This will be my first post. I have been happily playing/coding with django and have server/app that I really like. Locally it works perfect.
I have been trying to get a good place to host it. Since I have litte experience in this it was tough to find something. I ended up with Azure and got it all working and was super proud…
However there is always a but. It turns out that azure webapps do not save database changes (even db.sqlite3). Whenever a server gets idle or restarted I ‘lose’ my users.
I tried blobservice/fileshare…nothing works. I could get a azure sql server but then it will not be free and way too expensive…
I tried to use Linode but I could not use the python/pip version I wanted…
Now I am looking for the best place to host my wepapp (preferrably in Europe) where I can publish / add / change / remove / delete with relative ease.
What kind of Linode service did you try? (One of my servers is a Linode server, I’ve never had a problem with installing any desired version of Python.)
I know that many people around here are using Heroku - I’ve never tried that. I’ve always deployed to a bare server where I’ve had full control over the entire environment.
If I were looking for a service to use, I’d want to make sure I could ssh to the system and had the ability to become root. Under those situations, everything else can be worked around.
Thanks Ken,
I used the django option so the server was set-up right away but having full control over the entire environment may be a better way to go I guess
Have you considered using a PaaS? If you’re not a big devops person, they can help you get spun up quickly, save a lot of configuration headaches, and generally provide a smoother/faster experience over setting everything up yourself. Render, fly.io and Heroku are all good options, though Heroku can get pricey for hobby apps.
I had thought about VPS but I really don’t want to manage server side stuff if I don’t have to.
I was actually really happy with the Azure webapp until I found out that database data was not persistent.
I tried 2 others beside Linode but none had exactly what I needed. (linode dit not offer e-mail by default in their django server). And Heroku also did not make the dbqlite3 persistant (which was my main issue).
After reading a lot about database I tried playing around creating one on Azure. First I kept seeing prices of $500 a month (really!) but then I saw a checkmark where I could choose a lesser option. One checkmark later I was on a $5 a month sql database.
And I got it connected to my app. Not completely sure how but I made notes, will throw it all away and try again
This is by far the best option since I was using storage & vaults already too from Azure.
It is just complex to find the right (affordable) solution. Especially when you are new at it.
Big learning curve but fulfilling when you succeed
