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Security and other considerations

Security is another important aspect that influences the selection of a platform. Java and UNIX are considered more secure compared to Windows.

The Web server you use for your website is again dependent on platform. Hence, selection of a platform also depends on the Web server. IIS runs on Windows, Apache will run on Linux, and so on. If the site is extensively transaction based, you may need to have an Application Server – these are also platform dependent. WebSphere and WebLogic are Java based, MTS is Windows based.

In the end, it will be the needs of you and your visitors that will define what programs and applications you want to work with. Once this is decided, the kind of platform you need will become apparent. If you need help answering these questions, ask a professional web developer or sales representative from a reputable web hosting company. They will be able to help you wade through the details and decide whether you should use a UNIX, Linux or a Windows Server platform.
Web hosting arrangements

If you have a business site on the web then you should aim for nothing less than a professional hosting site providing 24 hours support. There are lots of different web hosting companies all offering different services, some offer free hosting but they may put adverts on your site (free hosting is not at all recommended).

When looking for a host there are a few important things to keep in mind, for instance, you may need help with basic things, which some hosts simply won't do. Other things to consider are the contractual parameters for your particular site, for example how much space you need to store your pages, how much bandwidth you need, and what if you need any special extras to create your site. It is better to let your web hosting company take care of all the technical requirements.

Let us look at how much space you might need. How much physical space you need to store your web pages and images? If the site is going to be less than say 20 pages then 5 Mb will be ample as the average web page should be between 2Kb and 50Kb; so this would leave plenty of room for any images you want to use. If you are using a database, you have to consider the size of data that it will hold. Add to all this, the space that you may need for all the mailboxes associated with this domain. Perhaps a space of 10-15 MB would be adequate for a small sized site. You must ensure that your hosting provider allows you to upgrade the space allocation at incremental costs. Remember that having adequate space for your site is important.

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