A little box
The text you are reading right now has been sent to you by a little box that sits in my utility closet, my Raspberry Pi. It’s a little computer that I’ve fitted to be used as my personal web server. I make no use of third-party web hosting providers. All this web magic gets delivered from my closet into your eyeballs.
Raspberry Pi
It sounds pretty tasty, but I’ve never taken a bite. The Raspberry Pi is a self-contained computer with everything you need on one circuit board.
Hobby enthusiasts use them for many fun projects from retro gaming machines to security camera systems or even robotics.
Check out their website to see what’s possible with these little powerhouses.
my Raspberry Pi
Third-party vs DIY
How I started
I’ve been making websites since I was a kid. First I used website builders like Wix and SquareSpace, which came built-in to the third-party hosting provider platform.
Over time, I grew tired of the limited possibility of the third-party block-based builders, so I took on the task of learning WordPress to make my own websites. Eventually I ditched the third-party hosting as well in favor of my own way of doing things.
No Strings on Me
Now I have full control over, but also full responsibility for the secure and fast hosting of my websites. It’s fun, rewarding, and way way cheaper than the extortionate prices some lagging hosting providers offer.
I don’t have to wait for some online platform to load. I don’t have to deal with down-time or maintenance. I don’t have to wait for customer service to respond to my emails. It’s incredibly freeing to host your websites yourself. It just takes a bit of know-how.
I now only pay for the domain names. But even that price is reduced by using a sub-domain for my drawings portfolio art.robingather.com, which costs nothing extra.
Web Design Portfolio
I’m currently running four websites on my server. They’re all powered by WordPress and available for your perusal.
You are here! This is my main personal website, with my full portfolio. I’m most proud of this website; it requires the most work out of all of them.
This sites functions as my public drawing portfolio. I like to draw portraits and people. This website is kept simple to emphasize the drawings.
I made this site for the writer Adam Rendo, and it contains some of his short stories, as well as providing info about the author.
A splash page for my app Celestial Sounds. This is the simplest website I have. Its purpose is just to highlight the app and provide a download link.
Why I like to make websites
Making websites (let alone hosting them) requires a combination of different disciplines: coding, content writing, design.
For me, web design is the perfect intersection between problem-solving and creativity. The work requires both right- and left brain skills, keeping it novel and fun.
Depending on the time of day, I might be more inclined to work on the problem-solving side in the back-end of the server, or improve the look of the front-end. There’s always something you want to do.
Want to know more?
If you have questions on hosting your own website or you want to work with me in hosting or designing your own website, don’t hesitate to contact me. Or subscribe to the newsletter if this article interested you.
