How to use your computer as a web server

1- Get an always-on Internet connection.  I guess you could do it with a dial-up connection, but your web pages would only be available when you were online.  That would be really lame.

2- Get a name server to point to your computer.  Whenever you connect to the internet, your internet provider assigns you a new IP address (unless you have static IP).  If your address keeps changing then it's rather difficult for people to find your web pages.  That's what name servers are for.  When people type in a URL (like "www.yourname.com") the name server redirects them to your current address.  If you have static IP, you could run your own name server, but that's a bother and there's a cheaper way: use a dynamic IP service.  You can find one by searching for "dynamic IP".  I recommend "no-ip.com".  They'll give you a long address for free, and their price for using your own domain name is less than the cost for a static IP address.  They'll give you a little program you run on your computer that will update their name servers whenever your Internet provider changes your IP address.

3- Install a web server.  I recommend Apache.  It's the most popular web server in the world, it's easy to use, and it's free.

4- Make some web pages.  Now you're ready to make your web pages and put them in your web root folder.  (Your web root folder is the place where your web server looks to find the web pages.)

5- Test it.  You're not done until it really works.  Be sure to also test it from another computer.  Just because it works on your computer doesn't mean it works from everyone else's computer.