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When choosing between website hosting plans one of the choices to be made is whether to use Linux web site hosting or Windows. The aim of this post is to provide a simple non-technical explanation to help in making that choice.  However, in practice, most people will be better off focusing on the service provided by the hosting provider, such as customer support.

Firstly a few key factors:

• The operating system used by your web hosting service is not connected to your PC operating system. Knowing Windows well will not mean that it is easier to use Windows hosting.

• Most web sites are powered by Linux servers using the Apache webserver so support for Linux is good.

• Linux is open source so there are no license fees involved. As a result Linux web site hosting may be slightly less expensive.

• There has been debate about the reliability, security and performance of the two platforms but for practical purposes they can be assumed to be the same.

If you are just going to build a standard web site then either Linux or Windows will be fine. Site builder software will probably be supplied with your hosting plan but 3rd party software can also be used.

If you are building a database driven site you need to be careful. If you are going to use the popular WordPress publishing platform it is best to go for Linux.

There are technologies which only work with one operating system and others that work more easily with one. If you are having a site built for you the developers will advise on the hosting requirements, otherwise your choice depends on what you want to do.

Windows hosting is appropriate when:
You will be employing Microsoft databases (Access, SQL Server) or ASP or .NET.

Use Linux Web Site Hosting if:
You will be employing a MySQL database or using CGI, PHP or Perl.

Bottom Line
If you need a Microsoft environment then go for Windows. If you don’t (or don’t know) go for Linux web site hosting.
 

If you are starting an online business it is essential that you sign up with a top website hosting service. By using a well established and reliable provider you should have few problems and will be able to offer a good service to your customers by your website always being available and loading quickly.  This became even more important recently as Google started taking speed of loading into account in their search results, so slow loading can negatively impact your ranking.

Forget about free hosting, you will have to pay for the standard of service you will need.  There are plenty of website hosting providers which can provide the level of service required and a web search will find several sites which list the top suppliers.   Unfortunately it is not quite as easy as that because these sites differ in their views as to the top hosting companies and it is usually difficult to directly compare reviews.

To get through this and make a good choice you need to be clear about what you want:

Linux or Microsoft Hosting:- If you are having a site built for you the developers will advise you on the hosting requirements.  If your site requires a Microsoft environment then you must get a Microsoft hosting package.  If you are building your own site it is best to go for a Linux package.

Level of Service:- This starts with space on a shared server and goes up to having your own dedicated server, the higher the level of service (and the more you pay) the less competition their is for resources (e.g. bandwidth).  At the outset a basic shared package will be all you need.  Here multiple users have their websites and email on the same server and share the disk space, bandwidth etc..  There is a danger that shared servers can be overloaded but this is unlikely with a reputable supplier.

Reliability and Speed:- To provide a good service to your customers and to avoid them going elsewhere it is vital that your site is always online and loads quickly when requested.  Look for a guarantee of uptime of at least 99.9% and also search for recent user comments on potential hosting providers.   

Help and Support:- This can be overlooked at the outset but it can be critical if you have a problem.  Look for 24/7 support preferably with a toll free phone number in addition to email.

Disk Space/Bandwidth:- Most hosting providers now offer unlimited website hosting with unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth.  Clearly this is just marketing as it is impossible for these things to really be unlimited and you may well find that the terms and conditions do include some sort of limitation.  However, bandwidth and disk space are unlikely to be an issue in the short term, and may never become so, unless your site grows dramatically.    

Domains/Databases:- The basic sharing packages of many hosting providers limit these.  This is not a problem if you are only interested in having one site as you can always upgrade later if necessary.

Price:- Whilst this is important, it is last here because the price difference between the top website hosting providers is not enough to outweigh the other factors above.  It is worth noting that whilst all hosting providers advertise a monthly cost, only a few actually let you pay monthly. Most require payment for a number of months in advance.
 

When comparing website hosting providers you should consider the following points.  Thinking through what you need at the outset and matching it to the appropriate provider will be time well spent.

Minimum upfront payment period
Whilst most website hosting providers quote a monthly fee this is often just for comparison purposes and you actually have to pay 6/12 months in advance as a minimum. In some cases getting the quoted monthly price can mean paying three years upfront. If you do not want to (or cannot afford to) pay in advance you need a website hosting provider who allows monthly payments.

How long are you locked in for?
If you are happy to pay in advance you need to check the Terms and Conditions to establish your rights to cancel and get a refund. The best website hosting plans will allow you to cancel at any time and will refund unused credit. If you pay monthly it is reasonable to expect to be able to terminate at a months notice.

