static site generator + netlify
Ask HN: Where to Blog?
11–20 of 26 posts
Re: Ask HN: Where to Blog?
#12I currently use Notablog https://github.com/dragonman225/notablog to write in Notion and publish it as a static site on Github pages.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Blog?
#13Your question is framed as a WHERE when you're really asking HOW to get readership. Which, I think, mostly depends on WHAT you're writing not WHERE...
Yeah I had to re-read OPs request a couple times. He's definitely asking where he can blog where the readership is already there (I.e. Not starting from scratch, with his own domain.)
This just isn't a thing... You build the great content and naturally over time the readership follows. It's like asking to be an influencer without putting in the effort.
Personally it won't be my readership with headlines like "I did X by doing Y", "Best programming languages of 202X", "Why X is better than Y" blah blah blah. The internet is already polluted with enough of that.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Blog?
#14Just start writing. Publish it somewhere, anywhere. GitHub Pages is probably the easiest for you, and may help if Medium leaves a bad taste in your mouth. You can host it from your own domain later with minimal changes.
Why are you dismissing Substack, by the way? There isn't a single platform on earth that will conjure up a readership from nothing, and Substack is no exception. It seems like it would be fine for your purposes, I don't see any reason to reject it either.
My advice: stop procrastinating and start writing. I used to be in the same place as you. GitHub Pages + Jekyll are your friends.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Blog?
#15dev.to and my personal blog which is Jekyll on Cloudflare Pages.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Blog?
#16Just use Hugo + Gitlab/Github for hosting, throw a custom domain on it and you are done.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Blog?
#17Zola Static Site Generator and Netlify. The content for my sites sit inside my Obsidian Vault, so I can turn any note into a blog post.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Blog?
#18I would say use the platform where you have the most control over the content, where yo know that TOS will not change over night.
What exactly is the problem with your own blog on your own domain? I didn't quite get that part.
Re: Ask HN: Where to Blog?
#19It depends on your goal, and how you define your target readers.
I assume your goal would be to post an article you wrote here and achieve some level of engagement (as you noted dev.to is blocked).
So, if you are planning to post on HN, the problem I assume you are trying to solve is finding an online url that carries some credibility in order to not turn off potential engagement.
Looking at https://hntrending.com/ and clicking “domains”, filtering to last week, I was surprised to see that 90% of the domains were well-known (GitHub, twitter, WhatsApp.com). Scrolling to less popular domains, we start to see some substack links and then I saw “interestingengineering.com”
Maybe I’m just a sucker for a good domain, but I would probably click a link to Christine.website or Christine.IO instead of christine.blogger.com.
Also, if a link isn’t to Bloomberg.com or nasa.gov, I’m going to assume the article is from someone’s personal, less journalistic-oriented position. So, an interesting domain like buildruntest.site or improving.code adds to my perception that I may hear an interesting perspective that isn’t covered in the news.
I recently switched companies, and having an interesting domain with some content on it was helpful to show employers. When I was hired at Apple, my manager noted he had glanced at my twitter feed and seemed to believe I was clued into the space I was hired for.
I assume you aren’t seeking monetization. The amount of work and advertising required to reach traffic needed for that level can be pretty massive (differing by topic, of course).
A lot has been said about writing as a way to self-reflect and also improve internal thought. So, if your goal is self-reflection or practicing the craft of writing, the “where” doesn’t matter as much.
One last thing: I was surprised at getting SOME engagement on a youtube video I posted about a server issue I figured out (HP DL360). I rarely ever post on youtube and haven’t blogged frequently in years…but I regularly get 100+ views each month. So, with all the talk about algorithms rarely helping small-fry content creators…perhaps my anecdote can encourage you that someone, somewhere may find value from what you post.
Let us know what you decide!
Re: Ask HN: Where to Blog?
#20A readership is not a requirement for a blog, on your own domain or elsewhere. If you are looking for a platform that will magically throw thousands of views your way just by nature of you existing there, I think you'll be disappointed. I get that some platforms might have more discovery mechanics than others that you can take advantage of "for free", but in the end I really believe it's your content that will get you a readership, not what platform you host it on.
Personally, I prefer self-hosting. Then again, I have zero readership myself and mostly just rant into the ether for my own benefit, which doesn't sound like your aim judging by your post, so my advice may be completely irrelevant.