what do you need to host a website

[abhishekit]

I had a discussion with my roommate today about how to host a website and what do we actually need..SO now i want to know if i was correct...
as i see it, if i want to host my website on my computer, i need a webserver software, and a domain name server software. In addition to this i need to buy the domain name from networksolutions.com, so that it provides my domain name to the central name servers. so the only 'payment' i make is to networksolutions.com,...
and the webhosting sites actually provide is thier server hardware. and thats what they charge for.
was i correct?
Thanks

[Horrortaxi]

You'd also need a decent internet connection and a static IP address. Then you need time to maintain the site and the server. It's a lot easier to pay somebody else to do it--and it's not even that expensive.

You're basically correct though.

[janey]

if youre running OS X, it has apache built in :) it rocks.

But its easier to get hosting. http://www.cromag.com is CHEAP like $5 a month for basic stuff :) paying fora domain name through a web hosting service is cheaper too.

[ibookin']

if youre running OS X, it has apache built in :) it rocks.

But its easier to get hosting. http://www.cromag.com is CHEAP like $5 a month for basic stuff :) paying fora domain name through a web hosting service is cheaper too.

MediaTemple (http://www.mediatemple.net) offers more disk space (150MB vs. 50MB) and monthly transfer (10GB vs. 1GB) then Cromag for $10 a month, but it's prepaid for a year or something.

There are a lot of cheap hosting sites, though. If you look around you can find some pretty nice deals.

[Flowbee]

Register your domain at GoDaddy.com. It's $7.95/year vs. $35 at network solutions.

[AssassinOfGates]

If you know what you're doing, or at least know how to use Google, I'd say use Apache thats built into OS X. I use it daily from everything to websites to posting a pic everyone can see in a short ammount of time to running CGI scripts. I don't have a static IP or domain to work with since I'm broke, so I just use free redirects like www.dot.tk (no ads with them :D) or some other one. You'll probably have better luck than me with this. It's free, it's easy, and it works! Go apache!

[cr2sh]

Register your domain at GoDaddy.com. It's $7.95/year vs. $35 at network solutions.
To restate this. DO NOT USE NETWORK SOLUTIONS.

I use GoDaddy.com for all of my domain registry/transfer needs.. I would recommend it to anyone. Their Domain Transfer Concierge Service is amazing. They've got guys who walk you through the process and if the losing registry is being slow or ugly about it, they'll do conference calls for you, or whatever it takes. They wrestled a domain away from Network Solutions for me, so professional and helpful, a great service. Don't go anywhere else.

As for hosting.. yeh its cheap. Damn cheap. Everyone will recommend their service provider as the cheapest or the best, or tell you how happy they are... so here's mine. (http://www.2globalmart.com/multiple-domain-hosting/unix-hosting.html) :)

[blvdeast]

As for hosting.. yeh its cheap. Damn cheap. Everyone will recommend their service provider as the cheapest or the best, or tell you how happy they are... so here's mine. (http://www.2globalmart.com/multiple-domain-hosting/unix-hosting.html) :)

Well, here's my contribution. Mine is $5 a month, 333mb, 5gb bandwitch, and 99.99% uptime. I have been with them for over two years. The average support question is replied within 2-5 minutes, 24 hours a day. The longest was 18 minutes when the tech actually set up my entire message board, I had no idea how. icdsoft.com (http://www.icdsoft.com)

[blue&whiteman]

you need more than just broadband to host a website. you need broadband with a high upload rate. I would say at least 1megabit upload for a small site.

[tomf87]

Well, here's my contribution. Mine is $5 a month, 333mb, 5gb bandwitch, and 99.99% uptime. I have been with them for over two years. The average support question is replied within 2-5 minutes, 24 hours a day. The longest was 18 minutes when the tech actually set up my entire message board, I had no idea how. icdsoft.com (http://www.icdsoft.com)

Is a bandwitch like a sandwich? :) MMmmmmm, I'm hungry now.

I just had to say it... :)

[varmit]

all you need to do is turn on apache in the sharing preferences. Then you can go to www.no-ip.com and sign up for free service. Make a redirect to your computer using your "IP address"/~user name. There, now your website has a name and it is hosted on your computer. Now, your computer will need to be on full time for anyone to get to the site. Also, cable modem is best, but the page will still load a little slow. You will need to set up port forwarding on your router if you use one.


My site on my computer.
http://ducktapeandglue.no-ip.org

[big]

check out Powweb.com much better deal than those otherones....

the web space & bandwidth is just silly, what they give you

[cr2sh]

check out Powweb.com much better deal than those otherones....

Very nice prices, how's the customer service?

[DVW86]

My web sight is on my computer too. It's just a 500 MHz G3 iMac, but it does a great job. The only thing I pay for is my standard internet connection. I do not have a static IP or a DNS server. I use DynDNS.org. They are free too and do not have any adds. To see my web site go to http://www.vanwormers.webhop.net

For more detailed instructions on how to set up your own server see my page at http://www.lakesidevilla.gotdns.com/externalsites/credits%20page/credits.html

[Counterfit]

all you need to do is turn on apache in the sharing preferences. Then you can go to www.no-ip.com and sign up for free service. Make a redirect to your computer using your "IP address"/~user name. There, now your website has a name and it is hosted on your computer. Now, your computer will need to be on full time for anyone to get to the site. Also, cable modem is best, but the page will still load a little slow. You will need to set up port forwarding on your router if you use one.


My site on my computer.
http://ducktapeandglue.no-ip.org Second the vote for no-ip.com, the free services are more than enough, and now they have a special Port 80 redirect, so you don't need to of them to host your own site.

As for software, you don't need a Domain Name Server, you just need a client like the one from no-ip.com that updates every xx minutes/hours/days/millenia if you have a dynamic IP, and I don't know what for a static IP. And luckily for you, any Mac running OS X has Apache, and can run PHP and MySQL stuff.

[KC9AIC]

abhishekit, I had exactly the same question. Thanks for asking it!

Here in Japan, bandwidth for serving a webpage is no problem. 1.5 Mb/s is the slowest you can get (for about $35/month), going up to 40 Mb/s for just a bit more. Japan has the cheapest broadband connections in the world. :cool:

[big]

Very nice prices, how's the customer service?

every time I call them, I generally have a 2-3 min wait before someone comes on the other end of the phone, they generally seem to know what they are doing. If you use them, refer me :)

[ptown]

If you set up your Mac as a server does it make it more vulnerable to people getting into your files?

[big]

If you are running OSX, create another user account to host those files, then you know no one will be able to get to your other files.

[Santiago]

I've looked at GoDaddy before, and there's some stuff that they don't mention on their website which people who use them might know. First, do they let you set up star records (e.g. *.mydomain.com, so that random entries like foobar.mydomain.com go to a designated IP)? Second, do they provide DNS service, or do they only register the name and require you to find your own DNS server?

[ingenious]

Register your domain at GoDaddy.com. It's $7.95/year vs. $35 at network solutions.

http://web.com is even cheaper. if you get hosting, the domain is free. other wise its like $6 USD /year

[Counterfit]

If you set up your Mac as a server does it make it more vulnerable to people getting into your files? Well, that's what a server usually does nowadays. But follow what big said and make sure they can't get to your personal files.

[Sparky's]

Register your domain at GoDaddy.com. It's $7.95/year vs. $35 at network solutions.

I know a few of my business associates who use "GoDaddy.com" and are very happy with them. I'm switching my domain name from "Domain Bank" $70 a year for 2 names(35 each) to GoDaddy for about $15 a year for both. also their hosting is very reasonable. Even though they are in the southwest and I am in NY its 24/7 so region doesn't bother me.