Although in market place various shared hosting plans are available, UNIX/Linux and Windows hosting dominate. Selection of hosting depends on what technology your web site will utilize. Web sites that will utilize PHP programming and a MySQL database (as many Open Source Content Management Systems do) should use a UNIX/Linux based platform. Sites utilizing technologies like ColdFusion, IIS, VBSCript, Windows Media, .ASP or .NET programming, an MSSQL database, or a range of Microsoft solutions such as Frontpage, should use a Windows based platform (Windows 2003, Windows 2008).
