Localhost not working on Windows 8.1

I had configured a localhost on my Windows 8 system. Later on I got the Windows 8.1 update and I installed the same. Things were fine but there is a issue with the localhost thing. It is not working. I am trying to change the settings but it failed. I am quiet sure there can be something that is causing the issue. I had seen the Internet Information Services which are working well and there is no issue. I want a bit help in fixing this issue. I have some sites to test and I do that on my hard drive first. Then I go ahead with testing on server.

Go back in control panel and click on the program and features link. Here you are having option to Turn Windows Features On or Off. So we are going to reconfigure IIS back again to check whether it is going to work or not. Here just ensure once that Internet Information Services is selected or not. This is to verify that IIS service is active or not. If it is uncheck, then add a tick. Windows will install IIS on your system. Restart your pc and then try back to open your site. Just type http://localhost/ and hit enter.

Just run windows update and I am quiet sure that will help you to resolve the issue. Just update that and checkout. I am quiet sure that will resolve the issue. Now if you are unable to use the default localhost feature then you can try out some third party programs where you get the entire virtual web server. Like Xampp. This is a free to use tool that creates a virtual server on your system and you can simply use localhost on the same. There is no need to manage the internal settings. This is more stable to use.

I am using xampp for testing purpose and I am using this from long time. It works really well and has no issue with the output. It works really well when it comes to site testing. Just try out the same. First of all it is quiet easy to install. You just have to copy paste the files manually wherever you want and then open up the page on your web browser. All your demo sites are accessible by a localhost/testsite. Test site is the folder that you will create in xampp directory and add your site.

There are many utilities like this. That allow you to create and configure different web servers online. Like AMPPS. It works similar to Xampp and has
almost the same kind of features. It is easy to use and simple configuration. Just try to install the same. The benefit of using this kind of tools is that you have a single directory where you have to keep the files. And it works fast. I had tested different configuration software on the same and it worked really well. It has all the settings directly in the single panel.

If you need a all in one pack software for website development then there is something you can try. It is called a Microsoft WebMatrix. It is an light weight software to create nice website. You can make changes as per your need and it has many thing when it comes to web development tool. The latest version is Microsoft WebMatrix 3. Just download and test the same and if you like then you can go ahead with the license edition. It also has a cloud connection through which you can share your codes with others.