Our website is just a basic HTML site, should we host on a Linux or Windows platform website? Site will sell 3 products in US as well as Intl.
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May 1, 2014
All depends on what e-Commerce platform you are going to use, but I would strongly suggest using a Linux server. You only need a Windows server for specialized applications.
May 1, 2014
Elaine is right, any hosting company and either Operating System will work if you don't have a complicated site or need a specific programming language or type of database. Some hosting companies do have slightly better connectivity overseas so you might want to check reviews for that datapoint, or you can do a mirror site on a server outside the USA.
May 1, 2014
I would highly recommend Linux over Windows. There are by far more solutions to choose from and they are mostly open-source and free.
Moreover, on the same hardware, you can serve ten-folds users on Linux than on Windows since MS-Solutions are resource (RAM, CPU) hungry.
May 1, 2014
hi Todd.
I would strongly suggest to go with Linux based hosting, and make it Shared Hosting.
No need for something "heavy" like Amazon.
Your solution is much simpler, in the line of GoDaddy, BlueHost etc.
When selecting your hosting package, make sure you have the traffic capacity and disk space according to your needs.
Good luck
with the site, sales, and healing as many people as possible ;-)
May 1, 2014
Why would you use a "basic HTML site" for a solution in today's marketplace, when Content Management Systems (CMS's) can help you meet your marketing objectives so more powerfully and efficiently? I ask, because the CMS used will determine the answer to your original question, and if you plan to use one in the future it will be important to select one that can host your platform of choice. For example, WordPress requires the "LAMP" platform -- Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP.
May 1, 2014
Thanks Scott! Can we Implement a CMS after the fact? The site is not done(fine tuning and FDA approvals etc) but apparently CMS was not originally purchased. I would imagine we will need it...
May 1, 2014
Todd, CMS systems are plentiful - even free ones. Some that come to mind are: Drupal, Wordpress, PyroCMS, CMSMS, FuelCMS, Joomla, Expression Engine. Most of these are free or have a free version. Of these mentioned, Expression Engine I believe has no free version, but everything else has.
May 5, 2014
Hi Todd -- you can implement a CMS at any point. You would move your content from HTML pages over into the CMS of choice (we like and use WordPress for a great CMS). There are lots of themes available to get you started, or you can simply design what you want and program WordPress to conform to that vision. I recommend you determine desired business outcome goals (leads, PDF downloads, etc.) and design for trackable results.
May 6, 2014
Again, agreeing with most here. Today's CMS system will give you the static pages you want but also the interaction of a web blog already built into your site, which also is a great plus for your SEO. Finally, there are some amazing templates that you can get for free or purchase for small money. For hosting a CMS site on Linux and using some great themes, you will be very happy.
May 1, 2014
Hi Todd,
For a static HTML site just about any host will do, as suggested by Elaine you could choose from any of those. It wont make much of a difference and it will boil down to cost, do make sure you get the right amount of email addresses and server space required for your site aswell as a decent amount of bandwith (again, most of them will do).
Add google analytics to your site to get a world of useful info that might help you down the road if you later consider a redesign and in that case you can reevaluate your hosting provider, but for now most will work fine.
May 1, 2014
It does not really matter on what platform you host your website.Both platforms can handle HTML well. It can make a difference to the cost though. If you are not cost sensitive, you should be looking at the security options and their track record on the availability of the servers and whether they can provide the bandwidth your website needs. There are many hosting companies, who run from one box and have no redundancy built into they hosting systems. Looking at the top few companies would be a good start. | Report | Delete
May 1, 2014
Hi Todd,
With more than 50% of Internet access now coming from mobile devices in North America and even higher rates over seas, you should consider rebuilding your website with Responsive Design in HTML5. Tablet use alone is expected to increase by 67% in the next few years. That is way more important than who hosts your website. User experience is critical for conversion and ROI.
May 1, 2014
Most web hosting companies will support both. What often is more important to the customer (you) is the performance, technical support, and ability to easily upload new html pages (likely through FTP). If you use/plan to use a CMS such as WordPress, it will run on both. Without knowing your requirements, I would run it on Linux in a hosted environment (so you don't have to worry about it).
May 1, 2014
A simple site does not necessarily mean little traffic, but I believe this to be overkill. Shared hosting should be fine.
May 1, 2014
As for which platform to choose, there are advantages to each. I personally prefer Linux (for stability and flexibility) and working with dynamic content (PHP) with the ability to generate that dynamic content on the fly and not be reliant on the end users' having Javascript enabled, Flash downloaded, etc. For this reason, a server-side scripting language like PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) which is open source or ASP (Active Server Pages) are both decent choices. They give you the ability to do a number of things but IF/THEN/ELSE type statements offer some nice control. You may want to guide your potential customers to the appropriate product, for example. This is easily done with ASP and PHP.
Considering you only have a few products to work with, I suppose it would depend on the flexibility you want down the road. A pure HTML site is just fine but if you'll be marketing with dynamic content or need the ability to pull content from databases such as MySQL then I would consider an ASP/PHP option since they are so popular and very cost effective options. Again, Linux or Windows really depends on which way you go here. ASP requires Windows.
Companies like GoDaddy offer some nice canned approaches for this as do many of the smaller companies.
PHP: http://goo.gl/Hzva
ASP: http://goo.gl/QrP12
Linux vs. Windows for Website Hosting: http://goo.gl/byA8z9
May 1, 2014
Hi Todd,
I would go for Linux because it's cheaper with most hosting providers. Also think of the future maybe you will switch to an E-commerce platform which needs Linux as a platform. If you already have a Linux platform by then you will not have to switch and migrate everything. Why do yo uask this question? You want to move the current website or is the development of the website finished and you are looking for hosting? Good luck!
Edit:
Checking the hosting review list I want to mention that I really really like Hostgator (#4) The support is amazing. That is if you are based in the U.S.
May 1, 2014
Hi Michael,
Development of the website is not finished, nor is the addition of a shopping cart yet and yes we are looking for hosting. Any thoughts? It also needs to find its way to first page google etc. with SEO.
May 2, 2014
Hi Todd, thank you for your reply. Go for linux and think of a cms website system like WordPress to make life easier. For SEO and ranking in the top places on search machines you will need a keyword research and seo optimized written content. If you need any help with this let me know, because then we need too deeper into your company and wishes
Thank you Tamra! A mirror site is a great thought.