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How to Host a Website

Posted on 18th May 2013 @ 11:36 PM

                                                                                   How to Host a Website

Free website hosting is a great option for a website with low traffic, such as a personal website, or for those of us who aren’t tech savvy and just want a free and easy way to put a website online. Here's how to get it done.

Steps

Method One: Free Third-Party Hosting

Below is a list of legitimate services, offering free website building and hosting. Most have a variety of professional themes to choose from or the option to customize a theme by changing colors, fonts, and images. Do an online search for specific advantages and limitations before deciding on the best option for you.

  • Pros of using the below services include: 
    • Free hosting and support
    • Easy to set-up and manage
    • DIY tools
    • Professional looking templates/themes
    • Automatic backups
    • Built-in security features
  • Cons of using the below services include: 
    • Advertisements on your website
    • Limited customization of templates/themes
    • You will not have your own domain name
    • Limited space and bandwidth

Wordpress: Wordpress isn’t just a blog. You can build and host an entire website for free, and there are many professional looking templates to choose from. 

Weebly: Named one of TIME’s 50 Best Websites of 2007, Weebly is a drag-and-drop website builder. If you’re a visual person, this is a great choice for you. 

Google Sites: Google Sites is another easy-to-use, free website builder and host. All you need to set it up is a Google account. 

Other Web hosting services: Some hosting companies offer free hosting, in addition to their paid services. Do your research on the best service to use and keep in mind that your space and bandwidth will be limited.

Hosting on Your Own Computer (Windows)

  1. 1

Make sure you're permitted to host a site on your ISP. Many internet service providers (ISPs) restrict users from doing so.

  1. 2

Find out your IP address. 

    • Open Start, click Run, type "cmd" (without quotes) and press OK.
    • Enter "ipconfig/all" (without quotes) and press Enter.
    • Write down the shown IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and DNS servers. You will need them later.
  1. 3

Open the Network Connections folder.

  1. 4

Right click the internet connection you use.

  1. 5

Select properties.

  1. 6

Scroll through that menu until you see Internet protocol. Highlight it and click properties. Keep the command prompt window open.

  1. 7

Click "use the following IP address." If it is already checked, skip to the step where you return to the command prompt window.

  1. 8

Enter the info you copied down. The last digit of the IP address should be different than the one you copied down. Click OK. 

    • If you get a message saying IP address is already in the network, choose a different last number.
  1. 9

Go back to command prompt. Type in: "ping www.yahoo.com" (without quotes). 

    • If it came back as "Reply from 67.195.160.76" or something similar, you're good to go.
    • If it came back as "Request timed out," contact your internet service provider. Because this problem is the DNS servers, they will be able to tell you which DNS servers to use.
    • You have completed the first step which is to setup a static IP address. Please note: This usually requires a router to do. The reason being, you are just giving your router a static IP. If you do not have a router, you need to pay for a static IP from your ISP, or sign up for a free static DNS service.
  1. 10

Download Wampserver. Wampserver is good because it contains Apache and automatically configures itself. 

    • Note: During installation it will ask for a server name. type "localhost" for the server name. You must type it exactly as shown here, but do not include the quotes. When asked for an email address, enter your email address.
  1. 11

Create a folder in the www directory. Save the files for your site in that folder. 

    • The address for your site will be: yourstaticipaddress/yourfolderinthewwwdirectory/. Except if you signed up for a static DNS service.
  1. 12

Register a domain name and point it to the address to your site.