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Home » Other Tips » Hosting Issues » Do I need PHP?

Do I Need PHP?

Most hosts will throw a list of features at you, hoping that you will get lost in what they offer versus how well they offer it.  The thought is that by offering support for many different products, many of which are free to the host, they will look better to potential clients.  So the question from you is: do I really need this stuff?

Note: PHP and MySQL are separate products, but are almost always installed together.  In fact, it's difficult to find a Linux host that does not support these. 

PHP
PHP is a scripting language that allows you to make interactive sites.  This site is a great example - each page is actually being built from one PHP file.  The pages are different based on what page is being requested. 

If your planning on creating a totally static HTML site, do you need PHP support?  I say yes. 

First, even if you do not have the intent of a fully dynamic site there are small bits of code that can help with mundane details of your site.  Include files are great examples of this.

It is also difficult to know exactly what path your site may take.  Sure, it may be all static HTML now, but what about a year from now?  What happens if you want to add a gallery script for proofing?  What about contact forms?  These all require PHP, or some type of scripting language.

One more carrot for PHP - it's free.   It doesn't cost anything for your host to install, so there shouldn't be any additional cost for support. 

MySQL
MySQL is a very popular database server, and like PHP is free to install so it is almost universally installed on Linux servers.  The most common use you'll have for a database server is if you decide to install a Content Management System to handle your pages.  Some online gallery scripts also use databases to store their data. 

Other Features
Yes, there are thousands of other possible features that a host may thrown at you as part of their sales pitch.  Your best bet is to do some research, figure out if that's really something useful to you, how much it costs the host so you know how much you should be paying, and decide for yourself. 

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