Windows Server IIS Installation and Publishing the First Website

What is IIS (Internet Information Services)?

IIS, developed by Microsoft, is the standard built-in web server that allows you to open your websites, especially your ASP.NET projects, to the internet world on Windows Server operating systems. It is the equivalent of Apache or Nginx on the Linux side. Most of the time, virtual server users who do not want to allocate a budget to install an external control panel (like Plesk) can publish their projects manually directly via IIS completely free of charge.

Step 1: Enabling the IIS Role on Windows Server

Connect to your VDS with Remote Desktop (RDP) to manage your server.

• Type "Server Manager" in the search bar and open the app.
• Click on "Add Roles and Features" from the "Manage" menu in the upper right.
• On the Installation Type screen, leave "Role-based or feature-based installation" selected and press Next.
• In the Server Selection step, select your current server and proceed.
• When you come to the "Server Roles" screen, check the "Web Server (IIS)" box from the list, it will recommend some additional management tools for you, confirm (Add Features).
• Finish the installation by saying Install.

When the installation is finished, when you type http://localhost in your browser, the default blue IIS confirmation screen will welcome you.

Step 2: Adding Your Own Site (Domain)

We have made the system run, now it is time to publish our own site:

• Search for "Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager" in Windows search and open it.
• Expand your server name in the left menu and right-click on the "Sites" folder and say "Add Website".
• Site name: Type the name of your project.
• Physical path: Choose the folder where you put your project or ASP.NET / HTML files (e.g., C:inetpubwwwrootmysite).
• Binding Host name: Type the domain name to be used to enter your site (e.g., www.yourdomain.com).
• Save by pressing OK.

Step 3: Folder Permissions

In order for visitors to see your website, the folder you selected must be open to the outside. Right-click on the folder you added and go to the "Properties" > "Security" screen. Say "Add" from the "Edit" section, type IIS_IUSRS as the username, and give it Read & Execute permissions.

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