Windows Shared Hosting Service

Windows shared hosting services are offered by most web hosting providers and are an affordable way for most users to get started with Windows web hosting services. Windows shared hosting services are the cheapest form of Windows web hosting available and it is important to remember that a Windows shared hosting service is always going to be more expensive than a Linux shared hosting service of the same specification due to the added costs. Windows web hosting services are unique in the way that they can support classic ASP and ASP.NET web pages and scripts; most people tend to choose Windows shared hosting based on this fact since otherwise a Linux shared hosting service will be more than adequate for your requirements – classic ASP and ASP.NET are only supported by Windows web hosting services as both scripting frameworks have been developed by Microsoft. Microsoft’s two popular database applications, Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access, are also commonly supported features of most Windows shared hosting services; Microsoft Access databases won’t function on any other web hosting platform whilst the Microsoft SQL Server database application is only installable on Windows web hosting servers.

Windows shared hosting services are easily managed through the control panel that your web hosting provider will offer you access to; previously Plesk was the most popular web hosting control panel available, but due to various problems DotNetPanel is now fast becoming the most popular Windows web hosting control panel available for use by Windows shared hosting customers. It is important for you to ensure that you choose a web hosting provider that can offer you Windows Server 2008 shared hosting as by doing so you can be sure that your web hosting package is future proof meaning that you won’t have to upgrade for a long time to come; although this may set you back more in terms of cost, in the long run using a Windows Server 2008 shared hosting service will be more beneficial to you since it will allow you to make the most of the latest features that Microsoft has to offer. Windows shared hosting should only be considered once you are sure that a Linux shared hosting service isn’t capable of meeting your needs; there is no point in you overspending on a web hosting service that won’t be able to benefit you to any greater extent. If you find that you quickly outgrow your Windows shared hosting service then upgrading to a Windows VPS server or Windows dedicated server is fairly simple, and for most it is simply a case of transferring your files over to your new Windows server hosting service.

Advantages of Windows Shared Hosting

A Windows shared hosting service will be able to offer Windows web developers many benefits as a Windows web hosting environment is the only web hosting environment that will be capable of running the web applications that they create. The main advantage of using Windows shared hosting services is the support for classic ASP and ASP.NET web pages that is provided as no other web hosting platform is able to support either scripting framework meaning that if your website has been developed using either and you require shared hosting, Windows shared hosting is the only form of web hosting that will be capable of meeting your requirements; Linux web hosting servers are unable to support classic ASP or ASP.NET web pages and scripts as both technologies have been developed by Microsoft. Windows shared hosting services can also offer support for Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access databases as these are the two main database applications that have been developed by Microsoft, and like classic ASP and ASP.NET databases that have been created using either system will only function correctly on Windows servers; however, it is a good idea to take note of the fact that some of the most basic Windows shared hosting packages may not come with the ability to host a single MSSQL database. Windows shared hosting can also offer you affordable Windows web hosting as most other forms of Windows web hosting tend to be rather expensive, but a Windows shared hosting service is always going to be more expensive than a Linux shared hosting service of a similar specification; this is because there are additional costs that web hosting providers need to factor into the prices of their Windows web hosting services. In summary, the advantages of using Windows shared hosting services include:

  • ASP web hosting – a Windows shared hosting service is going to be the only Windows web hosting service that will be capable of supporting classic ASP and ASP.NET web pages and scripts as both scripting frameworks have been developed by Microsoft meaning that web pages and scripts created using either won’t function properly on any other web hosting platform – although classic ASP may be old and outdated, in conjunction with ASP.NET it is still the popular choice of many businesses that require highly scalable and reliable web applications – some businesses also prefer to use Windows servers over Linux servers for various reasons meaning that they are usually stuck with using classic ASP or ASP.NET to develop their websites and web applications
  • Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access hosting – Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Access are Microsoft’s two very popular database applications and are popular with business users although both have been developed for different purposes – Microsoft SQL Server is a highly scalable database server and most Windows shared hosting services will provide you with the facility to host one or two MSSQL databases under your Windows shared hosting account – Microsoft Access on the other hand is a desktop database application meaning that it isn’t the most scalable database solution available to businesses although most Windows shared hosting services will allow you to host an unlimited number of Microsoft Access databases under your web hosting account, the only limitation being the amount of disk space that you have available to use
  • Affordable Windows web hosting – Windows shared hosting services are generally the only form of affordable Windows web hosting available and can be used by Windows web developers as a starting point as they can then move on to higher forms of Windows web hosting as their requirements change – a Windows shared hosting service will be able to offer you excellent value for money when you consider what your Windows web hosting environment will be able to offer you in terms of resource allocations – most users only choose to use Windows web hosting because they have a distinct need for a Windows web hosting environment such as if they are developing using classic ASP, ASP.NET or either Microsoft Access or Microsoft SQL Server.

