SEO & Website Marketing Ideas / Tips

Whether you are new to web hosting or a seasoned hosting veteran, you will most likely still maintain some confusion between Windows and Linux and their pros and cons regarding website hosting. Considering the difference in technologies, it is difficult to compare them directly. This article should provide some insight into which is the better hosting platform for your needs.

Price

Let’s start with the most important thing: price. With dedicated server hosting you can expect the same price from either software. But as Windows is owned by Microsoft, should you decide to use Windows as a hosting platform for shared hosting, you will need a Microsoft hosting licence, meaning the price will be higher.
Linux has a generally lower price, and it’s more user friendly than Windows regarding website hosting. Windows is useful if you are using specific Microsoft applications such as ASP.NET, but if not, Linux might be more up your street.

Uptime

Linux is a far more stable platform to host from because it uses far fewer resources to run than Windows does. Even when in its idle state, Windows continues to run what is called a GUI, or graphical user interface, although the difference does remain marginal.

Case Sensitivity

A small but often overlooked issue in the battle between these two website hosting platforms is case sensitivity. While the domain names remain unaffected by this issue on both platforms, miscwebsite1.com/CaseSensitive would yield a different result to miscwebsite1.com/casesensitive if you were using Linux. On Windows, the two sites would be the same, regardless of whether they are entered in upper or lower case, making it easier for users not having to remember whether the site extension they are looking for includes any capital letters.

Interface

Linux uses far less CPU resources than Windows, owing to Windows’ graphic user interface. While fewer resources are used, this might make interacting with certain aspects of Linux difficult for those with no knowledge of command input systems like DOS. While Linux is more user friendly than DOS, certain aspects of it do still require some basic knowledge of command input. Windows’ graphical user interface might make for a slightly less stable platform to host from, but it makes the whole process a little more user friendly.

Security

It is common belief that because Windows is a more popular operating system it will be less insecure, as a higher popularity will attract more hackers. This belief holds some truth, but Linux, as the most common server type, has also had a fair amount of successful hacks made against it. At the end of the day, the security of your site comes down to the hosting company more than the hosting platform. If you make sure you are with a hosting company that is focused on security, then you can feel secure about your site, regardless of whether you are using Windows or Linux.

Winner?

There is no clear winner in the battle between Linux and Windows. A hosting platform should cater for the knowledge, abilities and preference of the person using it. If you can happily handle yourself with no graphical user interface, then you might find Linux far more suited to your requirements. But should you be a fan of ASP.NET and other Windows specific website editing software, you will find Windows far more appealing. Despite fewer web hosting services, Windows is still a very capable platform to host websites from.
However, you should not forget that your hosting platform has a lesser impact on your site that your hosting company will have, and time spent considering which hosting company to go with is time better spent considering which operating system to use.