A developer’s journey in building a personal brand and reclaiming full ownership of data.
0. Intro
It’s been a while since I decided to start a tech blog, but I spent more time agonizing over “Where should I write?” than actually writing.
This post is for developers like me—or creators who want to build their own brand—who are stuck in the same dilemma. I want to share my decision-making process on why I chose the expensive and high-maintenance WordPress over convenient platforms like Notion or community-driven ones like Dev.to.
TL;DR
- Data Sovereignty: I didn’t want my content to be held hostage by platform policy changes.
- Developer’s Playground: It’s a great chance to get hands-on experience with servers (AWS) and databases.
- Cost-Effective: You can own a private server for as little as $5/month (or even free for the first 3 months!).
1. The Battle of Platforms (Alternatives)
I narrowed my list down to four major candidates. Here is how I analyzed the pros and cons to find the best tool for me.
Comparison
| Platform | Pros | Cons | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notion | Easy to write, clean UI, great for portfolios | Poor SEO, custom domains are paid/complex, hard to monetize | Good for wikis/docs |
| Dev.to | Built-in audience, developer-friendly community | No monetization (AdSense), limited customization | Good for exposure |
| GitHub Pages | Free hosting, Git-based management | Limited dynamic features, initial setup (Jekyll/Hexo) can be hassle | High maintenance fatigue |
| WordPress | Full control, infinite scalability | Hosting costs involved, self-managed security/updates | Final Choice 🏆 |
Why I Dropped the Others
Notion was a strong contender because of its beautiful writing experience, but the lack of SEO optimization and difficulty in setting up a proper monetization pipeline (like Google AdSense) were dealbreakers.
Dev.to is fantastic for reaching other developers, but I wanted a space that I could truly call “my own,” rather than renting space on a community platform.
2. 4 Reasons Why I Chose WordPress (Reasoning)
In the end, I chose the slightly more cumbersome path of Self-Hosted WordPress. I approached this not just as a ‘writing tool’ but as a ‘Project’.
① Full Control
WordPress is software installed on my server. This means I own 100% of the data. I don’t have to worry about “Service Termination” notices, and I can add or remove any features as I please.
② A Familiar Environment for Developers
For developers, a blog is more than just a diary. Hosting WordPress on a cloud service like AWS turns it into an excellent Sandbox Environment.
- SSH Access: I can open the terminal and run Linux commands.
- Customizing: I can directly modify PHP codes in themes or plugins to tune features.
- Git: I can manage version control for theme changes.
SSH access available via the AWS Management Console
③ Powerful Monetization Tools
WordPress is incredibly strong in SEO and allows pixel-perfect control over ad placement. Through plugins, I can experiment with various revenue models, including Google AdSense and affiliate marketing.
④ Cloud Experience (AWS)
This might be the biggest reason. I needed an opportunity to play with AWS outside of work. Building this blog naturally forced me to learn about EC2 (Lightsail), Route53, and CloudFront. It’s not just “I ran a blog,” but “I operated a web server handling traffic on AWS.”
3. Cost Analysis: Is It Really Expensive?
The biggest hesitation was, of course, the cost. “Do I really need to pay to blog?” However, after some calculation, I realized it’s a reasonable investment—and you don’t even have to pay much upfront.
AWS Lightsail Pricing (First 90 days free)
Domain cost at Gabia
| Item | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| AWS Lightsail | Approx. $5.00 / month | Free for the first 90 days! |
| Domain | Approx. $2~10 / year | Varies by registrar |
| Total | Almost Free for 3 monthsThen ~$5/month after | Cheaper than a coffee ☕️ |
For the first 90 days, I can have my own independent server and domain for almost nothing. Isn’t that worth the investment for the development experience and personal branding?
4. Retrospective
It took a long time to decide, but now that I’ve started, I’m more excited than worried. It feels like designing and building my own house rather than just renting a room.
Of course, there are many hurdles ahead: server setup, domain connection, SSL certification, etc. (I expect a lot of trial and error 😅). I plan to document this entire journey on this blog.
I hope this series helps other developers who dream of “owning their own home” on the web.
📚 Next Post
Now, it’s time to build the house. I will cover how to create a server using AWS Lightsail, the king of cost-effective hosting.
👉 #2 – The Ultimate Cost-Performance Hosting: Creating a Server with AWS Lightsail