web hosting

Why Mac Web Hosting is a Worthy Consideration

For years, the Mac operating system has prided itself on being an intuitive and user-friendly operating system.  When considering its tremendous power, it should be no surprise that Mac OS X is now being increasingly used in the server environment as a web hosting platform.  The server version of the product has evolved tremendously over the pass decade, growing more advanced with each release to introduce new functionality and enhanced components to support web applications and websites in general.  If you are currently at the stage of choosing a platform for your website needs, this article will explain why Mac web hosting could make a viable alternative to the more trendy options.

Mac’s Journey Through Web the Hosting Industry

With the launch of Mac OS X Server in 1999, Apple began to embark on a more modern operating system that offered the user-friendliness of Windows, with the power and flexibility of Unix, the OS from which it borrows many characteristics.  Mac OS X Server was released as a consumer product in 2001 and became more widely adopted over the next year as its functionality and stability were enhanced to the point of widespread usability.  In 2003, Apple introduced version 10.3 of its Mac OS X Server and the software quickly became a mainstream option as a platform for Apache 1.3 web servers.  At this time, the OS only supported Apache through the use of GUI administrative tools.  It wasn’t until 2007 that the software would offer support for  Apache in native form via the GUI management tool set built into Mac OS X version 10.5, more commonly known as Leopard.

The Benefits of Mac Web Hosting

Aside from a rock-solid core based off the powerful Unix operating system, Leopard 10.5.8, the latest edition of the Mac OS X Server product, is equipped with preemptive multitasking, protected memory, advanced memory management and even tighter security than before.  The platform is tailored to ensure the maximum service uptime with fault tolerance features that offer the ability to constantly monitor system activity, restart troubled services, and recover from system failures.  It also has the ability to restart the system automatically following a power outage, thus helping keep downtime to bare minimum.  In addition to these benefits, Mac OS X offers a suite of web-friendly features that include network management, server-side scripting support and Quick Time multimedia streaming among several others.

Potential Drawbacks of Mac Web Hosting

Mac web hosting is definitely scarce when compared to the market offerings based on the dominant Linux and Windows platforms.  This is partially because that even though improved, the system’s GUI is still quite complex and technically challenging.  However, for the user who is sound in command-line administration, this platform can be just as efficient as any other.  In the end, web hosting on the Mac OS X platform will always be a great choice for those who demand a stable and secure web environment, two qualities you must have in any hosting solution.

Choosing a Hosting Platform for Your Business

If you are looking to make your mark as an online business owner, one of the first things you need to do is find yourself a web hosting solution.  The web has grown tremendously over the years and so have your choices.  Web hosting services are not hard to find as companies have the industry covered from every angle of the market.  While there are many critical factors involved in choosing a service, one of the most important is the platform your business site is hosted on.

What is a Platform?

In web hosting terms, a platform refers to an operating system like Mac OS X or even an something older like DOS.  This type of software stores critical files, gives basic commands, tells the server how to interact with applications.  In the early days of the internet and World Wide Web, most servers ran on the Unix platform, a very powerful system that while flexible, has always required a considerable amount of technical skill to administer.  Though still a popular choice, hosting customers now have a greater variety to choose from in platforms such as Linux, Windows and FreeBSD.

Linux

Linux is a newer version of Unix and perhaps the most popular variation.  This platform is incredibly versatile and made to perform in the server environment.  It is makes an ideal solution for demanding tasks and activities such as messaging and multimedia streaming. Unlike Unix, Linux is an open-source system under the GNU General Public License, making it a cost effective solution for both web hosting providers and their customers.  Perhaps the greatest advantage of this platform is its compatibility with various open-source technologies.  A Linux hosting package typically means you also get the benefit of tools like Apache, PHP and MySQL.

Windows

Often regarded as the main competitor to Linux, Windows is the server version of the popular Microsoft desktop operating system.  Upon first entering the server environment, these platforms were powered by systems like Windows NT and 2000.  Most plans now are based on either Windows 2003 or 2008.  What makes this system so popular is the user-friendly interface that gives IT teams a familiar environment to work with.  Not only is it supported by a large number of applications, but also Microsoft technologies that were specifically designed to work with the platform.  Some of the main selling points of Windows hosting include ASP or ASP.NET programing, the SQL Server and other services like Exchange and SharePoint.

FreeBSD

The FreeBSD platform is based on the BSD system, which is one of the many Unix variants.  Similar to Linux, FreeBDS offer cost efficiency as an open-source system.  Extremely well integrated, this platform is well known for its speed and stability, making it an excellent choice for mission-critical operations.  FreeBSD is becoming increasingly popular and offers support for a growing number of technologies.

Choosing a Platform

All the platforms mentioned in this article are great for business hosting, Windows especially.  The key is finding a web host that delivers a reliable infrastructure and enables the chosen system to effectively meet your needs.

phpWCMS for Easy Content Management

When equipped with the right CMS, you can build a website that is fast, feature-rich, easy to deploy and manage.  A user-friendly system will help you effectively separate content from the website layout and allow inexperienced community users to publish their own material.  If you have a site that requires frequent updates but do not want to spend hours upon hours making the necessary changes, a CMS like phpWCMS can make your life much easier.

What is phpWCMS?

phpWCMS is an open-source, web-based CMS scripted in the widely used PHP server-side programming language.  Like many open-source software applications, it uses a MySQL database to store all website data with the exception of converted images and uploaded files.  phpWCMS is divided into a frontend and backend.  The frontend is for presenting the site while the backend is only accessible to registered administrators and users.  With backend access, members of your community can login and modify template settings, manage their own content and much more.  The learning curve for phpWCMS is much shorter in comparison to other systems, making this software ideal for beginner and intermediate users.  Ease of use and user-friendly features often make it the preferred choice over comparable systems like Typo3.

As a cross-platform application, phpWCMS runs efficiently on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X operating systems.  In addition, the backend translates into 13 different languages including English, Danish, Dutch, Italian and Swedish.

phpWCMS Features

The phpWCMS software is extremely rich in terms of features.  Below we have listed some of the most notable:

Unlimited page layouts - The built-in, customizable Page Layout Wizard allows you to mix and match elements to create as many page layouts as you want.

Unlimited templates – The Template Editor features support for custom HTML headers,  JavaScript onload functions and CSS stylesheets that enable the creation of unlimited themes.

Simple content management - Building your site is made easy with numerous content parts.  You articles and blog posts can have summaries, redirections and other parts that distinguish it from the layout.

Multiple WYSIWYG editors – The phpWCMS HTML editors give you the ability to build your site with little to no programming knowledge.  In addition, such a wide variety ensures that your creation looks good in popular web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera.

Multiple content parts - Content comes in many different variations and phpWCMS is able to support many.  The software handles images, articles, multimedia files, newsletters, custom search forms, sitemaps, guestbooks and more.

Although phpWCMS is loaded with an array of useful features, it does not support a great number of add-on modules and therefore, it is not as flexible as more robust content management systems.  For this reason, it is recommended for small to medium sized websites.

Where to find phpWCMS

As an open-source application, phpWCMS is free to use and can be downloaded from the official project website.  In order to enjoy the benefits, you will need a web host that supports the software.  Because the system has become extremely popular, it is becoming easier to find.  phpWCMS is now offered in many web hosting packages as a one-click installation through control panels like cPanel and Plesk.