5 ms·

What are some platforms you'd recommend for non-tech folks who'd like to have a simple personal site+blog?

lolinder 4y ago
WordPress.com is easy to set up, has custom domains, and you could theoretically move it to another host pretty easily later (unlike SquareSpace). Bret Devereaux's history blog (acoup.blog) is hosted there, and it does very well here on HN.
- fmajid 4y ago
  He's a historian and can hardly be expected to perform the developer yak-shaving that is running your own blog infrastructure (and I mean that in the kindest possible way, as I run my own as well, but my wife and daughter are on WordPress, albeit hosted by me, because of the UI hurdles of Hugo).
  - lolinder 4y ago
    Yep, the person I was replying to was asking for recommendations for non-techies. I wasn't about to recommend a static site generator...
    - fmajid 4y ago
      There are SSGs with nice WYSIWYG UIs coming, including one for Hugo. https://open.quiqr.org https://open.quiqr.org That still leaves the question of how to handle site search and comments.
- Vibgyor5 4y ago
  Thanks for your recommendation. I have used WordPress in the past. Although its been a few years, I found it cumbersome to set up a simple site; you often needed some custom plugins, most templates look archaic to me, and importantly, the loading speed was slower. I spent more time fixing something and troubleshooting than actually writing. Right now, I am using a Notion website builder: https://super.so/ https://super.so/ It serves my need as someone who wanted to have a personal website. More like a resume tbh. No bells and whistles. I am used to Notion so that’s another plus. And the page loads fairly quickly. However, I find that at $12/month, I could get better value elsehwere. Not to mention, I am unable to blog there. One of the platforms that attract me is Ghost (https://ghost.org/vs/wordpress/ https://ghost.org/vs/wordpress/). Open-source and I’ve found the websites there have a far more modern-look.
  - pbteja1998 4y ago
    Did you try https://feather.so https://feather.so? That is also a Notion website builder, but more geared towards blogging. This is an example site built with Notion + Feather https://www.vensy.me https://www.vensy.me Disclaimer: I am the creator of feather.so

WordPress.com is easy to set up, has custom domains, and you could theoretically move it to another host pretty easily later (unlike SquareSpace). Bret Devereaux's history blog (acoup.blog) is hosted there, and it does very well here on HN.

fmajid 4y ago
He's a historian and can hardly be expected to perform the developer yak-shaving that is running your own blog infrastructure (and I mean that in the kindest possible way, as I run my own as well, but my wife and daughter are on WordPress, albeit hosted by me, because of the UI hurdles of Hugo).
- lolinder 4y ago
  Yep, the person I was replying to was asking for recommendations for non-techies. I wasn't about to recommend a static site generator...
  - fmajid 4y ago
    There are SSGs with nice WYSIWYG UIs coming, including one for Hugo. https://open.quiqr.org https://open.quiqr.org That still leaves the question of how to handle site search and comments.
Vibgyor5 4y ago
Thanks for your recommendation. I have used WordPress in the past. Although its been a few years, I found it cumbersome to set up a simple site; you often needed some custom plugins, most templates look archaic to me, and importantly, the loading speed was slower. I spent more time fixing something and troubleshooting than actually writing. Right now, I am using a Notion website builder: https://super.so/ https://super.so/ It serves my need as someone who wanted to have a personal website. More like a resume tbh. No bells and whistles. I am used to Notion so that’s another plus. And the page loads fairly quickly. However, I find that at $12/month, I could get better value elsehwere. Not to mention, I am unable to blog there. One of the platforms that attract me is Ghost (https://ghost.org/vs/wordpress/ https://ghost.org/vs/wordpress/). Open-source and I’ve found the websites there have a far more modern-look.
- pbteja1998 4y ago
  Did you try https://feather.so https://feather.so? That is also a Notion website builder, but more geared towards blogging. This is an example site built with Notion + Feather https://www.vensy.me https://www.vensy.me Disclaimer: I am the creator of feather.so