I’ve finally got my blog up and running after a few weeks of research and experimentation. Here are some things I learned throughout the process:
Home lab Hosting
The True NAS server I built was my initial approach of how to host the blog. After extensive research online and reading through some documentation I found that a Cloudflare tunnel could be setup with a True NAS home server, but required a few steps:
- Create a Cloudflare account
- Transfer domain to Cloudflare from original registrar(I use GoDaddy)
- Setup Cloudflare app on True NAS server using True Charts
- Setup Cloudflare tunnel
I had initially setup a Cloudflare account to get this process started, but since the domain was fairly new(less than 90 days), I was unable to fully transfer the domain. I setup the DNS servers on GoDaddy to point to Cloudflare in the meantime.
WordPress App Setup:
I wanted to start designing and getting my website ready, so I installed WordPress on my server successfully. I started messing around with themes and got to a point where the design was acceptable. I then started researching more on hosting your own website. Here are some key points on what I found:
- There are security parameters needed on your home router
- A DMZ is recommended to be setup for your web server
- A proxy server in a DMZ is recommended to limit web traffic to your internal network
- ISP’s can sometimes block incoming traffic to your home network
I didn’t want to manage my home network in a way where now I have to worry about constant threats to my web server. Due to these complications and extra steps I decided the risk wouldn’t be worth it, so I would look into alternatives.
Bluehost Hosting:
I setup a local roofers website years ago using Bluehost. It was a very simple WordPress site that included contact info along with a list of services that were offered. I decided to host my blog using their cheapest WordPress hosting service( $35.40 for the year ). They had a few different options, but I didn’t’ need anything past the basic service. ( https://www.bluehost.com/pricing )
Once logged into your account there’s not much to do other than add or purchase a domain. Because I already owned my domain I just had to verify ownership to get it added. The DNS records and SSL certificates update automatically by Bluehost, which was super convenient. Now it was a matter of designing the site.
Design of the website:
When it comes to web design I can appreciate how much time goes into sites to make them look incredible, but can’t get invested in all the backend work. Luckily with WordPress there’s a ton of options. I found this step by step design video outlining pretty much everything needed to give the site a basic modern feel.
Utilizing this mixed with experimentation I was able to get a basic functional website that looks great. This creator does a great job at breaking everything down for someone like myself who doesn’t understand design principles!
Final Thoughts:
After making some final tweaks and a few color adjustments I finally published the blog and here we are! Although it’s a basic site I learned a lot through this project and came to really appreciate the amount of work that goes into making this process a lot more simple in the modern world. Here’s a quick list summarizing my thoughts:
- Without having the proper networking equipment it seems like the easiest approach for a project like this is utilizing hosting services that offer tools and security.
- Throughout my research I saw a lot of advertisements and marketing for AI built websites, so I can only imagine in the next few years how that will dominate a lot of the market long term.
- If you’re like me and don’t want to spend a ton of time/effort figuring out design elements make sure to use the provided tools through WordPress