Is it possible to host a Website on one's home computer?
- Thread starter Genesis
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It is very possible to do that. You have to configure your firewall and ports so people can access your computer. This also means that you would need to get another IP for your machine, however like you have mentioned you will be vulnerable to ddos etc.
I used to host a website on my computer ages a go for a while, it was to do with the game server I had to play for fun.
I used to host a website on my computer ages a go for a while, it was to do with the game server I had to play for fun.
rockforlife
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jbjenterprises
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I used to host a website on my home computer years ago; however, these days most ISPs block port 80 for serving pages. It is possible to work around that using other port numbers and port forwarding in the router. But, having to append a port number on an ip address to access your website is not very appealing.
All ISPs that I have dealt with or read about in the USA do not permit the use of web servers on residential accounts. If it is determined that you are running a web server, the ISP reserves the right to discontinue the Internet service.
Dynamic IP addresses do present a problem. Using DNS services that monitor your dynamic IP address are very helpful, but not always foolproof. An active website would still be down during the time it takes for your computer or router to update the IP address on the dynamic DNS service providers system. Also, I have read that search engines are not kind to sites that use the dynamic DNS services.
I agree that bandwidth is an issue these days. I remember when UNLIMITED actually meant unlimited. But now, UNLIMITED means unlimited up to a limited amount of bandwidth, usually around 150 to 350 GB of bandwidth per month. I have 350 GB of bandwidth and I use 90% of that in my day to day activities without running a web server.
I still have XAMPP installed on my machine for testing purposes. I do not publish the web address, and I do not leave the server running continuously. I only have it running while testing. This way I can run PHP and MySQL on my home computer and not have to login to another server to do testing.
Yes, it is possible. No, it is not advisable to run a publicized website.
All ISPs that I have dealt with or read about in the USA do not permit the use of web servers on residential accounts. If it is determined that you are running a web server, the ISP reserves the right to discontinue the Internet service.
Dynamic IP addresses do present a problem. Using DNS services that monitor your dynamic IP address are very helpful, but not always foolproof. An active website would still be down during the time it takes for your computer or router to update the IP address on the dynamic DNS service providers system. Also, I have read that search engines are not kind to sites that use the dynamic DNS services.
I agree that bandwidth is an issue these days. I remember when UNLIMITED actually meant unlimited. But now, UNLIMITED means unlimited up to a limited amount of bandwidth, usually around 150 to 350 GB of bandwidth per month. I have 350 GB of bandwidth and I use 90% of that in my day to day activities without running a web server.
I still have XAMPP installed on my machine for testing purposes. I do not publish the web address, and I do not leave the server running continuously. I only have it running while testing. This way I can run PHP and MySQL on my home computer and not have to login to another server to do testing.
Yes, it is possible. No, it is not advisable to run a publicized website.
aandreyy96
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I use USBWebserver to build websites on my laptop, i have dynamic ip but i solved that by installing and configuring no-ip dns service. When i need to quickly show a website from my laptop to someone on the internet, i just turn on the software and give him the url.
It works just fine but i don't recommend this for public websites.
It works just fine but i don't recommend this for public websites.
Then one may just as well use free Website space where one doesn't need to pay for a very expensive permanent IP, a very expensive ISP account and very expensive security measures. Think that is one of the reasons people get free Website space at Gigarank. To test their Websites in a secure environment before they go for paid hosting.binil said:
In the UAE for example the cost of a permanent IP is completely unaffordable for your average person in the street. Usually only companies have permanent IPs. We only have one ISP who provides IPs. No competition. The Public IPs are also very dynamic with short lengths, so one shares it with a large number of spammers. The uplink speed is very VERY low, even for the more expensive accounts. I do have a Xampplite installed that I use for development, but I'm in and out of it usually very quickly and disable everything at the end of my session for security reasons. For serious checking I'm very happy with my free hosting accounts. And I also have a paid mini-reseller account at Gigarank. Can really recommend the latter. If one has a few Websites, it's nice to organize them under different accounts. It's also very fast and easy to use.
Peter
Member
Our IP address has been the same as long as I can remember (many years) so I guess that means we have a static IP. I don't think we pay anything extra for it (why would we?). I don't know for sure because it's my father that pays for it.
It's nevertheless not suitable for web hosting (except maybe for private/personal usage) because the upstream bandwidth is a bit low and I don't think our ISP allows it.
It's nevertheless not suitable for web hosting (except maybe for private/personal usage) because the upstream bandwidth is a bit low and I don't think our ISP allows it.
jakaletta
New member
I recently tried to set up a website through my computer. I had it all set up on my end, yet could not get it to come through to others. It is a lot harder to set up then a Minecraft/gaming server like I have done before. I was enjoying thinking I could set up a website through my home.
