diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .md/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.md | 15 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | home.html | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.html | 17 |
3 files changed, 21 insertions, 15 deletions
diff --git a/.md/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.md b/.md/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.md index bbfe88c..7514ad6 100644 --- a/.md/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.md +++ b/.md/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.md @@ -32,8 +32,8 @@ the time to deploy it yourself). But they also give out free .wordpress domains and some storage space with a snazzy dashboard to manage it all. I had fun with that one, I don't update it anymore, but it's still up at -<a href="https://postquantumpoetry.wordpress.com">postquantumpoetry.wordpress.com -</a>. WordPress got closer to what I wanted, but it still wasn't +[postquantumpoetry.wordpress.com](https://postquantumpoetry.wordpress.com). +WordPress got closer to what I wanted, but it still wasn't *really* my site; it was WordPress's site unless I wanted to pay the hosting and domain fee. It's pretty modest, but I wasn't sold on sticking with a .com or .space domain, or even sticking with WordPress. @@ -71,7 +71,9 @@ you to *own* your server, your software, and your hardware. That doesn't mean it's hard to do, just that there's options. <a id="thepoint"></a> + ## What is a web server and how do I run one? + *TL;DR a web server is just a program that lets other computers on a network view files in a chosen folder. All you need to do is download a web server: apache and nginx are popular ones, but you can easily @@ -183,21 +185,21 @@ You can use an HTML editor to write these, or you can download a full content management system to help you. Here are some options I know about: -- You can just write the damn HTML and use apache or nginx +- **You can just write the damn HTML and use apache or nginx** This honestly is not that hard, it just takes long and takes away from the joy of writing in my opinion. But if your content is short and sweet, or you're mostly hosting files, writing a few basic HTML files in vim or notepad and adding some CSS goes a long way. -- [Neocities](https://neocities.org/) +- [**Neocities**](https://neocities.org/) Neocities is based on the old Geocities from the mid 90s which allows simple static hosting and features and amazing array of creative projects. Everything is managed through the website, and you can pay to set your own custom domain. -- Wordpress (but this time, you set it up) +- **Wordpress** (but this time, you set it up) Before wordpress was a social media blogging thingamajig, it was just a content management system to spin up a pretty blog. You can download and @@ -209,7 +211,7 @@ The benefit of installing yourself is enormous, since you have full control and can even edit the source if you have the guts. -- [Github pages](https://guides.github.com/features/pages/) +- [**Github pages**](https://guides.github.com/features/pages/) In addition to hosting code repositories, you can host small sites on github for mostly free. I've never used it, but I definitely would if I @@ -264,6 +266,7 @@ paste in your public ip address (your VPS provider will tell you this) and there's your stuff! <a id="dns"></a> + ## What's a "Domain Name" Expecting people to save your IP address is not really a good idea @@ -48,9 +48,9 @@ learn the ins and outs of hosting your own, click <br> Most of what I'm working on (including this site) is kept at <a href="https://git.mjfer.net" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> - git://git.mjfer.net</a> + git.mjfer.net</a> so you don't require any non-free JS to access it at github. - Use git:// to clone, I couldn't figure out HTTPS with cgit. + Use git:// to clone; I couldn't figure out HTTPS with cgit. Besides, git is faster. </center> diff --git a/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.html b/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.html index ccfa955..5b7160f 100644 --- a/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.html +++ b/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.html @@ -8,13 +8,15 @@ - Microsoft Expression Web</code></pre> <p>Well, damn. I didn't have any of those. And as a stingy high school kid, I didn't want to buy anything. So I shelved that book and forgot about for a while since making a website seemed too expensive and needed too much flashy software to make it. I knew nothing about free software at that age, other than music software like Audacity which is what I was into at the time.</p> <p>A few years later I caught a bit of a poetry bug--and maybe a bit of a snooty college kid bug--and tried to run a blog. At that point, I had learned about WordPress, which lets you easily make a space for sharing writing, media, content, whatever really. And it's free as in <em>freedom</em> as I understand since it's licensed under the GPL (if you want to take the time to deploy it yourself). But they also give out free .wordpress domains and some storage space with a snazzy dashboard to manage it all.</p> -<p>I had fun with that one, I don't update it anymore, but it's still up at <a href="https://postquantumpoetry.wordpress.com">postquantumpoetry.wordpress.com </a>. WordPress got closer to what I wanted, but it still wasn't <em>really</em> my site; it was WordPress's site unless I wanted to pay the hosting and domain fee. It's pretty modest, but I wasn't sold on sticking with a .com or .space domain, or even sticking with WordPress. I was getting tired of blogging anyway. I was getting more interested in the stuff that made it work; it seemed a lot more fruitful than writing to no one.</p> +<p>I had fun with that one, I don't update it anymore, but it's still up at <a href="https://postquantumpoetry.wordpress.com">postquantumpoetry.wordpress.com</a>. WordPress got closer to what I wanted, but it still wasn't <em>really</em> my site; it was WordPress's site unless I wanted to pay the hosting and domain fee. It's pretty modest, but I wasn't sold on sticking with a .com or .space domain, or even sticking with WordPress. I was getting tired of blogging anyway. I was getting more interested in the stuff that made it work; it seemed a lot more fruitful than writing to no one.