PHP & MySQL® Web Development All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies®

1.2. Choosing a Host for Your Web Site

To create your dynamic Web pages, you need access to a Web site that provides your three software tools (see the preceding section). All Web sites include a Web server, but not all Web sites provide MySQL and PHP.

A Web site is located on a computer. For your Web site to be available to the general public, it must be located on a computer that is connected to the Internet. The computer that provides the home for your Web site is called the Web host.

You can set up a computer in your office or basement to be the host for your Web site. You need to be pretty technically savvy to do this. The Internet connection you use to access the World Wide Web is unlikely to provide sufficient resources to allow users to access your computer. You probably need a faster connection that provides domain name system (DNS) service. You need a different type of Internet connection, probably at an increase in cost. This book doesn't provide the information you need to run your own Web host. If you already have the technical know-how to set up a host machine, you can probably install the Web software from information in this book. However, if you don't understand Internet connections and DNS sufficiently to connect to the Internet, you need to research this information elsewhere, such as a system administration book or a networking book for your operating system.

Most people don't host their Web site on their own computer. Most people upload their Web site to a ...