Setting up Web Hosting on Your Own

Contributed by Millie Dearborn

In-Home Web Hosting: Why?

You may be wondering why, at a time when web hosting is incredibly cheap, anyone would want to host a site from his or her home. Well, if you own a large number of sites, you could consider in-home web hosting as a great way to cut costs. In-home web hosting also permits you a greater flexibility. There are no space requirements or bandwidth restrictions as with web hosting companies.

The Equipment Needed for In-Home Web Hosting

If you plan to host your own domain name, you need a computer. That's it. You can host a site with a very basic system; you don't need a top-of-the-line machine. Of course, you cannot host a huge site with tons of traffic on a puny machine, but if you run small affiliate sites or other sites that will not generate heavy traffic and are not large, you can use any computer. Now, that's all you need, but it's not all you can and should get to handle web hosting from your home.

You need to protect your site. You will not be able to shut down the computer you are using for your web hosting because if you shut down the computer, your site shuts down. That means that you will be connected to the internet constantly. It works best if you have a dedicated internet connection, such as through DSL or cable internet, so that you can continue to use your phone and get good speed. You also will need a firewall.

A firewall will block all incoming and outgoing traffic except what you specify. That means that only people visiting your website will be allowed to use your servers. Hackers will not be able to access your computer, and that is essential to keeping your computer safe.

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