Which Linux distribution, and why it matters less than people think.
THE COMMON CHOICES
- AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux: successors to CentOS, widely used for hosting, and what cPanel supports.
- Ubuntu Server: extremely popular, excellent documentation, large community.
- Debian: stable and conservative, favoured for long-running servers.
HOW TO CHOOSE
If you will run cPanel, you are limited to what cPanel supports. Check before ordering. If you follow tutorials, pick the distribution those tutorials use. Commands differ between package managers and small differences cause hours of confusion. If your team knows one already, use that.
WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS
That it receives security updates for the period you will run it That you apply those updates
A distribution that has reached end of life stops receiving patches. Running one is a serious risk, and upgrading in place is disruptive, so check the support timeline before choosing.
WHAT DOES NOT MATTER
Performance differences between mainstream distributions are negligible for web hosting.
OUR ADVICE
Pick one you or your developer already know.
