I'm very new to Linux, and am intending on setting up an integrated website/software system based on the operating system.

I have a few questions:
1) Can websites developped on Microsoft?Unix systems be easily transplanted onto Linux? Can you essentially use the same code for websites on both systems, or do they have to be programmed differently.
2) How stable is Linux for server applications?
3) Is it more difficult/easy to set up a website on Linux than on a Mocrosoft system?
4) I'm based in the UK. Who would be best to speak to with regards finding top Linux web developers?
5) Which distribution of Linux, if any, is better for servers - there would be several different types of server, including website, database, and application?

Thanks for any replies, Marcus.

1) Are you referring to HTML, CSS, et cetera? Code is code, and it's interpreted by the browser and not the hosting OS, thus an HTML file written in Windows Notepad will be read the same be it on a FreeBSD, Slackware, LFS, or SuSE box

2) If done right, you'll just about never need to reboot.

3) If you're new to linux, you have to realize that it's a whole new environment from within which you have to work. Aside from that whole issue (which gets cleared up the more you work with linux), it's fairly similar; it's just about finding out what you have to do to get what you want done. This website is a great resource for such info

If the websites weren't specifically made to run on MS servers, (ie. they are regular HTML or something)then you should have to problem running them in Linux. Websites are a universal language.

Best on the market. Linux was made for servers.

You can use Apache, the best HTML server out there. And its pretty easy. Just install it, and drop your pages into the apache directory.

Any non windows-switcher distro (ie. Xandros, Lindows, Lycoris) will be a fine server. If you need a lot of performance/security, just be sure to turn off unneeded services, and if you're really paranoid, dont even install X.

Personally, my favorite Distro is Slackware, because it is vanilla and doesnt put lots of junk on your system. But its opinion, and you will have to make the decision yourself.

If you use PHP on Apache, I think the code could be almost the same.

Very stable.

I don't think so. I've setup Apache on Linux and on Windows and the difficulty was the same.

I don't know... Check http://www.sitepoint.com/

People usually mention Debian, Slackware, Red Hat...