This is just a kind of 'add-on' to osc's Setup Your Own Free Personal Web Site, but instead of using a free host we are going to show you how to setup your own webserver. **Note** This is sometimes against your ISP's Terms of Service. Please read their Terms of Service before reading this tutorial. I will not be held responsible for anything that happens when you setup this web server!

First of all, go to the Apache win32 Binaries directory and choose the best version for you.

Please note that it is not recommended to use Apache for a "production site" (sites that you expect to get huge page views with) on Operating Systems such as Windows 95, 98, or ME. Directly quoting the Apache Docs, "Apache may also run on Windows 95 and 98, but these have not been tested. In all cases TCP/IP networking must be installed."

As of this writing the most stable version of Apache for Windows is Apache 2.0.47. The 2 available downloads for this are the Apache with MSI Installer (5.8mb) or Apache with EXE Installer (8.9mb).

In this tutorial I chose the MSI Installer package. So, go ahead and download it, once it's downloaded double click to run it.

The first screen we see is this:


Once you see this screen just hit the "next" button and you'll be faced with the license agreement. Just accept it and click "next".

The next screen we are concerned with is this one:


This is the part of the install where we define what people will type to enter our website. One thing people are misquided about is that if you put in a domain name (example, webgeekfun.com) that it will automatically go to your server when people enter it into their browser. This is wrong. If you do not own your own domain name (webgeekfun.com or something else) then you have two choices.

1.) You can download a dynamic DNS client such as no-ip.com
2.) You can just type in your IP address into the "network domain" and "server name" spaces.

If you use a dynamic DNS client such as no-ip.com and you download their client. You will have a "registered" domain name. When you register for their service they tell you to pick a domain, more than likely it'll be something like 'yourname.no-ip.com', where "yourname" is any name you choose. So then, in the Network Domain space you will put 'yourname.no-ip.com', and in the Server Name spot you will put the same, 'yourname.no-ip.com'. In the "Administrator's Email" section you can put anything you want in there. You do NOT have to have an email server setup to make that section work. That is incase of errors on your server when someone is accessing it. The error page will come up and your email will just be listed on the page for people to contact you. It's nothing but text.

Now, after filling out that information you can click the "next" button. Then you are faced with what type of setup you wish to install. Your choices are "Typical" and "Custom". For first time users it's always recommended to use the "Typical" setup. If you wish to use "custom" be my guest but I take no responsibility for how your server will run.

After selecting your installation type click "next". You are now faced with this screen:


The Default installation directory that is shown is perfectly OK. My personal preference is to change the default install directory to something like C:/web or C:/apache, first of all it's easier to reach or browse to when making your pages. Like I said, the default install directory is ok, changing it is just my personal preference. If you decide you want to change the directory just click the "change" button and enter the FULL PATH to where you want to install it. So for example if I was going to install it in C:/someotherfolder then I would put in that full path where it asks.

After selecting the installation directory or leaving the default one, click "next". The next screen is where you get the option to go back and make changes if you messed up anywhere before the actual installation starts. If you don't have any problems or if you think didn't make a mistake go ahead and push next.

After all the files are done copying and you get the portion of setup that says "Installation Wizard Completed" click the "finish" button. Now, for the test. Open up Internet Explorer or your Favorite Browser and in there type the Server Name you put in during installation (this would be the 'yourname.no-ip.com' part). If you see the page below, you have done everything correctly:


If for some reason you can't see that image go ahead and post to the forums and we'll help you out!

Thanks for reading!

Partie™