Step 5: Configure the development server

In order to work with dynamic pages, preview them, and get database information, a server must be used to process pages in the site. This requires that an area on the server be configured for your Web site. (See Preparing a site on a Web server.)

In addition to serving your dynamic and static Web pages, the server also handles connecting to a database server or other data sources such as XML sources.

Sometimes the server may be run by an ISP. In this case, you need to establish an account with your ISP and get information about how to upload pages and database information to the server. The account you establish needs to include the capability of running ASP, JSP, or PHP and also include some form of database access.

GoLive also includes preconfigured servers for Windows and Mac OS X. These servers are based on standard Apache, PHP, and Tomcat distributions. All required modules are included and preconfigured. You can use these servers as development servers for PHP and JSP. Some sample sites, as well as test site areas, are built-in.