Do-it-yourself web hosting. Difficult?

Well, I'm not sure about the development of the e-commerce code.

On the administration side, you will need a domain name and setup the XServe to have a valid fully qualified domain name, such as http://www.domain.com. Next you will need to get an SSL certificate. You can find directions at http://www.verisign.com or http://httpd.apache.org. You will create a CSR on the XServe, which is a request for the SSL cert. The CSR contains your fully qualified domain named and entitiy information, such as address. Verisign will then issue you a certificate to be installed on the web server for a fee of course. They can then browse your site at https://www.domain.com.

Note that if you generate a certificate for http://www.domain.com and later change it to http://www.domain2.com your users will get a warning when they browse your site stating the web site (http://www.domain2.com) doesn't match the certificate (http://www.domain.com). For e-commerce, this is something you will want to keep in mind, because any type of flagrant warning can drive your customers away. And I wouldn't even consider an e-commerce site that isn't using SSL.

You can also get a trial certificate that is valid for 14 days from Verisign that is very helpful in making sure you get things done right.

Would it not be easier/cheaper just to lease your own dedicated server? Any provider with Linux servers and Apache should do you I would have thought.

You should also read the internet service agreement from your internet provider. Most internet providers do not allow users to operate servers from within their homes.

your in-home internet provider probably would not be able to get you the speeds that an e-commerce site would demand.

i would just check out some hosting plans

I recommend neureal.com

Save the money you would've spent on the Xserve G5, and get a 17" powerbook to go around and show people your hosted site!

h