I've Recently decided I want to run a website. Setting up http and smtp etc are not an issue for me, and I expect DNS to be about the same. I have a couple questions though.

Is a DNS server really that useful in a website environment? Can I make my own .whatever? (for example website.vl, website.mw, website.qsd, etc) And How hard is DNS on Linux, I'm not expecting anything too difficult. Am I wrong in this assumption?

All advice and help is appreciated

~Qckdrw777

If it's an internal website then yes, you can call it whatever you want. website.vl, website.zzz. BUT, if you want people from the internet to access it with a name to remember, then you will need to register a proper domain name. You don't really need to have name and can make your own website with an IP address. But if you do that, nobody will remember the exact IP address, and it may change if your ISP gives you a dynamic IP address. You can use what they call a dynamic DNS which will update your dynamic IP address to a fixed name.

Nothing is hard, per se, once you understand it. I suggest you read up more on DNS