</p> <p>It's now 2021, five years later, when I write this (and this website isn't even finished yet). So what led me down the rabbit hole again? It probably started where the last one left off, when I decided I wanted to switch to more practical IT things over the academic things I had previously wanted to pursue. I signed up for a Cybersecurity program, somehow got in, and eventually managed to land an entry-level SOC role after graduating. At this point, it was getting a little weird that I had no web presence --especially after I decided to take down most of my social media accounts a few years ago.</p> <p>So I was back at "how do I make a website," again, but this time, I at least had some understanding of what a server was and how networks work. And more importantly, I had a better idea of what it meant for a computer to be <em>mine</em>.</p> <p>Even though--let's be real--it <em>still isn't.</em></p> <p>I can't get high-speed Internet easily which I need to host a server long-term so I'm stuck using some else's computer, otherwise called a Virtual Private Server (VPS). Even if I could host at home, I'm still of at the mercy of my ISP.</p> <p>Because of that, I think it's important to understand that "running your own website" is not just a <em>technical</em> ordeal, but also an <em>economic</em> one since you have to carefully think about what it means to you to <em>own</em> your server, your software, and your hardware. That doesn't mean it's hard to do, just that there's options.</p> -<p><a id="thepoint"></a> ## What is a web server and how do I run one? <em>TL;DR a web server is just a program that lets other computers on a network view files in a chosen folder. All you need to do is download a web server: apache and nginx are popular ones, but you can easily program your own with web frameworks like <a href="https://flask.palletsprojects.com/en/2.0.x/">Flask</a> or <a href="https://facil.io/">Facil</a></em></p> +<p><a id="thepoint"></a></p> +<h2 id="what-is-a-web-server-and-how-do-i-run-one">What is a web server and how do I run one?</h2> +<p><em>TL;DR a web server is just a program that lets other computers on a network view files in a chosen folder. All you need to do is download a web server: apache and nginx are popular ones, but you can easily program your own with web frameworks like <a href="https://flask.palletsprojects.com/en/2.0.x/">Flask</a> or <a href="https://facil.io/">Facil</a></em></p> <p>You can run a web server for free right now. If you're on windows go download Apache for Windows <a href="https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/platform/windows.html">here</a> and follow the set up guide <a href="https://www.liquidweb.com/kb/how-to-install-apache-on-a-windows-server/">here</a>. If you're on Linux, you probably already have it installed.</p> <p>Find the configuration file in "sites-available/default" (on windows, this may be led by C:FilesSoftware Foundation ). You'll see something like the following:</p> <pre><code><VirtualHost *:80> @@ -68,21 +70,21 @@ <p>Most likely you'll want to rent someone else's server, usually a VPS.*</p> <p>Once you understand the basic installation above, you can now populate your site with content just by adding HTML files to your web directory. You can use an HTML editor to write these, or you can download a full content management system to help you. Here are some options I know about:</p> <ul> -<li>You can just write the damn HTML and use apache or nginx</li> +<li><strong>You can just write the damn HTML and use apache or nginx</strong></li> </ul> <p>This honestly is not that hard, it just takes long and takes away from the joy of writing in my opinion. But if your content is short and sweet, or you're mostly hosting files, writing a few basic HTML files in vim or notepad and adding some CSS goes a long way.</p> <ul> -<li><a href="https://neocities.org/">Neocities</a></li> +<li><a href="https://neocities.org/"><strong>Neocities</strong></a></li> </ul> <p>Neocities is based on the old Geocities from the mid 90s which allows simple static hosting and features and amazing array of creative projects. Everything is managed through the website, and you can pay to set your own custom domain.</p> <ul> -<li>Wordpress (but this time, you set it up)</li> +<li><strong>Wordpress</strong> (but this time, you set it up)</li> </ul> <p>Before wordpress was a social media blogging thingamajig, it was just a content management system to spin up a pretty blog. You can download and install Wordpress by following:</p> <p>https://wordpress.org/support/article/how-to-install-wordpress/</p> <p>The benefit of installing yourself is enormous, since you have full control and can even edit the source if you have the guts.</p> <ul> -<li><a href="https://guides.github.com/features/pages/">Github pages</a></li> +<li><a href="https://guides.github.com/features/pages/"><strong>Github pages</strong></a></li> </ul> <p>In addition to hosting code repositories, you can host small sites on github for mostly free. I've never used it, but I definitely would if I needed something like a small wiki.</p> <p>But once you have stuff to share, how do you keep this stuff online?</p> @@ -102,7 +104,8 @@ <li>Opening up your ports to the outside world.</li> </ul> <p>And in a nutshell that's it. There's fancy stuff of course, like you'll want a <a href="#dns">domain name</a> probably and I'll talk about that too, but at this point, your stuff is on the Internet! Just tell your friends to paste in your public ip address (your VPS provider will tell you this) and there's your stuff!</p> -<p><a id="dns"></a> ## What's a "Domain Name"</p> +<p><a id="dns"></a></p> +<h2 id="whats-a-domain-name">What's a "Domain Name"</h2> <p>Expecting people to save your IP address is not really a good idea though. It's better to have an easy name they can remember. Enter DNS, the Domain Name System. If an IP address is a telephone number, DNS is the telephone book. ICANN and IANA host the top level servers, which point to local domain registries who buy names like "mjfer.net" on behalf of their customers.</p> <p>The actual business of domain names is complicated and not something I understand all that well. But setting up a domain name to point to an IP address is typically easy, once you've chosen a domain registrar (just search that online and you'll find a ton) and name you like. Be aware that shorter names are rarer and usually more expensive and different TLDs (like ".net" and ".io") will be priced differently.</p> <p>Once you have a domain name, you'll need to set up a DNS record. Again, this varies a bit based on the provider, but all will have some kind of text input of API where you can edit DNS records. You'll want to make two records</p> |