Web Server On Home PC

Install the free software to create a LAMP (Linux, Apache2, MySQL, PHP5) server. If the machine isn't too old, I suggest you install Linux with a desktop GUI (graphical user interface) so you don't have to struggle with command-line syntax. The GUI can always be disabled after setup if only want a "pure" web server.

If your DSL modem does not have a built-in ROUTER, you should obtain a router to provide security and multiple connections for your home network.

Create and install (or link) your html pages to the web server default folder (example "/var/www").

Assign a fixed internal IP address to your web server that is consistent with your internal network addresses (example "192.168.2.196")

Open your web pages from a browser (like Firefox).

Access web pages from within your local network by typing "http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" (example "192.168.2.196") where the x's are the local ip address of your server on your internal network.

To access web pages from OUTSIDE your local network you must open a port in your DSL Modem/ROUTER to your web server. Read the instructions/helpfile on your specific router to change the appropriate settings.

Access your web pages from outside your network by typing the the IP address your service provider has assigned to your home connection.

If you are a simple home user (not a business account) your external IP address will probably be dynamically assigned and may change at ANY time your provider wants it to change. This makes it difficult to assign a "domain name" to your web server, but you can pay for a DDNS (Dynamic Domain Name Service) which will track your IP change and keep your domain name linked to your current address.

If your internet service provider has assigned you a fixed IP address, you can just link your domain name to the fixed address and you are done.

If this sounds too complicated or too much work, you can either make the effort to research, experiment, and learn about all the above, OR you can make friends with a computer nerd and ask for their assistance ;-)