Hosting website using Raspberry Pi as Server

REPLACE ” nisrasp.serveblog.net ” BY YOUR DOMAIN NAME AND ” 100.100.100.100 ” BY YOUR PUBLIC IP ADDRESS EVERYWHERE.

Step 1: Install LAMP

Type the following command in the terminal:

sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php libapache2-mod-php7.0 -y

Step 2: Get a free Domain

Usually domain names cost money to register, but you can get a free one on noip.com. You should signup first.

Then you can type whatever name you want in the ” Hostname ” box and then choose your domain from the ” Domain ” dropdown menu.

Also, make sure the ” Record Type ” is ” A “

Then click on ” Add Hostname “.

From the ” Dashboard ” you should see ” Active “. Click on it and you’ll see the domain name with the url it is assigned.

Make sure the ” URL ” is the same as you IP address (this can be found by googling ” whatsmyip “, if it not click on modify and make modifications in the ” IPv4 Address ” bix.

Step 3: Configure DNS

To use your own domain on your own web server you’ll have to configure Apache to accept web request for your domain.

Install dns utilities:

sudo apt-get install dnsutils

Your websites DNS should have an ” A ” record, to confirm type:

dig nisrasp.serveblog.net

Something like this should appear:

;; ANSWER SECTION:
nisrasp.serveblog.net.	60	IN	A	100.100.100.100

It means that example1307.ddns.net would be directed to the server with IP address 100.100.100.100

Step 4: Configure Apache

Now, we will make Apache accept web request from example130700.ddns.net and from what directory to serve content when receiving requests.

Create a directory for nisrasp.serveblog.net:

 sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html/nisrasp.serveblog.net

Create an example index.html file:

sudo nano /var/www/html/nisrasp.serveblog.net/index.html

Type: This is my self-hosting website using Raspberry Pi

Finally, give some filesystem permission:

 sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/nisrasp.serveblog.net 

Set up a Virtual Host file for Apache for our domain

 sudo cp /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf /etc/apache2/sites-available/nisrasp.serveblog.net.conf 

 sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/nisrasp.serveblog.net.conf 

Edit the file to look like this:

ServerAdmin admin@nisrasp.serveblog.net
ServerName nisrasp.serveblog.net
ServerAlias www.nisrasp.serveblog.net
DocumentRoot /var/www/html/nisrasp.serveblog.net
ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

Reconfigure and reload Apache:

sudo a2ensite nisrasp.serveblog.net.conf
sudo service apache2 reload

Now edit the /etc/hosts file by adding a line with your IP address and domain name:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

Add the line:

 100.100.100.100 nisrasp.serveblog.net

Step 5: Configure Router

I’ll explain this step in general as each router has its own kind performing the port forwarding.

Well you should create a forward rule

(format: "name" - TCP/UDP - start port - end port - 192.168.x.x (replace with that of your server)) 

For HTTP (use the above as a guide to understand):

"HTTP" - TCP - 80 - 80 - 192.168.x.x

If you can’t connect, consult your router’s instruction manual or Google search it.