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Ask HN: Best platform for blog+store+members area

8 points by geomark ↗ HN
I'm getting ready to build a site that will have a blog, store and members' area. Wondering what would be the best platform for it. Hoping the vast knowledge on HN can recommend me.

I've done WordPress and Drupal sites before so I know they would work. Not that I'm against PHP but I've been liking Python and Nodejs lately. But not sure there's a choice that will work for me, especially when it comes to easy hosting and easy maintenance compared to php solutions.

I've dabbled with Ghost (Nodejs blogging platform). Done a number of things with Python/Flask. Neither seems up to handling all three functions I want - blog, store, members' area. Maybe I should I go with Django?

Or should I go with a hosted solution like Shopify? I've been burned by nearly every 3rd party service I've ever relied on in the past (Flickr, Blogger, several others) by changes in TOS or complaints by competitors or grumpy visitors. So I'm more inclined to self host.

Thankful for any recommendations and discussion on this.

3 comments

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happycodework
Django. Shopify and etsy. Are good choices (also bootstrap and stripe payments)

For php Magento and Wordpress do exactly that (ecommerce and blog).

For blog there are also some nice "markdown static blog" software that are super ez.

geomark
What about hosting options for Django? I've used Heroku for my Python/Flask apps and that works well. There's also Redhat Openshift which I haven't used but looks reasonable. Workflow is nice with updates pushed up via git.

Shopify Buy Button might be an option instead of hosting the entire site with them.

Etsy is an idea. Can you sell stuff that isn't handmade craft items? Downside is 3.5% transaction fee plus PayPal fee - expensive. It's all based on PayPal which for those of us who have been robbed by PayPal in the past makes it a nonstarter.

Not fond of Magento unless it has become a lot leaner. Really bogged down one of my previous projects.