Setting up a simple website

[Drisos]

I know nothing of this subject.. so.. I would really need some help. What I'd like to do is set up a simple website with some text, and a guestbook. Pictures and music would be great as well, but not essential.

Free is a big plus.. as a student, money isn't abdunant. And, I don't feel like paying anything through the internet. Furthermore, it should be simple, because I don't have that much time to make myself understand the stuff.

I wonder, is this even possible to do simply?

Well.. thanks loads in advance!

[TosaInu]

Hello Drisos,

Perhaps you already have some webspace?

ISP often give you some space and an url like http://yourisp.com/drisos

Edit: that is an url actually.

[Lord Winter]

There's always freewebs or something like that.

For the technical side of it W3 schools is an amazing source for anything you want to learn.

[sapi]

On the off chance you happen to have a computer sitting around doing nothing (and on 24/7), XP Pro/Vista come with IIS installed, allowing you to host a website on your own comp with a little configuration.

An ISP webspace is the easiest way to go, though

[Tran]

...with IIS installed...

What's this?

[Lemur]

Microsoft Internet Information Services. It's a package of services you can install from your Windows XP disc, includes things like FTP server, HTTP server, and a passel of obscure features. It's very commonly used for small, inexpensive, DIY hosting. Not terribly secure, and I think it may be the most-understood-by-hackers software in the world, but it's freely included in your XP CD.

I tried to set up a simple FTP server using IIS a couple of years ago, and it was an utter nightmare. Nothing worked. I pulled large tufts of lemur fur out of my head trying to get it to go live. In the end I found out that my ISP at the time (Time Warner Cable) was blocking me from initiating service, so it wasn't even Microsoft's fault.

-edit-

Oh yeah, I was going to actually make a point, but i got lost in the painful memories. This is the thing: Almost all ISPs frown on you hosting a web site (or any server) through their connection. They usually provide a token amount of server space you can use on their hardware, but they may take all sorts of irritating steps to make hosting your own a hassle.