How to Set up Reliable Web Hosting From Home

There are many reasons why purchasing professional web hosting is justified. However, individuals in certain situations have the opportunity to host it themselves. People starting businesses or testing new ideas may not want to pay for hosting service. Reliable web hosting from home saves money for future business growth. Once a business is profitable and website traffic increases, it may become necessary to pay for professional hosting.

A computer with a high speed Internet connection is required to host a website. This computer will act as a server and needs to be kept online at all times.

The first step in creating reliable web hosting from home is to install a web server on the computer. This can be done with any operating system but most professional hosts use the Linux platform. Most computer users use Windows which has a web server application built in. This program runs in the background and listens to requests from people on the Internet. It finds the website saved on the computer and sends it to the users requesting it.

Next, computers with a local area network are required to configure their router to enable web access. This can be done in the router's control panel by forwarding outside web requests to the web server's port. The default port for web requests is 80.

In order for remote computers to connect to the web server, a domain is necessary. This is the name of computer's server on the Internet. Many sites offer free subdomains and domain names cost less than $10 a year. Most services offer free updating of IP addresses, which is important if the computer's Internet connection does not have a static IP address. It is crucial to know the computer's external IP address and have a way to update the domain's DNS records.

Configuring the DNS record allows remote access to the web server by typing in the domain name chosen for the web site. Internet connections with a static IP address simply have to input the IP address once into the DNS records. Connections with a dynamic IP address require the use of a service similar to DynDns. This is a utility that updates the DNS record every time the IP address changes. All that is required is the creation of an account, selection of the preferred domain name and choosing a name to use as a sub-domain.

The last step in creating reliable web hosting from home is to secure the computer from malicious software and attacks with a trusted antivirus software. Updated antivirus and anti-spyware programs and a firewall are necessary for good web hosting. Create rules in the firewall to allow the port chosen earlier access to the Internet, as well as any other programs commonly used.

Home-based web hosting is an increasingly common occurrence for new business owners and hobby or professional webmasters alike. Reliable web hosting can be found for free if the proper steps are taken and security issues are resolved. Installing the right software, configuring each program, creating a domain name and creating a website are all that's needed for free web hosting from home.