I have installed IIS. I have browsed to my website on IIS using the ‘Browse *:80 (http)’ link in IIS. This navigates to http://localhost. That link is only going to work on my own machine.
I don’t care about my IP address changing (I’m going to show my website for a few hours max every now and then so can update it and resend the link as and when required).
How do I make my website accessible to the internet? What url should I use http://82.11.220.212 (where 82.11.220.212 is the IP of my computer)? Do I need to disable firewalls / add exceptions to my modem / router?
You have to make sure that your broadband provider has given you a static IP (there is sometimes an extra charge for this). Otherwise, you will be assigned a new IP every time you connect to the internet.
If your ISP modem is connected to a router first and then to the computer, you have to log in to your router settings and forward incoming http requests. This is usually done by putting a forwarding rule for incoming TCP connections on port 80. You have to forward these connections to port 80 on your computer. If you also want to support https, you have to forward port 443.