This tutorial will tell you how to host a website off of your own computer using iis
Well I am hosting my own site off my PC right now (click my sig) and it took me a lot of headache but its not all that difficult. All in all I did this at no personal expense (other than paying for internet of course
). First of all are you behind a router? I am, so it doesn't stop you from hosting but it is a serious pain in the ass to configure (if you are i do not believe you can host two sites on two PCs behind the router).
First (unless you already have a hosting program) you need to get a thing called iis (internet information services). I know this comes with Windows 2000 Proffesinal and XP professional but i am not sure if it comes with other versions. To instal it go into your control panel and into add/remove programs. On the side you will find a button that says add/remove Windows Components, click this and in the list find the one that says iis and check the box next to it then click next.
Now that you've installed iis you need a webpage. Personally i use a program called site spinner but you can use anything you want from MS Frontpage to doing it all in html, i don't care. Once you have you page or web done save that file as index.html, this is the file iis uses as the home page. save the html file into the C:\Inetpub\wwwroot folder. There are other folders such as ftproot ans such but I won't really get into those. If you make more pages just save them int that folder and if you make links to that page ONLY use the file name. If you use the whole C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\whatever path it won't work and ive heard it poses a security risk. Any other pages you make just save them in that folder and save them as whatever you want (index is the only forced name and if you get into it you may figure out how to make it so that you can use any name but i wont tell you here ).
Now that you've done that you may notice when you enter http://127.0.0.1 into your webbrowser you index.html doesn't come up. DONT PANNIK! For some reason iis uses iisstart.asp and/or (idk) Localstart.asp as the default page so what you need to do is go into your control pannel again and this time go to Administrative tools, from there go to Internet Information Manager. go to you computer name and double click (this mak take a sec) and then double click on Default Web Site. Look for the iisstart and Local start and double click the first one. In the box change the radio button from "The Designated File" to "A Rederection to a URL" and in the URL box type "/index.html"(without the quotemarks) now do the same thing for the second one. Now when you type http://127.0.0.1 you index.html page should come up.
NOW, if you are behind a router (I have a Netgear wierless) you need to go into the router settings (check router manual (I know INSTRUCTIONS!)) and go to the port redirect section (usually in advanced). Redirect port 80 to your computer ip. Now if all is well you will not be able to access your site by typing in your router ip for some reason unknown to me (it tells me connection refused when i try). HOWEVER, anybody not in your network can get to the site using that ip (you just have to use 127.0.0.1).
Of coure when sombody asks you what you website is you don't want to give them the ip, you want some word or phrase that can be remembered. Now you must get a DNS. If you want a www.whatever.whatever then you're gonna have to pay for a domain name. The other option (for people like me who don't like to pay for anything ) (and no i do not pirate music or software or ANYTHING (i know you were thinking it )) you can get a free service from somewhere like no-ip.com you can chose any domain you want but you have to pick one of thier "things to go after it
You must sign up for a redirect srevice. This means that whenever anybody types in whatever you set for your domain name it they will be sent to a DNS Server. The DNS Server links the Name to the Ip and sends you to that ip.
That is basicly all you have to do.
Well I am hosting my own site off my PC right now (click my sig) and it took me a lot of headache but its not all that difficult. All in all I did this at no personal expense (other than paying for internet of course
). First of all are you behind a router? I am, so it doesn't stop you from hosting but it is a serious pain in the ass to configure (if you are i do not believe you can host two sites on two PCs behind the router). First (unless you already have a hosting program) you need to get a thing called iis (internet information services). I know this comes with Windows 2000 Proffesinal and XP professional but i am not sure if it comes with other versions. To instal it go into your control panel and into add/remove programs. On the side you will find a button that says add/remove Windows Components, click this and in the list find the one that says iis and check the box next to it then click next.
Now that you've installed iis you need a webpage. Personally i use a program called site spinner but you can use anything you want from MS Frontpage to doing it all in html, i don't care. Once you have you page or web done save that file as index.html, this is the file iis uses as the home page. save the html file into the C:\Inetpub\wwwroot folder. There are other folders such as ftproot ans such but I won't really get into those. If you make more pages just save them int that folder and if you make links to that page ONLY use the file name. If you use the whole C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\whatever path it won't work and ive heard it poses a security risk. Any other pages you make just save them in that folder and save them as whatever you want (index is the only forced name and if you get into it you may figure out how to make it so that you can use any name but i wont tell you here
). Now that you've done that you may notice when you enter http://127.0.0.1 into your webbrowser you index.html doesn't come up.
DONT PANNIK! For some reason iis uses iisstart.asp and/or (idk) Localstart.asp as the default page so what you need to do is go into your control pannel again and this time go to Administrative tools, from there go to Internet Information Manager. go to you computer name and double click (this mak take a sec) and then double click on Default Web Site. Look for the iisstart and Local start and double click the first one. In the box change the radio button from "The Designated File" to "A Rederection to a URL" and in the URL box type "/index.html"(without the quotemarks) now do the same thing for the second one. Now when you type http://127.0.0.1 you index.html page should come up.NOW, if you are behind a router (I have a Netgear wierless) you need to go into the router settings (check router manual (I know INSTRUCTIONS!
)) and go to the port redirect section (usually in advanced). Redirect port 80 to your computer ip. Now if all is well you will not be able to access your site by typing in your router ip for some reason unknown to me (it tells me connection refused when i try). HOWEVER, anybody not in your network can get to the site using that ip (you just have to use 127.0.0.1). Of coure when sombody asks you what you website is you don't want to give them the ip, you want some word or phrase that can be remembered. Now you must get a DNS. If you want a www.whatever.whatever then you're gonna have to pay for a domain name. The other option (for people like me who don't like to pay for anything
) (and no i do not pirate music or software or ANYTHING (i know you were thinking it )) you can get a free service from somewhere like no-ip.com you can chose any domain you want but you have to pick one of thier "things to go after it
You must sign up for a redirect srevice. This means that whenever anybody types in whatever you set for your domain name it they will be sent to a DNS Server. The DNS Server links the Name to the Ip and sends you to that ip.
That is basicly all you have to do.
