Everytime I’m asked: “what should I use, PHP or ASP.NET?”
To me, it’s an easy answer. I always say: use PHP. The client sites I have worked with have ranged from 4 to 4000 web pages, and 100% of them would have been best off with a PHP solution.
At this point, a curious person asks: “what makes PHP so much better than ASP.NET?”
My challenge is to help this person understand that PHP is not better, just different. There are certain factors (such as support, security, scalability, reliability, and speed) that are just as good for ASP.NET as PHP.
“What’s the cost difference?”
ASP.NET must be on a Windows platform (which costs money), but PHP is platform independent, so it could run on Mac, Windows, or Linux (a free system). The technologies themselves are both free.
“Can’t ASP.NET plug into other Microsoft technology?”
Yes, .NET is great for that, although of the many web sites I have worked on, they have not had the need for this.
“What about browser/user accessibility?”
Both technologies are processed before they reach the browser, so neither one has compatibility issues.
“Which language is better for scripting?”
If you want to use something like ecommerce, blogs, CMS, or anything else mainstream, it is much easier to find good PHP solutions that are already developed. If you want a large custom built solution (which comes with high developer costs), .NET is the way to go.
In every case I have recommended PHP, only because it has fit the scenario of budget and effectiveness much better. ASP.NET definitely has its place, but I would only ever recommend using it for very large sites that need to be custom built.
