Choosing the Right Web Scripting Language
In the past, websites were static pages with no content management functionality. This meant that sites were difficult to update, requiring the time of web developers to add new pages to a website. This less than ideal situation was remedied with the introduction of web scripting languages. These allowed for websites to utilise content management as communication between a central database and the site was now possible.
Web scripting languages allow for all manner of what can often seem like complex functionality to a website – login systems, video uploads, image manipulation and Microsoft Word like editing to name but a few.
Your server choice will determine what language you are able to choose to implement your website. If you have a Linux server, you will not be able to implement an ASP.NET website without the aid of the MONO Project, the installation of which (unless you are a systems administrator) could be complicated and yield unexpected results as the current project implementation does not support the latest ASP.NET Features. Your remaining choice on a Linux server is PHP which stands for Hypertext Pre-processor (it used to stand for Personal Home Page). PHP is currently the de-facto standard in web development, it is free to use and is taught in colleges and universities the world over.
On the other hand, if you currently have a Microsoft IIS Server, you can choose either language. Obviously, as ASP.NET is a Microsoft technology, it would make sense to use ASP.NET over PHP – it is not actively discouraged as PHP is supported although the implementation and maintenance of the installation can be tricky for users coming from a Linux server background. The beauty of having a Microsoft Server is the support available – Microsoft always keeps current generation server operating systems up to date and patched against the latest vulnerabilities. This can only be obtained from paying for enterprise level server installations in the Linux world – but of course you pay for the Microsoft Server licence in the first instance.
There is no solid answer about which web technology to utilise, ultimately it comes down to the developer’s preference. Web developers often have a particularly technology they will return to again and again, and it is very often true that knowing a language inside out can make the process of scripting a website run a lot faster, and much more smoothly for the client.
Even some of the most experienced web developers are yet to encounter any functionality that PHP has over ASP.NET or vice-versa. A website design company can develop websites in either language as a matter of principle, so talk to your digital marketing agency about which PHP functionality is best for you.
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