How To Host Your Own Website for Free

A little-known fact about the Web is how easy it is to set up your own website. Instead of paying someone to host your website or using an ad-supported provider, you can host it yourself. Though it takes more time to set up, it has the advantages of being free and more flexible than other solutions.

Step 01

Open start-Click Run-type cmd-press OK- type ipconfig/all-press enter

Step 02

Write down the shown IP address,subnet mask,default gateway and DNS servers. You will need them for later.

Step 03

Open up the network connections folder.

Step 04

Right click the internet connection you use and select properties.

Step 05

Scroll through that menu until you see Internet protocol. Highlight it and click properties.

Step 06

Click use the following IP address. If it is already checked, you do not need to continue until step 10.

Step 07

Next enter the info you copied down, but the last digit of the IP address should be different than the one you copied down.

Step 08

Click OK.

Step 09

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

Step 10

Try connecting to the internet. Did it work? If it didn't work, contact your Internet Service Provider. Because this problem is the DNS servers. They will be able to tell you which DNS servers to use.

Step 11

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.(This article doesn't really provide much help with hosting a site without a static ip address.)

Step 12

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.

Step 13

To use wampserver, create a folder in the www directory and save the files for your site in that folder.

Step 14

The address for your site will be:

yourstaticipaddress/yourfolderinthewwwdirectory/. Except if you signed up for a static DNS service.

Step 15

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

Warnings

• Your website will only be available when your computer is on and your internet connection is working.
• Your connection's upload speed is probably slower than its download speed, so your website might be slow. On some routers, there are options available to modify the transfer data limit. By setting the upload/download speeds equal, you will be able to upload at the same download speed. Note: Do not set your upload limit too high, as you may slow your download connection (or completely stop), making it difficult and lengthly to reset settings. Only recommended for experienced users.
• These instructions change depending on the kind of connection you have.

Things You'll Need

• An internet connection that is always on.
• A computer that will stay running. If you have a spare you can leave in the basement and forget about, that's a good thing.
• A domain name