If you are looking to setup your own site, it is pretty straight forward. Here’s how I did got simplifiedtrends up and running:
- The site it self is hosted on a WordPress instance on AWS, setup using Amazon Lightsail
- Lightsail makes it incredibly easy to get your own virtual server in minutes. Here is the 7 step tutorial I followed to set up simplifiedtrends
- There are other CMSs such as Weebly, Wix, Squarespace, etc you could use to host your site as well. I actually had simplifiedtrends on another CMS previously but migrated over for 3 primary reasons –
- I figured if I wanted a blog for the long term, AWS will be around in 15 years. While the others are reputable brands too, I was less sure
- AWS is cheaper for lightweight sites – I pay $3.50/month compared to $11/month on my previous provider
- WordPress gives you more flexibility in the long run. While Weebly and Wix are easier to get started with, once you start doing more with your site WP offers more customization
- My domain is setup and managed using Weebly
- You could choose among a range of DNS management solutions here – AWS Route 53, GoDaddy, your own hosting provider’s interface, another hosting provider’s interface. There really isn’t much you could go wrong with here. Mine was already setup on Weebly and I had no incentive to move
- A domain typically costs $10-15 annually and can be bought through the above vendors. If you care less about what your domain name is , dirt cheap domains can save you some $$
- Note that anytime you change your DNS management solution, you pay ~$20 in transfer fees
- I am using Akamai’s content delivery network (CDN) to speed up and secure my site
- I am using MailChimp to manage my subscribers and email campaigns
- I pass my MailChimp API key to a plugin called MC4WP to connect my account to the site. The plugin has a decent in-built tutorial
- I pass my MailChimp API key to a plugin called MC4WP to connect my account to the site. The plugin has a decent in-built tutorial
