Installing IIS on windows

Hi Maggie,

Firstly, I want to ensure you realise that most web sites are stored on secure dedicated or shared servers that only serve web sites. Most people hire web space from web hosting companies to provide them with web space/hosting/server etc. One example of a company is http://www.easyspace.com

Installing IIS on your own local machine means you will be either
- testing your pages
- hosting the web site for your internal home or office network (an intranet)
- or opening the web site up to anyone on the internet.

If the third option is what you are going for, I would recommend you consider going to a hosting company. Otherwise you'll also need to have DNS (domain name server) installed and set up, which is quite advanced and technical.

Installing IIS in windows is found in Add/Remove programs, but once you open this first dialogue box, you need to switch to the Add/Remove Windows Components category. Then you should be able to find Internet Information Services (IIS) in the list. Tick it, then click Next Button to install. The installation can take quite a few minutes, and they will ask a few questions. You may need to restart your computer.

After the installation, you should have the INETPUB directory, where you store your files in WWWROOT subfolder. Then you usually point your browser to http://localhost/ to see your local web site.

I hope this helps.

Regards, Rich