It would have been a nice change to my limited funds. Though I have come searching for free hosting like here. I believe this place might be a better choice. I know that I am limited on bandwidth as well. I believe around 200gb a month. I am not sure though.
And of course I would fear the DOS attacks as well.That would mess up my whole service.
It would have been a nice change to my limited funds. Though I have come searching for free hosting like here. I believe this place might be a better choice. I know that I am limited on bandwidth as well. I believe around 200gb a month. I am not sure though.
And of course I would fear the DOS attacks as well.That would mess up my whole service.
Having a PC on 24/7 as a web server, while it can be done for sure, it's not really cost effective since you can get web hosting pretty cheap or even for free.
I use a netbook as an home server, but it's Intranet, can't be accessed from outside the network.
As for the email part, you can set up sendmail to send emails trough a smtp server using an email service provider, like gmail.
If you really want to host your website and you have the knowledge to set it up, I would recommend looking into a Raspberry Pi 2, that way, the costs of running your web server are a lot lower.
I use a netbook as an home server, but it's Intranet, can't be accessed from outside the network.
As for the email part, you can set up sendmail to send emails trough a smtp server using an email service provider, like gmail.
If you really want to host your website and you have the knowledge to set it up, I would recommend looking into a Raspberry Pi 2, that way, the costs of running your web server are a lot lower.
jakaletta
New member
Yeah I figured finding free web hosting would be the best idea compared to hosting my own server. I have to have it free to run the Minecraft server I host. Though my site will be a smaller site. Mainly information on my Minecraft server and my Portfolio.
Yeah email is more simple to set up. Though I am sticking with the Google email for now. But it is always a potability in the future to have on through a smtp server.
Yeah email is more simple to set up. Though I am sticking with the Google email for now. But it is always a potability in the future to have on through a smtp server.
binil
New member
kiza said:I had same idea. But you have to take care of bills for electricity and internet. And, the server must work 24/7 . There is no better solution than free hosting!ardon:
I almost forgot security :blush:
The server must be always on, you need UPS and perhaps even a generator for continuous power. Also Internet connection from multiple providers.
But just for experimentation, forget all about these and try it out anyways.
It is easily possible to host your site at home with IIS or Apache (WAMP, XAMP etc). I did that for quite some time in the past and it's actually a LOT of fun!
However, yes, you should not try that for serious things like an official or commercial website. The biggest challenge already is dynamic IP one, which has been listed in the first post.
There is also another challenge which has not been listed so far. Website servers need to be on 24/7 with extremely few restarts/shutdowns. Personal computers were not meant to be kept turned on 24/7 for a long time. The hardware would deteriorate over the period of a few months if that is tried (think about all the heat issues and RAM issues and whatnot). Website servers usually have very lightweight operating systems and are built to be kept on for ages.
Having said all that, I think any web dev who knows server side scripting must try hosting a site on his/her home computer for once and feel the exhilarating thrill that comes with the experience:good:
However, yes, you should not try that for serious things like an official or commercial website. The biggest challenge already is dynamic IP one, which has been listed in the first post.
There is also another challenge which has not been listed so far. Website servers need to be on 24/7 with extremely few restarts/shutdowns. Personal computers were not meant to be kept turned on 24/7 for a long time. The hardware would deteriorate over the period of a few months if that is tried (think about all the heat issues and RAM issues and whatnot). Website servers usually have very lightweight operating systems and are built to be kept on for ages.
Having said all that, I think any web dev who knows server side scripting must try hosting a site on his/her home computer for once and feel the exhilarating thrill that comes with the experience
:good:
Well I wouldn't say it's exactly exhilarating, or a thrill, but it is convenient to be able to develop a Website on one's computer instead of online. Works well with XAMPP Lite for me through Desktopserver. I'm still nervous about security though as what you say is correct. Desktops haven't exactly been designed as servers.marked said:Having said all that, I think any web dev who knows server side scripting must try hosting a site on his/her home computer for once and feel the exhilarating thrill that comes with the experience
You won't be hosting a professional site on your system, so there are no responsibilities attached.
For the most part this is for your friends and family to help them download/upload things directly from/to your computer. And of course you would update them with your new IP address each time. Nobody else out there in the cold, sinister online world would know that there is a dude with w.x.y.z IP hosting a site on his system
For the most part this is for your friends and family to help them download/upload things directly from/to your computer. And of course you would update them with your new IP address each time. Nobody else out there in the cold, sinister online world would know that there is a dude with w.x.y.z IP hosting a site on his system
Aha .... so it's for friends and family. Got it now!
I'm using mine for development however. I probably could use Gigarank as well, as our paid site has development capability on the space that is provided, but I've always been curious about XAMPP, and it does work well.
I'm using mine for development however. I probably could use Gigarank as well, as our paid site has development capability on the space that is provided, but I've always been curious about XAMPP, and it does work well.
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