One of the advantages of running your own server is the ability to host your own websites and there is a great website service built into OS X Server. Now before you go out and try to host our own site, there are some things to keep in mind. First, you need to consider downtime and how important it is that your website be up 24/7. Things can go wrong with your server and power outages can cause a delay in getting your server back up so you want to make sure you are ok with those possible issues. You also want to make sure that your ISP will allow you to host a website and that they are not blocking the ports needed for web hosting (ports 80 and 443). Finally, you will need a static IP so your site can always be reached at the same IP address as most providers give dynamic IP addresses that change over time. When that change happens your site is down until you fix it. In this screencast I cover how to set up your own website. I cover the built in site and how the settings function. Then I walk you through how to set up your own custom site including the DNS you need to make it work. If you have any questions or want help setting up your own website feel free to leave a comment and I'll get back to you.
