Ask HN: How to Create a Simple Blog?
23 comments
Yep, I would suggest to go indie instead of using a posting platform. Platforms die, limit your control and growth options.
Grab a domain ($1 sale at Namecheap atm), generate the site from simple markdown files using Zola (it's basically a better Hugo — if you've heard of it), and host at Netlify for free.
People who prefer a specific language would prefer a framework / generator in that language. Zola is a somewhat neutral option — since you didn't mention your preferences for the language.
Same with the services. I personally prefer Cloudflare as both registrar and hosting, but Netlify would be a bit more intuitive to start with.
Like you, I love clean blog layouts. Shouldn't be a problem if you have a CSS background, but there are themes at the Zola site if you are busy. Not all are great, but there are a couple of neat and clean ones.
P.S. At first I was a bit surprised to see such question here, but then realized that it's actually smart to ask HK — as most of the googleable content is affiliate crap.
https://www.namecheap.com/promos/new-2-year-com-promo
https://www.getzola.org
https://www.netlify.com
Grab a domain ($1 sale at Namecheap atm), generate the site from simple markdown files using Zola (it's basically a better Hugo — if you've heard of it), and host at Netlify for free.
People who prefer a specific language would prefer a framework / generator in that language. Zola is a somewhat neutral option — since you didn't mention your preferences for the language.
Same with the services. I personally prefer Cloudflare as both registrar and hosting, but Netlify would be a bit more intuitive to start with.
Like you, I love clean blog layouts. Shouldn't be a problem if you have a CSS background, but there are themes at the Zola site if you are busy. Not all are great, but there are a couple of neat and clean ones.
P.S. At first I was a bit surprised to see such question here, but then realized that it's actually smart to ask HK — as most of the googleable content is affiliate crap.
https://www.namecheap.com/promos/new-2-year-com-promo
https://www.getzola.org
https://www.netlify.com
Many thanks for the pointers!
Anything based on a static website generator is my go-to. It offers a lot of control but its really quick and easy to get up and running. I like Hugo. I built a blog in django but I found it more trouble than it was worth, at least as a blog back end. I spent more time building and tweaking the thing than writing. Now I deploy with hugo and don't do any tweaking or writing.
I admit I was not at all aware of the many static site generatores there are... What a brave new world HN here introduced me too! I have a lot of studying to do. Thanks :)
Perhaps mataroa.blog or blot.im?
Mataroa is freemium ($ for auto-export and custom domain features, all else is free). Blot.im is paid, like a CI/CD that turns a git repo or a folder in your Dropbox or Google Drive into a static site.
I've not used mataroa, but did use blot.im when I was blogging.
Otherwise I second the recommendation for a static site generator, like Jekyll or Hugo.
Mataroa is freemium ($ for auto-export and custom domain features, all else is free). Blot.im is paid, like a CI/CD that turns a git repo or a folder in your Dropbox or Google Drive into a static site.
I've not used mataroa, but did use blot.im when I was blogging.
Otherwise I second the recommendation for a static site generator, like Jekyll or Hugo.
How simple do you want to go? I don't blog myself, but I kind of like the barebones, minimalist blogs hosted via Bear, Mataroa, and Write.as. The latter you can host yourself using WriteFreely.
Or you can pick a static site generator and a clean, simple theme. Lots of options, whether you want to DIY or go hosted.
Or you can pick a static site generator and a clean, simple theme. Lots of options, whether you want to DIY or go hosted.
Thanks for your input :)
I would like to go simple but not straightforward 100% plain text. I'd like room for experimentation. Add images, a colour palette, search functionality,...
Even though I like Mataroa's philosophy, it seems waaay too minimalist for me. I didn't know that was possible!
Even though I like Mataroa's philosophy, it seems waaay too minimalist for me. I didn't know that was possible!
If you don't care about having user comments and you don't post all that often, you can do it all in handwritten HTML/CSS. Zero dependencies! (That's what I do with mine, at <https://7402.org>)
I was using blogger then started using medium and since a Jekyll site. Now on my old sites I leave the posts and indicate the new home.
Reason for leaving was I felt like it was free material for those Platforms (sure I get the views) and wanted portability
Reason for leaving was I felt like it was free material for those Platforms (sure I get the views) and wanted portability
This is what I use and I love it => https://lumeland.github.io/
I actually browsed through the showcase gallery and liked what can be accomplished with it. I care mostly about the writing but I also want to be able to add some images and get a little creative - I want -my- site to show off some of my personality, ultimately - and Lume seems to accomplish that. Will be exploring it. Thanks!
> CSS/HTML and data visualization
I think there are ways to turn Jupyter notebooks into a blog, that could be a great way to do a data viz blog
I think there are ways to turn Jupyter notebooks into a blog, that could be a great way to do a data viz blog
my blog https://www.joshbochu.com/ is based on Nextra;
https://nextra.vercel.app/get-started
https://nextra.vercel.app/get-started
Simple but no simpler!
Thanks for sharing :) (already added your Good Reads articles to my pocket list....)
[I've mentioned it quite a times on HN]
Ghost - If you are really serious about writing and monetizing it. Not useful if you are not earning from your writing
Medium - If you are gonna write once in a year. or. you are happy putting your articles behind their paywall
dev.to - If you don't have a niche, just writing for the community whenever you feel
hashnode - If you prefer having custom domain, writing for beginners, love SEO, want to build personal brand, and a bit serious about technical writing.
SSG + Github Page - If you love getting your hands dirty in coding & willing to spend sometime to learn a new tech. (plus point, you have full freedom to design it in your own way)
- My self-hosted blog built with NextJs. https://pankajtanwar.in/blogs
Ghost - If you are really serious about writing and monetizing it. Not useful if you are not earning from your writing
Medium - If you are gonna write once in a year. or. you are happy putting your articles behind their paywall
dev.to - If you don't have a niche, just writing for the community whenever you feel
hashnode - If you prefer having custom domain, writing for beginners, love SEO, want to build personal brand, and a bit serious about technical writing.
SSG + Github Page - If you love getting your hands dirty in coding & willing to spend sometime to learn a new tech. (plus point, you have full freedom to design it in your own way)
- My self-hosted blog built with NextJs. https://pankajtanwar.in/blogs
Thanks for sharing!
dev.to and hashnode seem very nice indeed for work-related topics that I have on my mind to write about
Python - Flask, and then find a decent hosting option.
I wonder - - I follow and envy a lot of personal websites shouted out here on HN. They generally have a nice, simple and clean interface. How can I create something like that? Whichs tools do you use?
I have some background in CSS/HTML and data visualization, I would like to try out some things just fun. What would you suggest?
Thanks in advance for your time :)