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> You can self-host it on a small server (one-click deployment on a $5 VM on Vultr or DigitalOcean will do) Having hosted a ghost blog before, this is the wron

> You can self-host it on a small server (one-click deployment on a $5 VM on Vultr or DigitalOcean will do) Having hosted a ghost blog before, this is the wrong way to think about it. You'd need to run a separate instance of a database which costs $15 on Lightsail with periodic backups. Running the database instance on the same $5 machine is one disaster away from a lot of pain. It is so much better to use github pages or static page generators over Netlify, since a database really seems like an overkill for simpler blogs. Someone wiser than me once said [0]: Why are you doing all this? Your entire database fits in RAM. [0] https://twitter.com/apenwarr/status/1095441483065380867 https://twitter.com/apenwarr/status/1095441483065380867

Hitton 6y ago
I'm not Ghost user, but quick look at their site shows that it supports SQLite. So I have hard time to believe there would be a problem.
- ignoramous 6y ago
  SQLite doesn't save you from losing your data when the instance goes away. One requires a backup to avoid that scenario. Sure one can opt for offline manual backups, but then one might as well use a static site generator that doesn't require any of that.
  - Hitton 6y ago
    Why would you do manual backups? Just schedule cronjob to periodically upload the database somewhere. You can save it anywhere - other $5 server (not $15), to s3, even on google drive. I don't know if there is threat of database being corrupted midbackup due to writing in it, but if you don't want to risk it, just use sqlite online backup api.
Jiocus 6y ago
As a Ghost self-hoster, I can confirm I don't require the use of any database for "$15 on Lightsail with periodic backups". Depending on your requirement you can use any instance of MySQL/MariaDB - managed or self-managed. You could run a separate $5 MariaDB DigitalOcean droplet. Ghost Foundation provides their 1-click Ghost droplet bundled with MySQL, but you're not restricted to it. And yes, SQLite is also an option. Suggesting a "need" to run fault-tolerant database operations doesn't quite concile with running it in RAM only.
- ignoramous 6y ago
  > I can confirm I don't require the use of any database for "$15 on Lightsail with periodic backups". Yep and then you'd be subject to what they call https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_point_of_failure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_point_of_failure. > Suggesting a "need" to run fault-tolerant database operations doesn't quite concile with running it in RAM only. The wisdom is: You don't need a database at all to avoid SPOF. Use static pages and let Netlify and others cache them in their CDNs world-wide ("RAM"). > Ghost Foundation provides their 1-click Ghost droplet bundled with MySQL. And how much does that cost?
  - selykg 6y ago
    > Yep and then you'd be subject to what they call https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_point_of_failure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_point_of_failure. It's a blog, not a mission critical site. I suspect MOST blogs get so few views that it really isn't a huge deal. If you have the need for more stability and availability, then paying extra isn't a huge deal.
    - ignoramous 6y ago
      > If you have the need for more stability and availability, then paying extra isn't a huge deal. There, that was my point: One could pay exactly somewhere in the region of $0 to Netlify and still have that.
      - selykg 6y ago
        I see you're one of those people that base everything on price and not on other things. Got it.
        ignoramous 6y ago
        You'd do better to take arguments at their merits than resort to ad hominem attacks. To your point: Yes, Ghost is much more than Hugo / Jekyll will ever be, but then again, most people aren't building a News site to actually want the features Ghost has to offer. I mean, there's absolutely a market for software like Ghost and WordPress (or they wouldn't exist, especially in WordPress' case they absolutely dominate that market), but if you're the kind to run Ghost with SQLite then may be you should instead give static site generators a look.

Hitton 6y ago

I'm not Ghost user, but quick look at their site shows that it supports SQLite. So I have hard time to believe there would be a problem.

ignoramous 6y ago
SQLite doesn't save you from losing your data when the instance goes away. One requires a backup to avoid that scenario. Sure one can opt for offline manual backups, but then one might as well use a static site generator that doesn't require any of that.
- Hitton 6y ago
  Why would you do manual backups? Just schedule cronjob to periodically upload the database somewhere. You can save it anywhere - other $5 server (not $15), to s3, even on google drive. I don't know if there is threat of database being corrupted midbackup due to writing in it, but if you don't want to risk it, just use sqlite online backup api.

Jiocus 6y ago

As a Ghost self-hoster, I can confirm I don't require the use of any database for "$15 on Lightsail with periodic backups". Depending on your requirement you can use any instance of MySQL/MariaDB - managed or self-managed. You could run a separate $5 MariaDB DigitalOcean droplet. Ghost Foundation provides their 1-click Ghost droplet bundled with MySQL, but you're not restricted to it. And yes, SQLite is also an option. Suggesting a "need" to run fault-tolerant database operations doesn't quite concile with running it in RAM only.

ignoramous 6y ago
> I can confirm I don't require the use of any database for "$15 on Lightsail with periodic backups". Yep and then you'd be subject to what they call https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_point_of_failure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_point_of_failure. > Suggesting a "need" to run fault-tolerant database operations doesn't quite concile with running it in RAM only. The wisdom is: You don't need a database at all to avoid SPOF. Use static pages and let Netlify and others cache them in their CDNs world-wide ("RAM"). > Ghost Foundation provides their 1-click Ghost droplet bundled with MySQL. And how much does that cost?
- selykg 6y ago
  > Yep and then you'd be subject to what they call https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_point_of_failure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_point_of_failure. It's a blog, not a mission critical site. I suspect MOST blogs get so few views that it really isn't a huge deal. If you have the need for more stability and availability, then paying extra isn't a huge deal.
  - ignoramous 6y ago
    > If you have the need for more stability and availability, then paying extra isn't a huge deal. There, that was my point: One could pay exactly somewhere in the region of $0 to Netlify and still have that.
    - selykg 6y ago
      I see you're one of those people that base everything on price and not on other things. Got it.
      - ignoramous 6y ago
        You'd do better to take arguments at their merits than resort to ad hominem attacks. To your point: Yes, Ghost is much more than Hugo / Jekyll will ever be, but then again, most people aren't building a News site to actually want the features Ghost has to offer. I mean, there's absolutely a market for software like Ghost and WordPress (or they wouldn't exist, especially in WordPress' case they absolutely dominate that market), but if you're the kind to run Ghost with SQLite then may be you should instead give static site generators a look.