Windows web hosting refers to a type of hosting that uses the Windows operating system on its servers. That’s rather self-explanatory, right? Well, it is, but only to an extent.
You see, there are a lot of intricacies and smaller details involved with the entire ordeal. This specific type of hosting is aimed at people who use Windows tools with their websites or projects that they’re working on. Granted that it’s a pretty niche type of a requirement, you can probably imagine that Windows website hosting isn’t really available with many hosting providers, either.
That is why, in this article, we’ll focus on the best Windows hosting solutions of the current year. They are, as follows:
Windows Web Hosting: How is it Different?
In the introductory part of this article, I’ve mentioned that Windows web hosting isn’t an all-that-common service to come across. Why is that the case, though, and how is this specific type of hosting so special?
Well, as we’ve already established earlier, Windows web hosting is mostly aimed at Windows developers. Namely, people who work with various Windows tools on their websites, such as ASP.NET, .NET Core, and others.
Note: a common misconception with even the best Windows hosting is the fact that it’s aimed at people who are using Windows OS on their machines. That’s not the case! Even if you have a Windows-running PC, you don’t need to use Windows web hosting - the opposite is also true, too.
Now, granted that the conditions under which you would need to host a Windows tool-managed server are somewhat specific, the demand for such hosting isn’t necessarily all that high, either. This is why, when picking out the best Windows dedicated server hosting, or the best Windows VPS hosting, your choices will be somewhat limited, too!
That’s actually the core factor, as well - choosing Windows-specific hosting, or going on to pick any type of dedicated or VPS hosting, and launching the OS of your choice there. Still, though, even that has a lot of limitations.
What to Look For
If you’re not at all that familiar with the topic, you might say - what’s there to discuss? You pick a VPS or dedicated hosting server, and you’re golden!
While it is true that many (most?) hosting providers do offer either of the types of hosting mentioned above (or both), not all of them support Windows OS. Even with a virtual private server, it’s completely possible that you won’t be able to install Windows, and run your tools on it.
This is because many hosting companies tend to use Linux as their go-to operating system. It’s much more adaptable and scalable, by comparison. Naturally, this isn’t great news for anyone who’s looking for Windows website hosting.
That’s actually the very first thing that you need to look out for - whether or not a hosting brand even supports Windows hosting, in any way, shape, or form. This way, you’ll be able to sort out quite a few providers that wouldn’t fit you, anyway.
When you have hosting brands that do provide Windows web hosting features to their clients, you can start looking at some of the more-specific things. Naturally, at the top of the list, you have Windows tools, different programming languages, the aforementioned ASP.NET, and so on.
Following that, you’ll need to pay attention to some of the more-general features. These include things like uptime, website loading speed, security features, plans and pricing, and so on.
Naturally, some of these features are going to be more important than others. However, they will also depend heavily on your personal preferences, as well. You’ll need to take the time and consider the nature of your project (website), and what are the core features that it should have.
Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that the actual availability of the Windows web hosting services themselves is going to depend on the host in question. By that, I mean that some hosting brands will support Windows hosting only on VPS servers, or will have dedicated hosting options, while others could have Windows-specific hosting, altogether.
With all of that being said and out of the way, let’s move on to our list of the best Windows hosting services on the current market! The providers aren’t necessarily mentioned in any specific order, unless stated otherwise.