IP Address
All distinct entities that are connected to the Internet, be they workstations or servers, have their own IP address. You can find out your computer's IP address by opening a DOS Prompt (Windows) and typing "ipconfig" or "winipcfg" depending on which operating system you have. This will tell you your current Internet address. If someone else knows this address, and you allow your computer to communicate that way, someone else can find your computer. Web conferencing such as NetMeeting operates by connecting IP addresses. Dial-up connections, though, tend to offer only Dynamic IP addresses in which you are assigned the next available address by your ISP. In order to use your computer as a web server, it is best to get a dedicated line that has a Static IP Address such as those offered by a cable modem connection.
Domain Name
With nearly all of the clever dot-coms and dot-nets taken, I decided to take a different route for my domain name and snatch up my dot-name before some other bloke named Thomas Bishop beat me to it. I learned about the new Top-Level Domains (TLDs) from the InterNIC site at: www.internic.com/faqs/new-tlds.html. Domains are still $35 per year which is a small price to pay to have your name set in virtual stone in the cyber-heavens. There are several domain name registry service sites which offer slightly different styles of the same product. I registered mine through www.register.com.
Web Server
Once you have your very own domain name pointing to your static IP address on your dedicated connection, you need web server software installed and running. Windows computers come with either Personal Web Server (PWS) or Internet Information Server (IIS) already installed and ready to configure. If you don't want to go that route, there are some fine web servers to be found and downloaded. I went to download.com and searched 'Web Developer -> Servers' until I found one just right for me. The Abyss Web Server supports scripting, Server Side Includes, easy management, and best of all, it's free.
Server Side Includes
Both the header and footer on these pages all look the same. The reason is they each come from a single file that is included at the top and bottom of every page on the server. If I don't like the way it looks, I change the header or footer file and the changes are reflected on every page. Slick!
PHP
PHP is a free scripting engine enabling dynamic content and database integration. It is similar to expensive counterparts such as ColdFusion, but has gained popular acceptance because it is Open-Source and free for the public to use. I am still learning the basics and so I haven't included much yet.
Tutorials on the next two topics can be found at http://www.w3schools.com/
Stylesheets (CSS)
Cascading Style Sheets are the standard method for applying display formatting to web pages. Styles can be stored in separate files to be used by several pages. They can also be defined in the HEAD section of an individual page, overriding any external sheet. Styles can be written inline as the "style" attribute of any tag affecting only that tag. This overrides or adds to any higher level style sheets. That is why they call it cascading. So if you want a certain look for your entire site, put your stylesheets in their own file and call it from every page.
XHTML
Extensible HyperText Markup Language is the new standard for web page coding that reformulates HTML as an XML application. Tags are no longer in upper-case and every open tag must have a closing tag. No nesting errors are allowed either.
