Choosing a Web Development Path
I have recently finished this HTML course, which recommends using cPanel to configure websites. So I bought a domain and registered with cPanel.
What I thought would happen in trying to create a website:
Buy a domain and use cPanel and Python in perfect sync to create a website.
Reality:
cPanel is configured mostly for PHP. You can run Python scripts with it, but it doesn't seem to be the most effective route from what I've read.
So I went back to the drawing board and I've simplified this down to two basic paths:
| Tools | Hosting | Framework / IDE |
|---|---|---|
|
PythonAnywhere or Cloudflare Pages | FastAPI, Flask, Django or web2py |
|
cPanel or Cloudflare Pages | React, Angular, Express.js |
I'm going with Path 1 because the only language I know is Python. I hope to learn other languages like Javascript and CSS but would like to get building as fast as possible. I found a free web hosting service called PythonAnywhere. There are other free and paid Python-friendly hosts.
I also added in Cloudflare Pages retroactively to this post, since I discovered it many years after writing this post.
A note on PythonAnywhere: 5 stars for the tutorial pictured below. It is very nice to see in the whirlwind of confusion of learning to deal with code and a new environment.
Love this opening quote from web2py Documentation:
"I believe that the ability to easily build high quality web applications is of critical importance for the growth of a free and open society. This prevents the biggest players from monopolizing the flow of information."
Instead of the previously mentioned web frameworks, I've chosen web2py as a starter because of its compatibility with PythonAnywhere, its simplicity, easy to read documentation and relative ease of use for beginners. A note on web2py so far: the videos from the creator, Massimo Di Pierro, are super useful!
Update: consider using py4web, web2py's successor