Is there a money back guarantee?
Some website hosting providers offer you the chance to cancel and get your money back within a number of days of signing up. Whilst this should not be a major factor in choosing a provider it does at least show their confidence in their service and you might find out how good their support is during this period.

Maximum number of domains
The lead-in packages often only allow one domain to be hosted. This may be fine but it is worth looking at the costs for multiple (or unlimited) domains as once you get started you may well discover a need for another domain.

Is there a free domain?
Some website hosting providers include a free domain. Check if it is always free or just for an introductory period. Before using such a free domain consider if it is the best option for you (it will not be a .com).

How much bandwidth are you allowed?
Whilst limits are generally high it is safest to have unlimited bandwidth so that you know that there will not be any issues if your site is successful and attracts a lot of visitors.

What is the limit on disk space?
As with bandwidth it is safest to go for unlimited then you never have to consider this.

How fast and reliable is the service?
Loading time is important both to provide a good experience to users of your site and because Google are now taking this into account in the search results.  You can have your site monitored by third parties once operational but at the outset you can only go by existing user feedback.  This should not be an issue with any of the top website hosting providers. Your website hosting provider should also provide a guarantee on percentage uptime which should be around 99.9%.

What type of hosting do you need?
Many website hosting providers offer both Linux and Microsoft hosting.  There is no connection between this and your PC operating system and I recommend that you go for Linux unless you have a specific reason not to do so. Linux powers the majority of websites, including major sites like Google, and there is a wealth of free software, tools, forums etc. dedicated to it.  WordPress has become a very popular tool for building a blog or website and most of WordPress sites run on Linux where installation is quick and easy. I would only recommend using Microsoft where you have had a website built for you and the developers have used tools that require it to run in a Microsoft environment.

Does the Control Panel have all the functionality you need?
You should expect to see:
*  unlimited (or a large number) of email accounts and the tools to manage them.   
*  unlimited (or a reasonable number) of FTP accounts
*  access to and control of databases
*  backup tools for your site (and database where appropriate)
*  it is also good to see support for Fantastico – which makes it very easy to install WordPress.

Customer Support
In many ways this is the most important question.  The best service in the world is no good if you cannot get help from your website hosting provider.  Look for the support options to include a tool free phone number.  Finally it is advisable to search for user feedback on the web to see how a provider performs in the real world.

Recommendation
To see how my recommended website hosting provider stacks up against these criteria Click Here

There are numerous website hosting plans available from lots of providers big and small, as a web search will show.  It can be difficult to compare them as they offer differing services at different prices.   How do you go about deciding which to go for given this overwhelming choice?

Will Your Site Be Used For Commercial Purposes?
The first question to consider is will your site be used for any purpose that might be considered commercial, now or at any time in the future? If you are sure that this will not be the case, you should consider using a Squidoo Lens or a blog on WordPress.com, which are free, instead of buying your own domain name and setting up your own hosting. Whilst going down this route will limit your flexibility, and you are on their domain, this can be a good way to get started.

How Important is Price?
If you have decided that the free services are not suitable, the next step will be to consider the various website hosting plans that are available.  Low priced deals are quite easy to find (and some advertising supported free deals) so does low price mean poor service? Becoming a provider of website hosting plans is quite easy as this can be achieved by "reselling" the services of a large supplier. In this case the infrastructure will be provided by a large provider but your agreement will be with the reseller who will be responsible for their own pricing and customer support. Obviously a small reseller cannot provide the same level of support (24/7) as a large provider and this may present a particular problem if provider and user are not in the same time zone. Despite this a small supplier may still be able to provide a good service but it is a risk. However, if your site is more of a hobby it may be worthwhile trying out one of the cheap services.

Other Important Aspects of A Hosting Service
As well as the price you need to consider:

• Do you pay monthly, annually etc.?
• How long are you locked in for?   
• Is there a money back guarantee?
• How many domains are you allowed?   
• Does the plan include a domain name?
• How much bandwidth are you allowed?   
• Is disk space limited?
• Is speed and uptime guaranteed?
• Linux or Microsoft based hosting?
• Does the Control Panel have all the functionality you need?
• What level of support is offered?

For more information on each of the above please visit our Hosting Facts page.

My view
I recommend that any commercial site, or indeed a non-commercial site providing a service, should be hosted with one of the big name companies. They are not likely to disappear, will provide all the services you need (including uptime guarantee) and will be able to support you if you have problems.