Web experience

[Minoic]

Hello experienced users,

My project is progressing and I got to a point that need some advice.

Fact is:

I never installed a server before and never created a Website.

I installed a Mac-mini OS X Server, WeatherCat is already running on it. Before I start with the web site I realise that I need to

a. Register a domain (Already done, 15 EUR a year, ok with it)

b. I need a Dynamic DNS provider since my ISP provides me with a dynamic IP. When I was young I remember that DynDns.com was a provider with a free service but this is not the case 
    anymore. The basic offer is at US$ 20/year and I guess that I would need the next higher service for US$ 29/year.

    Any advice on this? Is there an alternative? Any experience?

c. I have been using OpenDNS.com for sometime and plan to continue doing so in the future.

   Is there any negative experience with this service when running WeatherCat web services?

Apologies for asking web related issues here but i guess that your input will be better and more valuable for the task at hand than anybody else's on the planet.

Also any other advice, tips you have around setting up the web infrastructure (not the templates, not yet ) is highly appreciated.

thanks
George

[elagache]

Dear George and WeatherCat fans,

Yes you can use your own Mac to serve your webpages, but most of us instead rely upon a web hosting provider.  There are other advantages to having DynDns such as being able to use the WeatherCat iOS client from anywhere in the world.  However, there are some real downsides to using your Mac to host your webpages.  The main one is that hackers will find your mac and try to break into it.  I had a Linux box that I tried to use for decades and eventually I gave up.  Once you create a domain name, hackers are on the hunt for these things and they will start to use their various hacking toolboxes to try to break into your computer.

Macs are a lot safer than Linux or Windows but they aren't fully safe and the network traffic generated by hackers is most annoying.  Unless you want to teach yourself something or like the challenge, you probably will be happier keeping your Mac out of the prying eyes of the wider Internet.  Web hosting providers are in business to keep your web pages safe.  I personally am glad to let them keep the hackers at bay.

Cheers, Edouard