Website Hosting Technologies | Beginner's Tutorial

This section introduces some of the most commonly used hosting technologies.

Windows Hosting

Windows Hosting is a hosting service that runs on the Windows operating system.

If you use ASP as your server-side scripting language, or plan to use Microsoft’s Access or SQL Server databases, you should choose a Windows platform hosting. Additionally, if you plan to develop a website using Microsoft Front Page, Windows Hosting is also the best choice.

Unix Hosting

Unix Hosting is a hosting service that runs on the Unix operating system.

Unix was the first (or most original) web server operating system and is known for its reliability and stability. Prices are usually lower than Windows.

Linux Hosting

Linux Hosting is a hosting service that runs on the Linux operating system.

CGI

Websites can be executed as CGI scripts. CGI scripts run on the server to generate dynamic interactive pages.

Most ISPs provide some level of support for CGI. Many also offer pre-installed runnable guestbooks, page counters, and chat/forum solutions written in CGI.

CGI is most commonly used on Unix or Linux servers.

ASP - Active Server Pages

ASP is a server-side scripting technology developed by Microsoft Corporation.

By placing script code within HTML pages, you can use ASP to create dynamic web pages. The code is executed by the server before it is returned to the browser. Both Visual Basic and JavaScript can be used.

ASP is a standard component in Windows 95, 98, 2000, and XP. It can be activated on all computers running Windows.

Many hosting providers offer ASP support, and ASP technology is very popular in China.

If you need to learn more about ASP, please visit our ASP Tutorial.

PHP

Similar to ASP, PHP is another server-side scripting language. By placing script code within HTML pages, you can use PHP to create dynamic web pages. The code is executed by the server before it is returned to the browser.

PHP is particularly well-suited for web development, allowing PHP code to be embedded within HTML.

The syntax of PHP is similar to Perl and C.

On various operating systems, PHP is often used with Apache (the web server). It also supports ISAPI and Microsoft’s Windows IIS.

PHP supports many databases such as MySQL, Informix, Oracle, SYBASE, Solid, PostgreSQL, and Generic ODBC.

If you want to learn more about PHP, please visit our PHP Tutorial.

JSP

JSP is a server-side technology developed by SUN, similar to ASP.

Using JSP, you can create dynamic pages by embedding Java code into HTML pages. The code is executed by the server before it is returned to the browser.

Since JSP uses Java, this technology is not limited to any specific server platform.

Cold Fusion

Cold Fusion is another server-side scripting language used to create dynamic web pages.

Cold Fusion is developed by Macromedia.

Chili!Soft ASP

Micrsoft’s ASP technology can only run on the Windows platform.

However, Chili!Soft ASP is a software product that makes ASP run on UNIX and other platforms.

Microsoft Expression Web

Expression Web is a website design tool developed by Microsoft.

Expression Web allows beginners to easily develop websites.

If you plan to use Expression Web, you need to view Windows hosting solutions.

Adobe Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver is a website design tool owned by Adobe Systems.

Even without deep web development knowledge, you can use Dreamweaver to develop a website.

Dreamweaver supports CSS, JavaScript, ASP.NET, ColdFusion, JavaServer Pages, and PHP among other web technologies.

Dreamweaver runs on both Mac and Windows operating systems.

Secure Server

A secure server encrypts transmitted data.

If you plan to do online credit card transactions or other types of web communication, you need protection against unauthorized access. Your ISP must provide a secure server.