If you are thinking about which programming language you should create your website in, I am hoping that this post will sway you toward PHP, supported by all A2 Hosting servers.

1.) PHP is cheaper. PHP programs run on Linux, which is free. To run an ASP program, Internet Information Server (IIS) needs to be installed on a Windows server which is not free.

2.) PHP is faster because it runs on its own memory space. ASP is built on a COM-based architecture meaning that whenever a program tries to connect to a database or file, it calls for a COM object. When that COM object tries to access the file system, it has to call on another COM object and so forth, causing things to slow down.

3.) PHP is more compatible because it can run on server platforms like Linux, Unix, Windows and Solaris. ASP is mainly run on Windows.

4.) There are no hidden costs involved with PHP because encryption, email management and file uploading are all built in. To get these features for ASP, you need to purchase additional capabilities.

5.) PHP is more flexible because it can connect to a number of different databases, whereas ASP generally uses only MS-SQL.

6.) It is easier to fix a bug in PHP because of the larger base of support available since it is open source.

7.) Don’t take my word for it because I’m not a programmer, but I have read and been told that it is easier to learn PHP because of the open source community. There are tons of tutorials and tools on the web to aid you along the way. Just check out this PHP Manual.

8.) PHP is more secure than ASP. PHP runs on an ever popular Apache environment whereas ASP has had a fair share of security issues in the past.