For many individuals, small businesses, and professionals looking to create an online presence, shared web hosting is the first choice as an entry-level solution that provides quality hosting at affordable prices. Shared web hosting is the ideal solution for websites and web applications that do not have extensive performance needs and when affordability is the primary concern.
With shared hosting, several sites or web applications are hosted on a single server, partitioning the same hardware and software resources. Sharing resources lowers costs, giving clients access to web hosting for a small investment. A major factor that determines the hosting costs for the end user is the operating system used on the web server. The most accessible hosting solutions use the open source Linux operating system, which is free for commercial and personal use. Linux web hosting providers offer the most affordable solutions because they are not forced to recover their investment in licensing fees as Windows Server hosting providers do.
Besides affordability, another characteristic that makes Linux an attractive option for web hosting is its open source nature. The open source community is an enthusiastic gathering of software developers and users who share a common belief that software should be free to use and accessible to everybody. There are hundreds of free web applications designed to work on Linux servers, and many of them are not accessible on other operating systems. In this article, we explore some of the most important categories of applications that you can use with a Linux web hosting plan, we learn about one-click installation scripts, and we see how you can use web applications to create an attractive online presence with minimal investment.
Blogging Platforms
When Web 2.0 emerged a few years ago, it transformed the way Internet users created and shared content. The Web 2.0 revolution is all about the contributions of the individual users. The Internet is no longer a series of static pages as it has become a vibrant collection of personal opinions, where users create their own content, publish it, and make it available to the world in a matter of minutes. Blogs and social networks are at the forefront of the user-content revolution, and today nobody can afford to dismiss the importance of these new means of communication and expression.
While blogging appeared as a form of personal expression, businesses and professionals were quick to seize the opportunity of gaining a new and valuable marketing channel. Today, a corporate blog is a must-have for any business looking for promotion and recognition on the web. Businesses and professionals use blogs to get more search engine exposure, to get in touch with their customer base and to promote new products and services. With a Linux hosting plan, you can quickly install a blogging platform such as WordPress or b2evolution, and add interactivity and personalization to your website.
WordPress and other popular blogging tools were specifically designed to run on Linux and make use of open source technologies such as PHP and MySQL. For this reason, the previously mentioned blogging platforms will only run as intended on a Linux server. There are workarounds that allow web administrators to install WordPress on Windows servers, but they require additional workload to set the proper security clearances and make other necessary configurations.
Content management systems
Open source content management systems (CMS) are another category of applications that function exclusively or optimally with Linux hosting services. Widely used in enterprise environments, content management systems are designed to separate the content creation from the web design process. CMS users do not need to worry about setting HTML tags or making modifications to the page layout. These tasks are taken over by the CMS, thus creating a simple way of updating a site without giving non-technical users access to the website’s code.
CMS are used by all types of entities, from collaborative blogs to small businesses, community sites, and large corporations. Their popularity is owed to the fact that they are powerful and versatile; even a beginner can use a CMS to create an attractive website, and the only investment needed is a Linux hosting plan.
Some of the most popular content management systems (or portal engines as they are known) are Drupal, Joomla, and Mambo. All these applications are open source and based on the LAMP stack – Linux as an operating system, Apache as a web server, MySQL as a database solution, and PHP as a scripting language. For this reason, they work best on a Linux server and if you plan to use them, it is highly recommended you opt for a Linux web hosting plan.
E-commerce tools
Regardless if you are selling groceries or diamond rings, you can make use of your website to reach new customers, get leads, and generate sales. Many people think that setting up an online store is difficult and expensive, but with a Linux web hosting plan and the right applications, anyone can easily become an online merchant.
As in the case of blogging tools and CMS, there are many open source, free of charge e-commerce applications that can be installed on a Linux server. Zen and OsCommerce are just two of the available free shopping carts (as e-commerce apps are sometimes called) that allow you to create a full-fledged online store, with minimal costs and maximum effectiveness.
Use the Fantastico script library to install a variety of free web applications on your Linux host
Even if most of the free applications that work with Linux web hosting plans are built on the LAMP stack, it does not necessarily mean that you need PHP or MySQL skills in order to install web applications on a machine. You can leave this task to automation solutions like Fantastico, which greatly simplify the installation and configuration of web applications on your Linux web server.
Make sure that you get a Linux hosting service that provides Fantastico – a library of scripts that automate the installation of web applications on your Linux web host. Fantastico takes over the jobs of creating tables in databases, installing applications, and making any necessary configurations to the Linux hosting server. The scripts library includes numerous popular applications, covering a wide range of functions including blogging tools, CMS, forums, wikis, photo galleries, and more. Even non-technical people can use Fantastico to set up WordPress, Joomla or Zen Cart on a Linux server in just a few minutes and with minimal effort. Typically, the Fantastico scripts are available from the administration section of the control panel (for example cPanel) used to run the Linux hosting account.
Get an affordable Linux web hosting plan from JaguarPC and benefit from the power of open source web applications
JaguarPC provides reliable, feature-packed Linux hosting services that let customers create an attractive online presence with minimal costs. When you choose a Linux web hosting plan from JaguarPC, you get generous server resources for your website or web application, supplemented by reliable, industry-proven administration software. JaguarPC’s team of highly trained experts monitors the Linux servers 24×7 to make sure that you get maximum availability and stability for your website.
With a Linux web hosting plan from JaguarPC, you also get access to a rich ecosystem of open source web applications that enable you to create interactive websites with little or no costs. WordPress, Drupal, and phpBB are just a few of the apps that can be installed with just a few clicks, through the compelling collection of scripts offered by the Fantastico automation tool.
Visit www.jaguarpc.com today, to learn more about versatile Linux web hosting plans or to order a hosting plan from JaguarPC.