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Ask HN: How do I set up my own simple website on a domain I buy?

8 points by ghrifter ↗ HN
This is pretty noobish - but what is everyone's recommendation for setting up a new website? Mainly this will be a personal blog of sorts... so do I buy a domain, then get another service like Heroku to put(publish) my application there?

Any good current tutorials? I'm thinking of working with the MEAN Stack or just in general javascript tech stacks.

30 comments

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funkyy
The best way for a newbie would be to buy a domain, then buy a proper hosting with Cpanel. You can get Hostgator for 1c for first month or get Hawkhost for $3/mo. Cpanel is quite easy and auto-install scripts provided by Softaculous makes it breeze when it comes to installing common scripts and cms.

You might also explore simple website building companies like Wix or Squarespace.

voltagex_
Why not a static generator like Ghost, Jekyll or Pelican? That way it can be hosted on GitHub Pages.

Can't beat $0/month.

https://pages.github.com/

ghrifter
Yes - but wouldnt this be on username.github.io?
SomeoneWeird
You can set domains in a CNAME file in the root of a repository.
funkyy
For newbie CPanel is the easiest way to get a hold of web hosting and web design imo. Since you are in hosted environment there is not many things you can screw, support is always there for you and you can quickly start.

With static websites and github you need to have at least proper basic understanding of html, hosting and programming. Also simple mistakes can cause big damage and since there is no live help, you need to spend a lot time searching for answers online.

voltagex_
IMO CPanel hides too much. You can git commit && git push an index.html to GitHub and be up and running very quickly. That way when you get your first real job you're already going to have some basic Git skills.
funkyy
If you are looking for job like that.

Yo are talking like a programmer, not sure if OP is one. From a programmer point of view - your option is much better. From newbie - absolutely not.

voltagex_
From the OP:

>Any good current tutorials? I'm thinking of working with the MEAN Stack or just in general javascript tech stacks.

I think they're a programmer.

ghrifter
I am a programmer - junior as CS in college - I know html and css very well due to my job (in additon to C# and other knowledge) - but I have little to no idea on how to create my own "website"
gadders
1. Buy a domain

2. Get hosting (Sometimes 1 & 2 are through the same company but don't have to be)

3. Point your domain to your hosting via updating forms at your domain name provider/hosting provider (if 1 & 2 aren't from the same company)

4. FTP your html and css etc up to the www directory on your hosting provider

5. Check it all works, fix stuff that doesn't.

saluki
Since you know html and css . . .

Buy a domain at any registrar . . .

Buy hosting from some place like hostgator (even for a month just to play around with it). When you purchase your hosting set your primary domain to the domain you purchased.

At your domain registrar point(chanage) the A record to your hostgator hosting IP address this is in the cpanel DNS.

Create a simple html page, name is index.html

Now FTP your html and css in to the public_html folder on your hostgator hosting.

So enter your domain in a browser and it should display your html page you uploaded.

It might take some time for the DNS to resolve but usually it's ready pretty fast.

Now you have your feet wet with setting up a basic website you can look in to hosting a MEAN stack. For that I'd recommend hosting on Digital Ocean.

Another recommendation is to connect with classmates already doing this stuff. They can make recommendations and give you some one on one assistance.

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funkyy
Right, missed that. Seems like github is perfect for him, or plain simple DigitalOcean or Vultr with Bootstrap to learn environment creation as well.
nostrademons
Haven't heard anyone recommend CPanel in a decade. It exists in a bit of an uncanny valley now. If you're not a programmer, it's much easier to setup a site on Wordpress, Weebly, SquareSpace, Google Sites, or any number of other hosted WYSIWYG editors. If you are a programmer, you probably want a PaaS like Heroku, GitHub Pages, or Google AppEngine.
timdavila
There's a difference between programming and dev ops. What makes Heroku or AWS better than renting a VPS with cPanel/WHM? The latter is much more straight forward to me.
runjake
Ghost isn't a static site generator. It's a Node.js app.
nostrademons
For a personal blog, just go to wordpress.com and sign up. You can buy the domain through them, it will host on their servers, they give you dozens of themes to choose from, you can publish via a WYSIWYG editor, and it'll give you traffic analytics as well. Also can setup static pages for them - most small businesses you see on the web are actually Wordpress sites.
kylex
Wordpress is you best bet. Most hosting companies have a "one click installation" through CPanel. Hostgator is one of them, i've learned a lot since building my first Wordpress website. It's a fun experience.

I recommend buying your domain and hosting from the same provider.

dpeck
If you want it to look nice and you're ok with a bit of a premium for that squarespace has some really good themes. Drop in a few photos and you've got a top notch brochure page with just a few hours of time dragging and dropping.
Mz
You can do this with BlogSpot. You also do not have to purchase aa domain to have a BlogSpot blog, but you can add one, if you wish.
notahacker
Assuming you're writing your own HTML and CSS and use a command line, deployment doesn't get any easier than http://surge.sh , which is free
brudgers
Like anything, it depends. I several orthogonal axes in the question: writing/blogging, domain ownership, and learning new technologies. The best approach depends on what priority you assign to each as well as the specific objectives within each.

Amazon Web Services has a free tier and tutorials on hosting a static site on S3. That's great if the technical interests include cloud services and the content is static and the domain ownership isn't about running a bunch of web ads. On the other hand, Godaddy will sell, host, and install a Worldpress blog and keep it updated...this might fit a different set of interests. Wordpress.com will host a Wordpress blog and let you focuos on running Wordpress and writing. Heroku offers a different balance.

Which brings the obvious question, what are your goals?

edelweiss22
I'd recommend a flat-file CMS like Grav (http://getgrav.org).

It can run on any shared hosting, plus it does not even need a database, which makes managing a website super easy. Think making the site locally and updating it with a simple git push.

I don't think a simple website needs Heroku or another PAAS or even needs to run on Node.js, which introduces unneeded complexity.

twelvedesign
Most hosting providers offer domain services, and one click installations of apps like Wordpress. It might take 10-15 minutes to set it all up.

I am using Media Temple. It is not the cheapest, but it works like a charm. You can use my referral link to save 20% http://bit.ly/1OV1Mw9