Publishing Web Pages

Once you've designed and created an HTML document, you can share it with the rest of the world. To do so, you find a Web server that will "host" the page. You most certainly can install a Web server on a computer, acquire a legitimate IP address for that computer, and host the Web page yourself. Self-hosting is a time-consuming and challenging project, though, so most people use other methods. Most Internet service providers (ISPs) provide Web servers of their own, or you can find relatively inexpensive Web hosting service companies. The price of Web hosting usually depends on the services and drive space offered. You can typically find a good Web host for around $10 a month for simple Web sites.

One option that has been available for a while is free Web hosting. Usually the services are not too bad, but you will run across a few limitations. Nearly all free Web hosts will insist on the right to place ads on your Web page. This is not as much of an issue if you are posting a basic blog or fan Web page, but if you do any sort of business with your Web site, this can be most annoying to your customers. The worst sort of free Web host services place pop-up ads over your Web page. Beyond annoying!

Once you have uploaded your HTML pages to your Web host, the Web server takes over.