I first tried Github which successfully had hosted my site except I was not able to use my dashboard. Then I found a tutorial online to host using AWS Lightsail, the only issue I had with the site was being able easily update my site and I had to start all over again. I tried to import all my data I had from my dashboard and site hosted at http://localhost:2368/ and http://localhost:2368/ghost. Now I am thinking of trying Digital Ocean or another platform within AWS without relying on installing bitnami. The issue I have is I am not sure how can I use either platform without having to start all over again. I just want to attach my current custom domain name to my site that I have hosted on http://localhost:2368/ and be able to use my dashboard. I plan to use my site as a newsletter and I have tried to find a tutorial to help with my situation but I could not find one. I would like to get some advice or help on a simpler way of just hooking what I have on http://localhost:2368/ to my custom domain and easy to update Ghost when an update comes. I also would like to have the newsletter option enabled.
You’ll want to start from a new install, but you can then import your content from your local site. See our guide on this: How to migrate data from Ghost to Ghost
You can also consider Ghost(Pro), which is a totally managed solution.
Thank you for the information, I basically have a local install of Ghost and would like to have that live either by using AWS or Digital Ocean without having to reinstall the Ghost cli and Ghost dashboard then import all my information on to the platform. I just want to host whatever I already have on localhost:2368 and link it to my custom domain name with either platform.
You can “just upload what you have to Digital Ocean” (I like Linode!), but you are own your own for the exact details. It work something like this:
Get all the dependencies installed on your new host, like Nginx, Node and MySQL.
Export your local MySQL database, upload it and import it on the host.
Tar up all your website files, upload, unpack in the right directory.
Adjust configuration on the host to match you production URL.
Export/Upload/Import/Configure files outside of your website’s folder, like Nginx and systemd.
If you are experienced with tasks like this, it could be faster than starting over, but if you are looking for a precise checklist of instructions to follow, starting over may be best.
Thank you, I already managed to connect my site to Digital Ocean as instructed and just import everything that I had from the localhost link successfully.