Windows hosting is referred to web sites that are served through Microsoft Windows NT or 2000 Internet Information Server (IIS). It is an NT-based server that is installed with Microsoft Windows Server Edition such as Windows XP or 2003.It is widely regarded as having powerful end-to-end management, scalability and reliability features, hence its popularity for integrating businesses with the internet.

Windows hosting is the solution that you should go for if you intend to use specific Windows applications such as Active Server Pages (ASP), and if you plan to develop your website with Microsoft FrontPage. Furthermore, if your website will be developed with .NET, MS Index Server or Visual Basic scripts , Windows hosting is the better choice compared to UNIX. In terms of database, MS SQL is compatible for both UNIX and Windows hosting, but MS Access database is served only by Windows hosting.

The advantage of Windows hosting is for users to easily integrate any Microsoft products to websites due to the fact that millions of users are using Windows and use these Microsoft products. With Microsoft’s technology, you will also be able to integrate cross-browser script libraries from Java Script with ASP. Certain features such as ODBC database connectivity and ColdFusion may only be used for Windows hosting and may not by UNIX.

Cost-wise, Windows hosting are known to be expensive to set up due to its proprietary software and the use of Windows servers. However, when using a remote server, Windows hosting becomes very affordable and is very competitive compared to the price of UNIX hosting. Added to the fact that the good performance and the robustness of Microsoft application that this hosting type offers, the minimal extra cost is definitely worth spent.

In general, Windows hosting is the best for integrating your website with Microsoft products. Although it is slightly more expensive than UNIX hosting, the advantage of integrating all powerful Microsoft-proprietary application and scripts into this hosting environment far outweighs the costs incurred.

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