Windows Web Hosting

Windows web hosting is web hosting that uses a Microsoft Windows web hosting platform. This means that the web hosting provider is using a Microsoft Windows product, usually either Server 2008 or Server 2003, to host web pages. Windows web hosting is fairly common, though Linux web hosting is a little more popular. Web pages hosted on Windows often end in .htm, while those hosted on Linux end in .html, though this has no bearing on the quality or function of the pages.

Users should be aware that even if they are using a Windows operating system on their computer, they do not have to use Windows web hosting.

Most users won't find much, if any, difference between the two types of web hosting, but there are some pros and cons of Windows website hosting that they should be aware of.

Pros of Windows Web Hosting

For some users, Windows web hosting offers distinct advantages over other types of web hosting.

• Users who created their web site with Microsoft's FrontPage web page design program won't have to worry about compatibility or support for extensions since it is fully supported by Windows web hosting.
• Those who want to use Microsoft Access or the MySQL database with their web site will usually find that they need to use Windows web hosting for compatibility.
• Programmers who prefer to use Microsoft's ASP.NET framework to create web sites may find it easier to use Windows web hosting

Windows web hosting also supports many other common features for developing or managing web sites, like FTP file transfers, HTML, JavaScript, and most other common scripting languages.

Cons of Windows Web Hosting

There are concerns about Windows web hosting that may deter some people from using it.

• Linux offers free, open source software for free web hosting, while Windows web hosting requires the web host to buy the web hosting platform from Microsoft, which may result in slightly increased rates.
• There are some scripting languages and software programs that were designed for Linux, and these may not be fully compatible with Windows web hosting
• Because of its popularity as an operating system, Windows is subject to numerous security problems, though no operating system is completely free of security risks
• Some users feel that Windows web hosting is slightly slower than Linux web hosting

Though most of these issues are considered minor, it is up to each web master or web site owner to decide if the cons of Windows web hosting lead them to prefer a different type of web hosting.

Choosing a web hosting service

Unless users are already using Microsoft web design software, databases, or scripting languages, or have a strong preference for one operating system over the other, the operating system used by their web host is less important than the services and quality the web host provides. Linux web hosting is more common, so by default more users may end up with Linux website hosting, but if they find Windows web hosting that offers the services they need with a reasonable price and a good reputation, then Windows web hosting my be the right answer for them.