Disadvantages of PHP Hosting

While there are many strong advantages to PHP hosting, there are some disadvantages that you will need to be aware of before making your final decision. These disadvantages will basically stem from what you plan to do with your site now and in the future, and there are some important considerations that you will need to make.

First, since PHP is based in Unix, this means that you will not be able to use Windows developed applications on your site. If you are interested in using Active Server Pages or .ASP, you will not be able to run them on a PHP host. In order for these pages to function correctly, you must be on a Windows server.

In addition to not supporting .ASP, the .Net framework is not supported, nor is Visual Basic. If these development tools are important to you, or if you plan to develop applications on your site that run on a Windows platform, you will not be able to do this on a PHP based server.

While many people prefer Unix, some people feel that it is very difficult to use. If you are well versed in Windows and comfortable with this platform, switching to a Unix platform may be very difficult. Again, since PHP was developed using Unix, most PHP hosting companies run their servers on a Unix platform. You will need to understand Unix to administer certain areas of your site and this can be time consuming if you are not familiar with this language.

While you will be able to use .htaccess to protect areas of your site, there are several security problems inherent to using PHP. Most of these appear when your register_globals setting is turned on, which may be turned on by default by your hosting company.

If you have sensitive data and are concerned about security holes in PHP, you will need to consult your webhosting company ahead of time to make sure that your site will be as secure as possible. There are security flaws in almost every platform, but the flaws in PHP are extremely well known. If you are not familiar with how to take steps to make sure that your PHP code is secure, you may be better served by selecting a Windows based hosting company.

Since PHP hosting packages are less expensive, some hosting companies tend to “pack” as many websites onto one server as they can. This is a very common problem with shared hosting, and can lead to a degradation of your site’s functions, speed and usefulness. If you are worried about other sites using your resources, make sure that your hosting company limits the amount of websites on each server.

Basically, any concerns that come with PHP hosting center around the inability to use Windows based applications and databases. Other than these issues, the remaining problems are very basic in nature and you should be able to find a PHP hosting company that offers what you are looking for in security and functionality.

Fantastic article Jose. Thanks for sharing with the community!

Jack

Hello
For any webmaster, getting the right hosting can prove to be quite a challenging task. Free and dedicated hosting are some of the available options at your disposal. Some categories like PHP, DS and shared web hosting is included in the broad genres.
Free hosting is where a webmaster doesn't pay anything to the host. The client gets good decisions from the web hosts because very few ideas remain in this kind of services.

Hi

• How easy/hard is it for someone who has full access to the system (like the sysadmin or hacker that hacks the sysadmin) to decrypt the source? I don't know how encryption software work, but I'm assuming they use some key, which would have to stay on the server and is therefore accessible to a sysadmin or a hacker. If you're technically-knowledgeable about the how-to, don't hesitate to offer an explanation in your answer.
• Does the use of such source encryption slow down the site? If anyone has first-hand experience or knows from someone that has first-hand experience

Thanks

Hi

the domain name has been registered and in place, your next consideration is to explore different methods and venues for hosting your site. Many people prefer shared over dedicated hosting.

When it comes to choosing a host for your site, the price for such service may be one of the most important factors that influence your choice. Shared hosting is considerably lower than dedicated servers because only a minimal portion of the server is being used.

Aside from the price, technical support is another deciding factor. Shared hosting provides you a guarantee of excellence when it comes to customer support since it is one of the basic foundations of their business, and one of the selling points among hosting providers. So if you are not familiar with this kind of business, shared hosting can be an excellent choice because you know that your site is in good hands.


Thanks

n the world of web site hosting there are two main types of operating system platforms on which you may host your web site, namely: UNIX and Windows. Each has its own set of unique features, advantages and disadvantages.

While it is difficult to say which one is the better choice, it is not as difficult to answer which is the better choice given your needs. The language which your site is programmed in is what primarily dictates the type of hosting you need.

Note: The operating system that you use on your desktop computer (the vast majority of people use some flavor of Windows) has absolutely nothing to do with the one that your host needs to serve your web site. Most personal sites are created with MS FrontPage and even although that is a Microsoft product, it can be hosted perfectly on a UNIX web server with FrontPage Extensions installed.


Stability:
UNIX systems (we actually use Linux but for comparison purposes they are identical) are hands-down the winner in this category. There are many factors here but to name just a couple big ones: in our experience UNIX handles high server loads better than Windows and UNIX machines seldom require reboots while Windows is constantly needing them. Servers running on UNIX enjoy extremely high up-time and high availability/reliability.

Performance:
While there is some debate about which operating system performs better, in our experience both perform comparably in low-stress conditions however UNIX servers under high load (which is what is important) are superior to Windows.

Scalability:
Web sites usually change over time. They start off small and grow as the needs of the person or organization running them grow. While both platforms can often adapt to your growing needs, Windows hosting is more easily made compatible with UNIX-based programming features like PHP and MySQL. UNIX-based web software is not always 100% compatible with Microsoft technologies like .NET and VB development. Therefore if you wish to use these, you should choose Windows web hosting.

Compatibility:
Web sites designed and programmed to be served under a UNIX-based web server can easily be hosted on a Windows server, whereas the reverse is not always true. This makes programming for UNIX the better choice.

Price:
Servers hosting your web site require operating systems and licenses just like everyone else. Windows 2003 and other related applications like SQL Server each cost a significant amount of money; on the other hand, Linux is a free operating system to download, install and operate. Windows hosting results in being a more expensive platform.

Conclusion:
To sum it up, UNIX-based hosting is more stable, performs faster and more compatible than Windows-based hosting. You only need Windows hosting if you are going to developing in .NET or Visual Basic, or some other application that limits your choices.

Hi
If you have sensitive data and are concerned about security holes in PHP, you will need to consult your webhosting company ahead of time to make sure that your site will be as secure as possible. There are security flaws in almost every platform, but the flaws in PHP are extremely well known. If you are not familiar with how to take steps to make sure that your PHP code is secure, you may be better served by selecting a Windows based hosting company.

While many people prefer Unix, some people feel that it is very difficult to use. If you are well versed in Windows and comfortable with this platform, switching to a Unix platform may be very difficult. Again, since PHP was developed using Unix, most PHP hosting companies run their servers on a Unix platform. You will need to understand Unix to administer certain areas of your site and this can be time consuming if you are not familiar with this language.

Thanks

I would say this article is more about the disadvantages of Linux/Unix than PHP. PHP can run on Windows, you know.