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The prologue
Most of the articles, descriptions and instructions written here are applicable to the most common Debian-based Linux derivatives. Depending on the respective operating system, there may be minor or major discrepancies. 
This website is for educational purposes only. Please do not deploy anything in manufacturing plants.
No warranty or compensation is given for loss of data or hardware.
It should be also mentioned that this modest web server is hosted on a Raspberry Pi type 4B at home.
The Raspberry Pi mini-computer board as multi-purpose server deployed
A competent allrounder for domestic purposes and micro-enterprises
Raspberry Pi is a series of small single-board computers (SBCs) developed in the United Kingdom by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in association with Broadcom. The mini-computer with its armv7l processor has quickly become the favourite of hobbyists. Projects can be started with suitable Linux distributions. Even an aged RasPi e.g. the models 2B and 2B+ can definitely serve to simple tasks quite well.
Caution Proprietary and untested third-party software sources (Linuxes) can threaten the system.
Prologue
Free dynDNS provider versus second level domain owner
The advantages of having an own domain for the home web server
It is important to have your own domain.
In the age of social networks, it is not uncommon nowadays for individuals to present themselves on the World Wide Web with their own private website. Nowadays, you can buy your own website with an individual domain for little money per year.
Whether it's just for fun or to sell your own products and services - having your own internet domain is the start of it all. With the content management systems available today, almost anyone can design their own website. And you already have your own website.
It also makes sense to use the Internet as a platform for students who want to share their experiences and current events or for young professionals who want to present their job references. Having your own domain makes sense for countless purposes.
There are numerous providers on the Internet who sell or rent domains. You can enquire whether the domain you want is still available. Several variations are possible, should one or the other term already be taken. Just try out similar variations, there will certainly be something that comes into question. Combine word alternatives. One prerequisite, however, is that the chosen domain name does not become too cumbersome. No one can remember endlessly long domains properly and thus you run the risk that your page will be forgotten and not visited.
And that is precisely what you want: Traffic! Even if they are only private users. You didn't secure a domain for nothing and pay a few euros a year for it. After all, it should be worthwhile and people should see what you have to offer.
In the early days of the Internet, when there were no search engines to provide the user with the content of the World Wide Web as is possible today, domains were an important instrument for obtaining the information sought. A keyword with a matching TLD was entered into the browser (direct navigation traffic). For example, if you wanted information on the subject of art from Germany, entering the domain Kunst.de in the browser was the first port of call.
This principle is still valid, but with the advent of search engines, the importance of direct navigation traffic has decreased. Even with clear queries, the search term is often entered into a search engine first, because this recognises incorrect entries, improves them if necessary and provides a list of results from which the user can choose.
This change in user behaviour changes the access to information, but the importance of domains remains, because at the end of their search the user is again on a website with their own domain and this is also visible in the search result of the search engine.
Dynamic DNS, DDNS = dynDNS
Dynamic DNS, or DDNS, is one of the most powerful features in a home Wi-Fi router. It is the base for hosting many services within the home network. Dynamic DNS keeps DNS records automatically up-to-date when an IP address changes daily. Dynamic DNS is used in tiny and large networks that host internal services.
From the free dynDNS to become a second level domain owner. Since there are only a few articles, I decided to share experiences about. The relocation from a free dynDNS to a owned domain easily made.
example.com
example . com
(second level) (top level)
Underneath the top level dot (root) are what are known as the top level domains (TLDs) which are strictly controlled. The original Domain Name Structure (DNS) did not have the country specific TLD (ccTDL).
Which second level domain ❓
It does not matter what top level domain .com .net .org or whatever it has. Other TLDs are suggested and implemented for various reasons and 
new ones are added regularly (Wikipedia).
Go and compare the monthly fees with some domain name registrars. You may obtain a cheap .com .net .org domain for around 1€ / 1$ monthly.
Many providers offer plain packages without any additional web space, VPN and MySQL, but however include functionalities like one or two email adresses with POP3 IMAP, dynDNS and a limited number of subdomains.
That might be perfect if a Raspberry Pi or similar apparatus operates as a full functional web server or game server from home.
Not every provider offers »https« in combination with dynDNS without extra fees.
Regarding dynDNS : a fairly fast internet connection and modern internet router will update the new IP within seconds. With these it gets almost not any dropout.
Keep in mind that the system requires a certain amount of upload bandwidth when the server goes alive.
A rule of thumb says that you have to have to figure out a perfect second level domain name.
- memorable,
- as short as possible,
- easy to spell
- and catchy.
Relocation from a free dynDNS domain to own domain and server
Free dynamic DNS service providers point your dynamic IP address to a free and static subdomain from a specific host.
http://yourname.freedynDNS.blah
Very often free dynDNS providers severely limited their free account offerings like restricted to two or three hostnames and account will expire if not updated every 30 days.
Those subdomains are often not SEO-friendly when you plan to submit your HTML- or XML-sitemap to search engines like Bing, Google and Co.
With »No-IP« for example I got to know that Bing did not accept the site verification process. It just failed for a unknown reason.
Free providers may place commercial advertisements !
Another contra has that occasionally the free dynDNS provider did not update the renewed IP address. It may take a couple of minutes up to hours. The longest took almost 24 hours !
You will never know when free providers take down their domains, hosts and servers.
Everything is up to you. If you are a newbie in the business, try any free provider as I did in the past. Then, when the time is mature enough for »Ready Steady Go« and feeling 100% confidental to step ahead, take the risk to run it under your own domain name. Have fun, but do it in the right way.
Requires a basic knowledge / skills in :
Modem and router functionalities
Port forwarding, redirection TCP ports (http 80, https 443)
basic skills in HTML language and CSS language
.htaccess handling
Does the future provider offer HTTPS ❓
An insecure HTTP connection is a deterrent for visitors to websites and especially online shops. Likewise on search engines. Accordingly, it is important to switch to a secure HTTPS connection. This is where Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates come into play. They encrypt the data transfer and confirm your identity as the operator.
The latter is especially important if you use the website for business purposes. For this purpose, it is advisable to use a paid, identity-validated SSL certificate.
Find out if your future hosting provider has HTTPS built in. The bulleted list is categorized into :
- ✅ Full HTTPS support : hosting providers that offer free HTTPS certificates automatically for their shared hosting product. No need to do anything on your end if you use their service.
- ❎ Partial HTTPS support : hosting providers that offer free HTTPS certificates for their shared hosting product, but require configuration. You’ll need to follow a tutorial.
- ❌ No HTTPS support : hosting providers that do not offer free HTTPS certificates for their shared hosting product. It may or may not be possible to use a free HTTPS certificate with other products that the provider offers, such as their VPS product.
25-Nov 2017
Updated 11-May 2021