php vs dot net newbie questions

need some advice on choosing programmer

[thinkbig]

Im in the process of interviewing local design firms for a website/custom programming work i want to get off the ground. I have gotten proposals from most firms for php work which all were several thousand lower in price than if the work was done in dot net. For instance they would say we can do this in php for 8500 or in dot net for 10500+ -

Are there pros and cons to php vs dot net programming. The site im looking to build will use msql and some ajax. So i guess my main concern is if the extra money is worth it to get the dot net work done as i have no idea about either languages.

[eelixduppy]

I don't know too much about .NET, however it appears that you are going to be doing some database work, in which case PHP is perfectly qualified. If I were you, I would go with the cheaper one (PHP). That's just me, but what do I know ;)

[added]
...Actually if I were you, then I would program it myself..hehe
[/added]

[thinkbig]

if i could program it myself i would and save several thousand dollars :). And yes since this is a new venture and im not sure if the concept will fly i will go for the lower cost php code. If the the site is a success i will sport for a dot net redo when the money starts coming in.

[jatar_k]

don't spend the money twice, the php version will work as well or better than the one in .NET

[ramoneguru]

The only problem with a DOT NET solution is the dependency created w/ M$. Their new thing w/ SQL Server 2005 is that you can actually put C# code in the SQL code (or something crazy like that) and it will parse correctly. Pretty cool, but that's poor seperation of entities and does not really work well when/if transferring to a non MS server.

I like DOT NET and its fine, but if I'm looking to save some money then an open source route is definitely the route to take. However, even if I had money to spend I'd still go w/ open source (PHP/MySQL) because there is a strong knowledge base w/ people willing to help whatever you need ie. the good people webmasterworld like jatar_k, coopster, & dreamcatcher :P .

In any event the important thing in hiring is the developers. If they can promise you the sky/heavens then chances are you're going to be let down. If they promise some basic things, but don't give you every bell/whistle chances are they know what they're doing.

Of course there are developers who can talk & deliver everything, but they usually come at a high price.
--Nick