If you want to host your website, then there are two types of operating system platforms available on which you may done the required task and they are Windows and other one is Unix. Now the question raises “Which one is better” to host our website, then it certainly depend on your needs and on the features, advantages and disadvantages of these operating systems, which you may consider before choosing one of them.
User-friendly : Windows hosting is very user friendly, if compare with UNIX hosting as the majority of the people who use windows as an Operating system on their computer said this. They said that they use Windows anywhere at their home, work place, school, college. It allows you to simply point the option and click on it to open, edit, delete, rename and many more. This Operating system is free and its source code is well documented and easily distributed. Most of the people have good experience with Windows, they don’t face any kind of problem in working with windows and feel relax and enjoy and said would like to use this as their OS in near future also. But if we talk about UNIX hosting, then their feedback from their users is somewhat different, as UNIX is little bit complicated and not having user friendly interface, so users face a little bit difficulty are not very happy in making use of that. Popular Microsoft tools such as MS FrontPage, MS Access and MS SQL are provided by Windows hosting, not by UNIX hosting. You are also provided with regular support and updates by Windows hosting but in the case of UNIX hosting, you may not get the benefit of regular support with updating on daily basis. Windows provide complete use of the programming ecosystems sponsored by Microsoft, such as Visual Basic Scripts and MS Index Server to your web developers as they will develop your website with the Microsoft tools like Visual Interdev and Microsoft Access, but UNIX hosting does not provide the same, as it is not provided by Microsoft. You may use some Microsoft technologies like Access, ASP or MS SQL with Windows hosting, for these technologies you need Windows hosting server only but UNIX hosting cannot be used with such Microsoft technologies. So, Windows hosting is good for those users who want to integrate different Microsoft application in their Websites.
Cost : Windows hosting suffers from few limitations like it usually needs many system resources like a very powerful machine to run it. Most of its products are of Microsoft thus it involves additional investment for development tools which is very costly or expensive. Another negative point is that you will not get many free applications with it. Windows are always purchased and their license is renewed on continued basis. Their plans are usually more expensive and costly than UNIX based plans. Plans of UNIX mostly contain databases, free e-mail, community programs, MY SQL etc, whereas Windows plans usually contain Microsoft software, which you need to buy from the hosting company.
Security : Both Unix and Windows run programming languages like JAVA, PERL, and PHP. If active server pages or third-party applications (MS SQL 2000) are used by the website, then hosting it on Windows server is less risky and more secure than on UNIX server. The most common disadvantage of using windows hosting which is known to everyone is that it lacks server stability. It requires restart or reboot more frequently. So, in terms of security, its server may be not safe, if compared with UNIX hosting. UNIX hosting is usually more stable, performs faster and is also seen as more secure, than Windows hosting.
Conclusion
If we discuss from the point of view of individuals, then Windows hosting is better option for them, as it is very user friendly, which we have read above, as compare with UNIX hosting. If you think from e-commerce point of view, then you need to see the software packages first before deciding on the hosting platform. You are always required to look what companies are offering before setting. From the point of view of line business, both hosting platforms have their own features, merits, demerits, thus you need to choose the hosting platform, as per the needs of your website.