Setting Up A local Server

Have you ever imagined of having your computer work as a server?. Now it is possible to test your website locally by turning your computer to be a web server. Now to do so follow the steps below:

• Check the windows version you are having

If you have home basic or starter editions you may not be able to use the service from Microsoft known as IIS, but that is not the end of you. You can use other tools which work even better than IIS.
If you have IIs then you can access it by doing this:

1. Click the Start button , click Control Panel, click Programs, and then click Turn Windows features on or off.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. In the list of Windows features, select Internet Information Services.
   In the list of Windows features, click the plus sign (+) next to Internet Information Services, click the plus sign (+) next to World Wide Web Services, click the plus sign (+) next to Application Development Features, select the dynamic content features you want to install, and then click OK.
   
   
   1. Click the Start button , click All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Run.
   2. In the Run box, type mmc, and then click OK. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
   3. In the MMC console, click File, and then click Add/Remove Snap-in.
   4. On the Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog box, in the Available snap-ins list, click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

      Note

      • The IIS snap-in isn't available unless you've already installed IIS.
        
        
   
   
   Now you have IIS working on your computer. In case it isn't working even after turning it on then you may want to use alternative.
   
   
   Do this:
   Follow the procedure in 1 above to turn it off
   Head to the internet and go to htttp://apachefriends.org
   Download xampp which is around 48mb. It will tale a short time depending on you internet speed. A maximum of 1 hour  especially if you have a dial up connection which is not congested.
   Install the application on you computer and open it.
   
   
   Now on the window that appears click start next to apache and do the same for the button next to mysql.
   Now open your browser and type 127.0.0.1 on the adress bar. If it works fine you are ready for the next step. Be sure to read the next post about how to start working with Content management systems like joomla, drupal, Mod x