software. Though Linux has greater security potential, there are some distinct advantages to choosing a Windows hosting platform.

For one thing, Windows comes with .net framework. If your website uses .net or visual basic language to operate, then using Windows is a necessity. Other hosting platforms cannot handle this type of programming language.

If you prefer to use WYSIWYG software (What You See is What You Get) rather than programming HTML then you probably use MS Front Page. A Windows server can easily handle Front Page extensions. Unix or Linux based servers have to specifically say “supports Front Page extensions” in order to work properly. Many webmasters consider windows hosting the easier solution. When you use a Windows server you don’t have to learn a new system of language, so if you’re a beginner to web hosting, this is a smart choice.

Windows hosting

also allows you work with .ASP and Dynamically Database Driven Pages. Other servers cannot support ASP. If you want lots of scripting on your site, again, Windows is the smarter choice. If you plan on using MS Access then a Windows server is required. Lastly, using Visual Interdev or any Windows based application will work best if you use an MS server. Simply put, Microsoft Windows makes the Windows server for people who want to use other MS tools. Unix and Linux servers usually do not support Windows programs.

For more information on Windows hosting contact your web hosting provider. Check on prices and management details. Your ultimate goal is to provide a user-friendly experience for your web viewers.