I try to set up a local webserver on my debian-based linux and i started with installing Apache2. My concern is that i neither understand what should i do nor know how to do it.
First i would like you to tell me how to set apache to look for users' websites in their home directories. I know apache should look for any /home/*/public_html/ but mine doesn't.
I noticed that i haven't in my mods-loaded the userdir.load and userdir.conf. So, suspecting this was the problem, i simlinked them from mods-available and they got simlinked allright. But no effect...i guess: how should i write in the browser to access a user's webpage? I tried localhost/home/user/ but browser (or apache?)sais the /home/user/ does not exist...What's the correct path to look for?
PS: writting in browser localhost does it's job by the way;

If you are sure you have the userdir module and its enabled in your httpd.conf, you can access pages in you users home directory by doing something like http://localhost/~username/file.html. You need to make sure that the user has created a subdirectory called public_html and changed the permissions to 755. The files in public_html are the ones that will be accessed by the webserver.

public_html is the default name for user dir which can then be accessed through url:

http://host.serv.com/~username

Make sure UserDir is not disabled (which is the default usually) even if the module is loaded and that it is not set to an other directory name

i made the simlink in the mods-loaded but i don't know if it loads it...(how can i check that besides writting the adress in the browser)
and second...what i should look for in my httpd.conf to see if it's enabled...i'm at work right now and i don't have a httpd.conf in front of me to check.
Third, the user's home dir is also mine but i wanted to be able to work as a user not as a root when i test my pages as i dislike having my files elsewhere but /home/user/...my case /home/thor/. I even changed in the sites-available the original /var/www/ to /home/thor/www/ .
oh, and i,ve made a /public_html in my user folder but how to change the permissions to 755?

By the way 10x for the quick response, i really appreciate it.

realthor,

1. you need to create a public_html directory like this /home/thor/public_html.
2. change the permission to 755 like this "chmod 755 /home/thor/public_html"
3. make sure your httpd.conf have these lines enable:

LoadModule userdir_module modules/mod_userdir.so

<IfModule mod_userdir.c>
UserDir public_html
</IfModule>

i've made as root such a folder with konqueror, i don't nkow what permissions does it have but seemingly making those simlinks from mods-available do mods-enabled for the userdir.conf and userdir.load solved the problem. I can access users' webpages writting in the browser localhost/~thor/ which shows me it works.

Now, that i've read a little more about apache and stuff, i am in doubt. The sites i develop are going to be tested on this machine, i don't intend to put them online from here but how is it more convenient, to work as a user or as root on them. I am a little confused, apache should start as a root daemon. It starts and goes on working. The things i do for my websites do not interfere with it. So what's the difference in having my sites in /var/www/ than let's say /home/thor/www/?