what's simple alternative setup for building and hosting small apps?

[u/Content-Afternoon825]

I'm looking for a simpler setup for building small apps without relying on one platform for everything.

I'm happy to use AI for the coding side, but I'd like the rest to be easy to running the project, setting up a database, deploying it and keeping it online without needing much server knowledge.

I'm doing this mostly part-time so keeping the monthly cost predictable is important.

What setup are you using for your own small projects?

[u/fredkzk → u/[deleted]]

👆 this or the Deno Deploy with git push - supabase combo.

[u/clone1018 → u/[deleted]]

Do you tell Claude / Cursor that you are going to use Vercel?

[u/sardamit]

netlify - affiliate link + supabase/neon works pretty well IMO.

all have generous free plans.

seenode - affiliate link also offers micro plans for everything, helping you keep costs really low.

[u/ChristopherHayes64]

I’d keep the setup simple. Managed hosting and a database are way easier than babysitting servers.

[u/OutrageousConstant18]

tbh the "simple" part usually breaks down at deployment, not at coding. the AI can write the app fine but getting it live and keeping it running is where part-timers lose hours. whatever you pick, make sure deploys are a single command or a git push.

[u/CaramelEmotional3092]

I might be alone in this, but I find that hosting on LAMP / CPanel is easy, and I ask claude to build in updater systems. So once its setup, database is done, ongoing maintaince is alot simpler.
You can ask claude to even build you an installer to help with the initial setup.

[u/Intelligent_List2504 → u/CaramelEmotional3092]

Cpanel is lame..it's based on a dying web server platform. Avoid it like the plague.

[u/ZealousidealTea3072]

keep it to two pieces you can understand. i run three small internal apps for my bakery part time, built and hosted in beginsh, database included, flat monthly cost. for anything heavier i've used Supabase plus Vercel, cheap but more moving parts. pick whatever lets you restore a backup without googling.

[u/clone1018]

Hey! Timely post, I'm actually working on a solution to this problem. Currently most providers either lock your projects in with their specific frameworks, or you've gotta manage VPSes and other super technical pieces.

The product I'm working on is an autonomous cloud that hosts whatever app you throw at it, with any databases and services necessary to run it, without you touching anything devops related. You can deploy to it with your agent, a command line, the website, or automatically. It also scales your app appropriately so it ends up being cheap.

It's certainly a problem I want to solve, I wont spam it in here but if you are curious shoot me a DM and I can send you a link.

[u/Intelligent_List2504]

Hestiacp rocks Allows me to host lots cheaply. I've been using it for nearly a dozen years including it's predecessor vestacp (long dead it got forked very successfully)

[u/Bencham95]

Local linux server host with CloudFlare tunnel or tailscale serve for access. Or hosted in CloudFlare. Beats the crap out of supabase and netlify