What is the Best Language to Code my Website?

There are many programming languages that you can choose from. It is of course impossible to choose, in an objective and absolute way the best programming languageso be sure to address this aspect in your project planning. Choosing what programming language to use is dependent on a lot of things. A programming language which may be very good for a specific use may be the wrong language to use for another task.

Each language has its own advantages and disadvantages; your choice would mostly depend on what you need and the degree of project planning and outsourcing you aspire. In the end, the language you would use would be dependent on what kind of website you are going to make and the preference of your programmer.

Here is a list of some of the popular languages used:

ASP

ASP (Active Server Pages) is closely tied to the Windows operating system and Microsoft server software. This means that using anything other than a Windows based hosting environment would be very difficult. Windows based hosting is generally more expensive due to software licensing. ASP has limited components available which means again paying for functionality above and beyond common features such as email handling, database connectivity, form processing and search. An advantage of ASP is that it is well supported by Microsoft and its development community.

ASP .NET

ASP.NET is the successor to ASP and is a framework released by Microsoft for creating dynamic web sites, applications and web services. Again, this requires a Windows hosting environment and can be rather costly with development software also needing to be purchased.

C#

C# is a programming language design for use with Microsoft’s .NET framework. It is similar to Java and C++ and was designed for object oriented programming for the internet. Being dependent on Microsoft’s .NET framework does mean that Windows hosting will be required to use this language.

Cold Fusion

This is a language that was originally created in 1995 and is now a Macromedia product. It uses tags rather than traditional programming code and for this reason can be better integrated within HTML. Cold Fusion has an extensive library which makes it a flexible alternative to traditional program coding. Cold Fusion is a commercial platform, however it does not require Windows and can be used with Linux. This is a good language for designers and much easier to learn than many other programming languages.

Java

Java is the most powerful language for web development today. Released by Sun Microsystems in 1995, Java has now become the leading technology for delivering sophisticated, customised web applications. Much of this language is originally derived from C and C++ and generally requires more time, programming ability and investment per project. However the end result will be a sophisticated, high quality solution.

Java Server Page (JSP)

JSP is a scripting technology based on Java and developed by Sun Microsystems. It allows for static and dynamic content to run together smoothly within one page. It is not restricted by any on type of hosting platform. JSP can be compared with Microsoft’s ASP.

Perl

Perl has been around for a very long time. It is a multipurpose, robust scripting language and is supported by most web hosts. There is a large group of Perl developers worldwide but no formal support for this as it is Open Source software. One drawback with this language is that it does not scale very well. Perl was not specifically designed for web use and on busy servers, does not handle a lot of hits in a short amount of time. Developers who have worked with Unix will be familiar with Perl.

Python

Python is a high-level programming language that runs on a wide variety of hosting platforms and operating systems. Python is based on C although there are several variations based on Java and C#. One advantage of Python is that it is seen as being easier to read and follow than other languages such as PHP. It is a general purpose, object oriented language which assists in the scalability and maintenance of an application. Python does not work well for very large applications due to the way it compiles programs “on the go”.

PHP

PHP is completely free, open source software and is very popular. Since its release in 1995 it has gained a large following due to it being open source and a very realistic alternative to Microsoft’s ASP. It is more efficient than older languages such as Perl and boasts a large amount of functions that are already built-in. This saves the developer the hassle of installing or paying for additional modules. PHP can run on both Linux and Windows platforms though the majority of developers choose Linux as it is free. Support for this is relatively good with an active community of developers who are willing to help.

Ruby

Originated from Japan the 1990s and is designed with simplicity in mind. It is open source and intended for use with other open source applications. It is a powerful object oriented language and combines some Perl syntax. A drawback of Ruby is its lack of documentation and support. Visual Basic – Visual basic is a Microsoft programming language and is known for its use of graphical drag and drop controls to add code. It is built on the legacy BASIC language and is dependent on Microsoft software and hosting environments. It has everything needed to write programs for Windows.

Visual Basic .Net

Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET or VB .NET) is the successor to Visual Basic. The .NET framework was released to make it easier to create applications for the web. It is centred around object oriented programming and encourages fast, efficient development. VB.NET is dependent on a Microsoft hosting platform and operating system. Development tools are also quite expensive however it is well supported by Microsoft and its development community.

The most popular languages for web development are:

=> PHP / MySQL :: Linux platform

PHP is easy to use. Once you’ve done a bit of programming in the past, you can learn this language easily. Many programmers know how to use PHP so the support would be great. You can search the internet for answers and discussions about the language. Some scripts are even pre-made for you! Best of all, it’s free to learn and use.

=> ASP.NET / SQL SERVER :: Windows platform

This is for the Microsoft programmers; it is just like PHP which is easy to use. The language is more like Visual Basic (Example: If/End-If) so if you have a background of VB, then this would be easier to use. ASP would work better on Microsoft servers. ASP relies a lot on external components that often come in the form of DLLs that you need to physically register on the server. Therefore, it is better to use it on a Microsoft server.

One more thing you may want to consider is that some web hosts only support some languages. It therefore limits your choices; but luckily most web hosts support ASP and PHP. When selecting your developer, always make sure that he/she knows either of these two languages (preferably both).

Last but not least, if you are doing any type of development it is always good to comment your code. You may want to create a users manual, if this is too difficult for you, you can hand all your notes over to a freelance technical writer to do the task for you.