My first blog, and why I'm diving in
Why I started writing, and why I chose to self-host instead of using a platform.
Hey everyone, I’m Azlan, and welcome to my first blog! Consider this a bit of a test run, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to share why I’m starting this journey.
The “Why” Behind It All
Over the past few years, I’ve become fascinated with deployment, networking, and self-hosting. I’ve explored countless tools, and consistently, the thing that made everything click was… blogs! There was always a blog post, tutorial, or resource that helped me set something up or understand a complex concept.
I’m not claiming to be a writing expert, but I’ve recently spent a lot of time wrestling with technologies and tools. I want to share what I’ve learned, even if it’s just for my future self. So, here I am!
Why Self-Hosting?
I know there are plenty of popular blogging platforms like LinkedIn, dev.to, and Medium, which offer built-in audiences and even potential for earning. But, honestly, one thing I’ve always disliked while reading other blogs is running into paywalls or intrusive pop-ups.
I’m a strong believer in open-source and the idea that knowledge shouldn’t be locked behind a paywall. We should support creators, absolutely, but access shouldn’t be a hard barrier – more of a voluntary contribution.
Plus, I value control. The web is an open space, and I prefer to own my content and infrastructure. I recently came across this blog post where a developer’s blog was temporarily blocked by Medium due to a minor policy violation. That really solidified my decision.
That’s why I opted for a self-hosted solution.
Why Hugo?
Let’s be real, I’m a bit lazy! Since blogging wasn’t my passion project, but something I wanted to do, I wanted to minimize friction. I was initially planning to use Ghost, a popular open-source blogging platform you can self-host. But then I stumbled upon a YouTube video by Network Chuck explaining why he started blogging in 2024, and he was using Hugo with .md files in Obsidian.
The idea of exploring a new tool immediately appealed to me. Writing in Markdown and tracking everything with Git just felt like the most efficient and flexible workflow. So, that’s what I went with.
If you’re interested in replicating my setup, you can clone or fork this Github Repo. All the details are in the README, so you should be up and running in no time.
Credits
- The blog itself is a slightly modified version of the HugoPlate Hugo template.