[karotto1]

Hi there,
I thought it was a good idea to host my own site on an old Mac on my homework. Little did I know what a NIGHTMARE it would be. It is impossible to access your website over the Internet when hosting on a Mac connected to your network. So to check if my website is working I always have to ask my friends to go to the site. (The fact that the site works locally does not mean it is accessible though the net). This is unacceptable! Things are so inconvenient that you cannot even view your own Ebay posting if you use a photo hosted on a Mac on your network. Am I the only person trying to host on your own computer? There must be a solution out there. If anyone knows how to access a Mac on your network OVER THE INTERNET please let me know. This is an impossible situation. Thank you. Karotto

[Mycroft_Holmes_MW]

It's likely a problem with the router/modem setup. If you have a static range, you could assign a static IP to the web server, and make sure incoming web traffic is allowed to that address.
But most likely you have one IP to share for all your computers using NAT. This is fine, but you'd then need to set the router to port forward incoming web traffic to the private IP of the web server. In this scenario, the web server should have a static private IP. Specifics on how setup port forwarding are different for different routers. I'd encourage you to check the manual or manufacturer's web site.

[moose_n_squirrel]

Keep in mind that the bulk of the problem is not related to the Mac specifically. It's about router firewalls, LAN vs WAN addresses, etc. If it's a pain on the Mac, it's going to be the same pain in Windows, if not more. The other post probably has it right: you will need to enable port forwarding and make sure you have a hole going all the way from your router firewall through your Mac firewall to let people all the way in to your machine, with the proper port-to-address mapping. Most of the work will be done editing your router settings, not the Mac.
Hosting a site at home is a pain. Not only do you have to configure this, but you are making a port vulnerable to hackers into your home network, are limited to your broadband plan's upload speed, are vulnerable to a broadband outage or something wrong with the host machine, etc. I do it occasionally, but for a permanent website it's so much better to have a company host it and keep everything running for you.
Maybe Apple could someday make this as easy as Back to My Mac. Back to My Mac is Apple's way of simplifying file access to your home computer from anywhere, so many of the networking issues are similar. But even Back to My Mac is having problems.