Series: Building a Tech Blog with WordPress
- Starting Out: Why I Chose WordPress
- Hosting Choice: SaaS vs. EC2 vs. Lightsail (Current)
- Setting Up AWS Lightsail & Static IP (Next)
Intro: “Why is there so much to learn just to start a blog?”
“Can’t I just install WordPress and be done with it?”
Ten minutes after deciding to build my own blog, reality hit me hard. Hosting, Domains, Regions, Instances… I was bombarded with unfamiliar terminology. But as a developer, if I’m going to do this, I might as well do it right.
0. The Basics: If a Blog were a House…
Before comparing options, let’s clarify the terms using a Real Estate analogy. To run a website, you need three things:
- Server = Land/House: The physical space (computer) where your files, photos, and code live.
- Hosting = Rental Service: Running a server 24/7 at home is hard. “Hosting” is paying a company to rent their professional server space.
- Domain = Address: Servers have complex numeric coordinates (IP addresses like 13.124.55.12). A domain (e.g., https://www.google.com/search?q=ys-note.com) is the street address that makes it easy for people to find you.
We are currently deciding “What kind of land (hosting) should I rent to build my house?”
1. Concepts: Where Should My Blog Live?
Hosting types depend on “how much is managed for you.”
💡 Concept Note: The Terminology
- SaaS (Software as a Service): [Hotel] Fully furnished, room service included. Just check-in. (e.g., WordPress.com, Medium)
- IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): [Empty Lot] Just the dirt. You dig the foundation and build the house yourself. (e.g., AWS EC2)
- PaaS (Platform as a Service): [Apartment] Utilities are hooked up, but you furnish it. (e.g., Managed Hosting)
Option 1: Managed Hosting
- Verdict: Too boring for a developer. I want full control. (Drop)
2. AWS: EC2 vs. Lightsail
I decided on AWS. But then: EC2 or Lightsail?
🥊 Round 1: EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)
- Problem: Complexity (VPC, Subnets) and “Pay-as-you-go” pricing fear.
🥊 Round 2: Lightsail
- Features: AWS’s VPS offering. A Fixed Price Bundle.
- Analogy: If EC2 is a custom-built PC, Lightsail is a MacBook with fixed specs.
🏆 Verdict: Lightsail
Perfect balance of control and simplicity.
3. The Pricing Trap: Why I Skipped the Cheapest Option
“Okay, Lightsail starts at $3.5! Let’s go with that.” But I ended up choosing the $7 plan. Here is the engineering decision behind it.
🔍 Decision 1: Manual Install is NOT the Problem
To use the cheapest $3.5 plan, you must choose “OS Only” (e.g., Ubuntu) and install WordPress manually.
- Beginner: “Manual installation is too hard.”
- Me: “Running apt-get install and configuring Nginx/MySQL is trivial.”
I could easily handle the manual setup. That wasn’t the issue.
🛠️ Decision 2: The IPv6 Connectivity Issue
The real dealbreaker with the $3.5 plan is that it’s IPv6 Only. It does not provide a public IPv4 address.
- The Reality: Not all networks support IPv6 yet. If a user is on a legacy network or an older corporate VPN, they might not be able to access an IPv6-only site.
- My Priority: Accessibility. I want everyone to be able to visit my blog.
Therefore, I needed a Dual-stack (IPv4 + IPv6) plan. This forced me out of the $3.5 tier.
🤔 Final Choice: $5 vs $7
Moving to Dual-stack left me with two options:
- $5 Plan: Dual-stack, 512MB RAM
- $7 Plan: Dual-stack, 1GB RAM
I chose the $7 Plan. Why? Because it’s Free for 3 months.
512MB is risky for WordPress (OOM errors). Since AWS offers a 90-day free trial, there was no reason to suffer with 512MB. I grabbed the 1GB plan to ensure stability.
Conclusion
- Hosting: AWS Lightsail
- Network: Dual-stack (IPv4 + IPv6)
- Specs: 1GB RAM ($7/mo) – Free for 3 months!
Next time, I’ll create the instance and tackle the Static IP setup.