The advantages of Windows shared hosting suggest that Windows shared hosting is only really for you if you have a distinct need for a Windows web hosting service. The added cost that comes with using a Windows web hosting service isn’t worth it if a cheaper Linux web hosting package will be able to meet your requirements.

Disadvantages of Using Windows Shared Hosting Services

There can also be disadvantages to using Windows shared hosting services that you should be aware of prior to purchasing a Windows web hosting package just so that you don’t end up purchasing a Windows shared hosting package and then finding that is isn’t capable of meeting your requirements. The main disadvantage of using a Windows shared hosting service has to be the level of reliability that your web hosting provider will be able to offer you with your Windows shared hosting package as this is one factor of your Windows web hosting service that may come to disappoint you; if reliability is an important factor for you then you can always consider a Windows VPS server or Windows dedicated server for your web hosting requirements. The security offered by a Windows shared hosting environment may not be up to your standards either, and if you are going to be handling personal data using your website or storing personal data in a database under your web hosting account then you will want to be sure that the server that you are hosted on is as secure as possible; although you should be seeking a secure Windows web hosting environment to give yourself peace of mind, it will also give your website visitors more confidence in you if you can guarantee to them that you are using a secure web hosting service. Windows shared hosting may not always represent good value for money as a Linux shared hosting that is the same price as a Windows shared hosting package will be able to offer greater resource assignments for the price upon comparison, and so if you require web hosting that can offer the biggest bang for the buck then you are better off considering Linux web hosting; there are additional costs that web hosting providers have to factor into the prices of their Windows shared hosting services meaning that Linux shared hosting services are always going to offer better value for money. In summary, the main disadvantages of using Windows shared hosting include:

  • Reliability - Windows web hosting services aren’t known for their high uptime levels and neither are shared hosting services meaning that with a Windows shared hosting service you shouldn’t expect too much in terms of reliability – there are going to be many individual web hosting accounts hosted on the same server as yours meaning that the chances of you being provided with 100% guaranteed uptime are slim as if several websites suffer a load spike at the same time then the hosting server may not be able to cope with this which will ultimately result in the server crashing, and at the end of the day even the highest of high end servers can’t cope with enormous loads when they are put under a lot of stress
  • Security – similarly security is something else that can cause issues in Windows shared hosting environments as the sheer number of websites hosted on a single shared web hosting server makes it hard for a web hosting provider to guarantee any high levels of security in a Windows web hosting environment – although Windows Server 2008 servers can be secured to a high level, in reality a Windows web hosting server is never going to be as secure as a Linux web hosting server – with a shared web hosting environment web hosting providers are unable to examine the code used in individual websites meaning that if there does happen to be a website hosted on the same server as yours that is using weak or unsecure code, that website is posing a potential risk to all the websites hosted on that server as it could be hacked easily
  • Value for money – by now you will probably have come to the conclusion that Windows shared hosting doesn’t offer great value for money as Linux shared hosting packages available for the same price offer greater resource assignments – you are only going to consider Windows shared hosting if you really need a Windows web hosting service meaning that for the businesses that do choose Windows web hosting service, it is easy for them to brush the price aside as all they look for in a web hosting package are the resource assignments that will be able to meet their needs – if you think that a Windows shared hosting service doesn’t offer good value for money and you are on a tight budget then it may be a good idea for you to consider Linux shared hosting instead.

Windows shared hosting services can be expensive if you wish to purchase a decent web hosting package and even then they don’t represent good value for money. Although most businesses wish for a reliable and secure web hosting environment this may not always be possible when using Windows web hosting, but if you go for your own Windows VPS server or Windows dedicated server then you can assume more responsibility over the security and reliability of your Windows web hosting service.

In conclusion, Windows shared hosting services are the cheapest form of Windows web hosting available and if you require Windows web hosting then you may find it more beneficial to start with a Windows shared hosting service with the view to upgrading to Windows server hosting at a later point. As a Windows web developer you are most likely to appreciate what a Windows web hosting environment has to offer with its support for classic ASP and ASP.NET web pages, but as a PHP web developer you may not be able to justify the cost of a Windows shared hosting service as a Linux web hosting package will more than suffice for your needs.