How To Host A Website On My Computer?

Date First Published: 25th April 2023

Topic: Web Design & Development

Subtopic: Web Development

Article Type: Computer Questions & Answers

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 6/10

CONTENTS

MAMP
Advantages and Disadvantages Of Hosting A Website On Your Computer

Learn about how to host a website on your computer in this article.

It is possible to host a website on your computer without a third-party hosting provider. All you need is a computer that can act as a server, an internet connection. A computer can act as a web host, as long as it has the right software, hardware, and an internet connection. When you think of a web server, you might think of a massive computer that is stored in a closet or glass house to protect sensitive computers and equipment. But, web servers do not have to be massive computers stored in a closet or glass house. Any computer can act as a web server. This is not a step-by-step guide on how to host a website on your computer. It is about the ways that you can host a website on your computer.

MAMP

MAMP (My Apache MySQL, and PHP) is an open-source local server environment that can be installed on Windows and Macintosh computers. MAMP provides you with all the tools you need to create a website and run web server software on your computer for testing purposes. You can also use it to make your website public and accessible by pointing it to your public IP address. If you have a domain name, you can also point your IP address to it. There are lots of online guides to make it public.

MAMP is free of charge to use, but there is a paid version called MAMP Pro, which provides advanced features, such as an unlimited number of hosts.

Advantages and Disadvantages Of Hosting A Website On Your Computer

The advantages of hosting a website on your computer are:

Full flexibility and customisability. This is the biggest advantage of hosting a website by yourself. When you sign up for a third-party hosting provider to host a website, you can't always host your website exactly as you would like to. They usually put limits on the amount of resources you can use and what you do or add to your site. If you violate any of their policies, they have a right to delete all of your data and their decisions are final. However, hosting a website on your computer will allow you full flexibility and customisability over every aspect of your hosting. You are the only person in control of your web server.
There are no restrictions on what you can upload to your site. The limit of the files you can upload is the maximum amount of storage you have on your computer.
You only have access to your data. A third party does not have access to any of your website files, helping to keep your data safe and secure. You will have full control of your data.

The disadvantages of hosting a website on your computer are:

In order to host a website by yourself, your computer has to be on 24/7, which can use up a lot of electricity.
Your website will go down if you restart or update your computer, or if it disconnects from the internet.
Your website will not load as fast as a web hosting company can provide. This can become a problem if your site receives a lot of visitors per day.
Unless you pay for a static IP service, your local IP address, which is used to access your website, will occasionally change.
Not all internet service contracts support hosting. Some may require you to upgrade to a business plan for home hosting, which is much more expensive than a standard use plan. If your website gets a lot of visitors every day, it will draw attention to your hosting.