What Hardware Is Needed to Build a Website?

Most current computers and laptops have high enough specifications to be used to create a website. The most important specification to check on the computer would be the size of the RAM, which should be over 2GB, though more is better. This will ensure that the computer runs quickly and smoothly, even with heavier programs such as website editors or photo editors. The computer should have a keyboard and mouse attached and working as well.

In order to create a website, access to a high-speed Internet connection can be vital. This allows you to transfer the files that will make up your website to the online server that will be hosting your website, post updates on your website and look at your website live online to make sure that it is displaying correctly.

You should always keep a fairly current backup of your website in case there is an issue where the site crashes or files become corrupted. You can keep this backup on an external hard drive or a set of DVDs, depending on your preference. It is possible for an external hard drive to crash, losing your backup, but DVDs can be more unwieldy and can also scratch causing data loss. How often you should create a backup depends on how often you update your website, but once a month for a regularly-updated site can be a good amount of time.

Unless your website is going to consist only of text, you will want to have a way to get some digital photos and videos for your website. While you can buy stock photos and videos, these can end up being expensive if you need many of them, and they may not be as specific as the shots you need. A digital camera with video capability will allow you to take photos and videos that can be downloaded to your computer and added to your website. Because you took the photos and shot the videos yourself, you don't need to worry about copyright infringement of other people's media.

You will need a server computer to host your website on to make sure that it is available all the time for anyone trying to access it. While you can set up a computer to act as a web server, this is a highly complicated task, and it is far easier, more reliable and cost-effective to simply purchase a hosting package from a web hosting company. They will keep and maintain the server computer, and you will be able to access it to change files on your website.

While not necessary, many free website creation softwares allow users to adjust, update and work on their website from a mobile device. If you are on the go often and would like to be able to make adjustments to your site from wherever you are at, you may want to look into getting a web-enabled smartphone or device.