Deploying LitePost CMS to Production
Once you've developed your blog locally, it's time to deploy it to production. Here's a comprehensive guide to getting your LitePost CMS blog live.
Hosting Options
1. Shared Hosting
For beginners or small blogs, shared hosting can be cost-effective:
- Easy setup
- Affordable pricing
- Limited resources
- Less control
2. VPS Hosting
For more control and better performance:
- Full server control
- Better performance
- More complex setup
- Higher cost
3. Cloud Platforms
Modern cloud platforms offer excellent performance:
- AWS, Digital Ocean, Vercel
- Scalable infrastructure
- Built-in CDN
- Easy deployment
Deployment Steps
1. Prepare Your Application
npm run build
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:cache
2. Set Up Environment
Configure your production environment variables:
- Database credentials
- Mail settings
- App URL
- Debug mode (set to false)
3. Database Setup
php artisan migrate --force
php artisan db:seed --force
SSL Certificate
Always use HTTPS in production:
- Free certificates with Let's Encrypt
- Automatic renewal
- Better SEO rankings
- Improved security
Performance Optimization
- Enable OPcache
- Use Redis for caching
- Optimize images
- Set up CDN