We're fond advocates of the DIY (do it yourself) mentality. So you won't find us dissuading you from taking the reins of your internet presence fully and hosting your website yourself on your own server, if that's what you want and are prepared to do. Consider this checklist-lemonade-article your minimal preparation.

First and foremost, do you have what it takes? How tech savvy are you, anyway? Do you know what it means, for example, to secure a server? Do you have the time to devote to the arduous maintenance of a server, responding personally to every glitch that comes with the territory? And do you have the inclination?

Secondly, do you have what it takes? No, you're not seeing double. This time what we mean by "what it takes" is hardware and software and internet access. Hosting your own server requires the following: