An small comment
I have been trying to set a free web hosting for "Pet Protectors" for about 4 months now. Xampp is the best, and if you add the control panel software it works perfect. The problem is the time you need to spend in front of your computer and all the security holes that only experts can close.
In the other hand, remember your up BW in an adsl is allways small, and a few visits would "crunch"it.
I would advise you to use the server for your personal sites, but to make a hosting Free or paid you should use a reseller account, it is cheap, and very reliable. You can find one at finmyhos.com or go to idologic.com, the service is the best. Also bluewho.com es very good. There are a lot of other very cheap options, but you know "if you pay peanuts you get monkies"