5 ms·

Ask HN: Best blog hosting site for lazy hackers

17 points by mydpy 13y ago

Hi all, I am training for a half-triathlon and want to blog my experiences. I'm sure I will incorporate some data analysis along the way, but right now only plan to document training statistics, nutritions, pictures, text content, etc. I don't plan on calling any APIs (for example, if MyFitnessPal has anything) or embedding other site content into my blog (for example, a Facebook like button). I know html, .NET, and some jsp, but I don't have the time right now to build my own. I've added some that I like the look and feel of: 1. http://spion.github.io/posts/why-i-am-switching-to-promises.html 2. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7002073 3. blogger I think I'd prefer wordpress over blogger, and I like example 1 the most but have never used github for hosting anything like this. Can anyone comment?

paukiatwee 13y ago
Try https://ghost.org/ https://ghost.org/ A publishing platform which is beautifully designed, easy to use, and free for everyone. Ghost provide hosting solution as well.
- mydpy 13y ago
  Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not paying (it's not really free as far as I can tell).
  - sergiotapia 13y ago
    It's 100% free to download and install on whatever server you want. I would recommend ASmallOrange for 25$/year small hosting, they also offer 1click installer.
  - wanda 13y ago
    RH OpenShift will let you host Ghost for free. https://www.openshift.com/quickstarts/ghost-with-mysql-on-openshift https://www.openshift.com/quickstarts/ghost-with-mysql-on-op...
- brickmort 13y ago
  I like ghost so far, but it lacks certain basic website features that have left me itching for them to show up in the upcoming releases, like static webpages and plugin integration. The current version is so limiting for users who dont want to go digging and hacking through the source code for customization.
mydpy 13y ago
So, the more I look at Github pages the more I like it. I think Jekyll could be really fun but I need to get this up and running, with a day of content tonight. And I need sleep. So... thoughts?
- whichdan 13y ago
  GitHub pages is great, but you'll probably want some time to play around with Jekyll. You can always use a hosted platform like Wordpress.com and switch off when you have more free time. Consider using Disqus for comments and Google Analytics for tracking if you want to be slightly more platform agnostic.
  - robotmagician 13y ago
    Yup, I enjoy Github Pages a lot - go ahead and download the Jekyll rubygem and muck about with it locally if you want to get grips on it fast. I have a question - what do you find is the best way of hosting images for a Github Pages blog?
    - bcjordan 13y ago
      You can just put them in a static images/ folder and use a relative link pointing to '/images/test.jpg'. In a pinch you can always fall back on http://imgur.com http://imgur.com (but they'll delete images that don't get accessed for a long long time).
  - mydpy 13y ago
    Thanks for the suggestion - in fact, I'll use it! I think I'll setup a wordpress blog tonight and limit myself to about 30 minutes to get content on a vanilla page. Then tomorrow, and in the future as needed, I'll invest the time needed to get a more intensive platform established (like Octopress as mentioned in an earlier comment).
- digitalzombie 13y ago
  Try jekyll with Octopress
spo81rty 13y ago
You can get a free blog at Geekswithblogs.net for free. it is for developers only
joelrunyon 13y ago
Good luck on the half! I started out the same way (started training for an indoor triathlon & wanted to share my experiences). I think wordpress is used by the wide majority of bloggers. It's pretty customizeable & you can get it setup in 5 minutes flat so you can focus on writing rather than coding. I wrote a brief free guide a while back on starting a blog - you might find it helpful[1]. If you want to make it super-custom dashboard for your training - you might need something else, but WP does the trick for a lot of people. [1] http://impossiblehq.com/how-to-start-a-blog-guide http://impossiblehq.com/how-to-start-a-blog-guide
- mydpy 13y ago
  Thanks for the feedback. I'll read this tonight!
bliti 13y ago
You might look into posthaven. Its a pretty nice blogging platform, and only costs $5 a month.

17 points by mydpy 13y ago

paukiatwee 13y ago

Try https://ghost.org/ https://ghost.org/ A publishing platform which is beautifully designed, easy to use, and free for everyone. Ghost provide hosting solution as well.

mydpy 13y ago
Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm not paying (it's not really free as far as I can tell).
- sergiotapia 13y ago
  It's 100% free to download and install on whatever server you want. I would recommend ASmallOrange for 25$/year small hosting, they also offer 1click installer.
- wanda 13y ago
  RH OpenShift will let you host Ghost for free. https://www.openshift.com/quickstarts/ghost-with-mysql-on-openshift https://www.openshift.com/quickstarts/ghost-with-mysql-on-op...
brickmort 13y ago
I like ghost so far, but it lacks certain basic website features that have left me itching for them to show up in the upcoming releases, like static webpages and plugin integration. The current version is so limiting for users who dont want to go digging and hacking through the source code for customization.

mydpy 13y ago

So, the more I look at Github pages the more I like it. I think Jekyll could be really fun but I need to get this up and running, with a day of content tonight. And I need sleep. So... thoughts?

whichdan 13y ago
GitHub pages is great, but you'll probably want some time to play around with Jekyll. You can always use a hosted platform like Wordpress.com and switch off when you have more free time. Consider using Disqus for comments and Google Analytics for tracking if you want to be slightly more platform agnostic.
- robotmagician 13y ago
  Yup, I enjoy Github Pages a lot - go ahead and download the Jekyll rubygem and muck about with it locally if you want to get grips on it fast. I have a question - what do you find is the best way of hosting images for a Github Pages blog?
  - bcjordan 13y ago
    You can just put them in a static images/ folder and use a relative link pointing to '/images/test.jpg'. In a pinch you can always fall back on http://imgur.com http://imgur.com (but they'll delete images that don't get accessed for a long long time).
- mydpy 13y ago
  Thanks for the suggestion - in fact, I'll use it! I think I'll setup a wordpress blog tonight and limit myself to about 30 minutes to get content on a vanilla page. Then tomorrow, and in the future as needed, I'll invest the time needed to get a more intensive platform established (like Octopress as mentioned in an earlier comment).
digitalzombie 13y ago
Try jekyll with Octopress

spo81rty 13y ago

You can get a free blog at Geekswithblogs.net for free. it is for developers only

joelrunyon 13y ago

Good luck on the half! I started out the same way (started training for an indoor triathlon & wanted to share my experiences). I think wordpress is used by the wide majority of bloggers. It's pretty customizeable & you can get it setup in 5 minutes flat so you can focus on writing rather than coding. I wrote a brief free guide a while back on starting a blog - you might find it helpful[1]. If you want to make it super-custom dashboard for your training - you might need something else, but WP does the trick for a lot of people. [1] http://impossiblehq.com/how-to-start-a-blog-guide http://impossiblehq.com/how-to-start-a-blog-guide

mydpy 13y ago
Thanks for the feedback. I'll read this tonight!

bliti 13y ago

You might look into posthaven. Its a pretty nice blogging platform, and only costs $5 a month.