On Saturday, 1 June 2024 16:01:26 BST Peter Humphrey wrote: > Hello list, > > It seems to be time again to see if I can set up a local web server*. I want > to build a site for myself, and one way is to work it up on my own machine, > then transfer it to a hosting service when it's "ready". > > The first problem I face is in choosing a server: Apache is huge and > complex, and NGINX is foreign to me, so what should I do? > > The Gentoo Apache wiki is unhelpful. It assumes that the reader is > experienced in running web servers, and just points out the way things are > done differently here. Then it occupies several pages with the entire > configuration file calling chain, every line of every file being shown; > what is the point of that? It only succeeds in sowing confusion. Well, it > does in me, anyway; I'm no wiser at the end than the beginning. > > It even trips up right at the start, showing what to set for each MPM, but > without explaining why I should choose any particular one. The wiki seems to > have been written by a programmer, not a user (this is a woefully common > shortcoming in software documents). > > In short, it's useless. > > Is there a more accessible guide anywhere? Google hasn't found anything for > me. > > * I've asked this here before, but never got anywhere with it. I did build > a 130-page site for the local choir years ago, in pure HTML and CSS, but > that experience has evaporated.
I don't know if there are any more helpful guides for Apache, but Apache is a bit of a beast. If you need to dive into the nuances of its configuration, then sooner or later you'll end up spending time reading the Apache documentation. https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/en/ For MPM in particular take a look here: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/en/mpm.html#defaults I suggest you do not specify an MPM. Apache will choose its own module depending on the capability of your hardware, or for a home project with low number of requests just set it as 'prefork'. However, unless setting up and managing a webserver is a sysadmin hobby you wish to get entangled in, I suggest you find a reliable hosting company and undertake both web hosting and development online. Hosting a local website for development and testing was a necessity back in the dial-up Internet days and when data download was metered by your ISP, but domestic web hosting today will cause more of a hindrance than help. You can use the CMS preferred and offered by your web hosting provider, instead of hacking HTML & CSS by hand, while trying to keep up with continuous changes in standards. I have found Wordpress is easier to set up and look after for simple websites, as long as you keep the plugins to a minimum and stick to default themes. HTH
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