How to Set Up a Ghost Blog on AWS, GCP, and DigitalOcean with SSL

Setting up a Ghost blog on a reliable hosting provider is crucial for a seamless and secure blogging experience. In this article, we will guide you step-by-step on how to set up a Ghost blog on three popular cloud platforms: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and DigitalOcean. Additionally, we will ensure that your blog is protected with SSL encryption, enhancing both security and trust for your visitors.

Let’s get started!

Setting Up a Ghost Blog on AWS

1. Create an AWS account: If you don’t have an AWS account yet, visit the AWS website and create one.
2. Launch an EC2 instance: Access the AWS Management Console, navigate to EC2, and launch a new instance. Choose an Amazon Linux 2 AMI.
3. Configure security groups: During the instance setup, configure the security groups to allow inbound traffic on ports 22 (SSH), 80 (HTTP), and 443 (HTTPS).
4. Connect to the instance: Once the instance is running, connect to it using SSH.
5. Install Ghost: Follow the official Ghost installation guide to install Ghost on your EC2 instance.
6. Obtain an SSL certificate: Utilize AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) to generate a free SSL certificate for your domain or subdomain.
7. Configure SSL: Configure your EC2 instance to use the obtained SSL certificate and enable HTTPS.
8. Configure DNS: Update your DNS settings to point your domain or subdomain to the IP address of your EC2 instance.

Congratulations! Your Ghost blog is now live on AWS with SSL encryption.

Setting Up a Ghost Blog on GCP

1. Create a GCP account: If you don’t have a GCP account, sign up for one on the Google Cloud Platform website.
2. Create a VM instance: Access the GCP Console and create a new VM instance. Choose a Debian-based operating system.
3. Configure firewall rules: Set up firewall rules to allow inbound traffic on ports 22 (SSH), 80 (HTTP), and 443 (HTTPS).
4. Connect to the instance: Connect to your VM instance using SSH.
5. Install Ghost: Follow the official Ghost installation guide to install Ghost on your GCP VM instance.
6. Obtain an SSL certificate: Utilize Let’s Encrypt or any other SSL certificate provider to obtain an SSL certificate for your domain or subdomain.
7. Configure SSL: Configure Nginx or Apache to use the obtained SSL certificate and enable HTTPS.
8. Configure DNS: Update your DNS settings to point your domain or subdomain to the external IP address of your GCP VM instance.

Congratulations! Your Ghost blog is now live on GCP with SSL encryption.

Setting Up a Ghost Blog on DigitalOcean

1. Create a DigitalOcean account: Sign up for a DigitalOcean account if you don’t have one already.
2. Create a Droplet: Access the DigitalOcean Dashboard and create a new Droplet. Choose a Linux distribution of your preference.
3. Configure firewall: Set up a firewall to allow inbound traffic on ports 22 (SSH), 80 (HTTP), and 443 (HTTPS).
4. Connect to the Droplet: Connect to your Droplet using SSH.
5. Install Ghost: Follow the official Ghost installation guide to install Ghost on your DigitalOcean Droplet.
6. Obtain an SSL certificate: Use Certbot or any other SSL certificate provider to obtain an SSL certificate for your domain or subdomain.
7. Configure SSL: Configure Nginx or Apache to use the obtained SSL certificate and enable HTTPS.
8. Configure DNS: Update your DNS settings to point your domain or subdomain to the IP address of your DigitalOcean Droplet.

Conclusion: In this article, we covered the step-by-step process of setting up a Ghost blog on three popular cloud platforms: AWS, GCP, and DigitalOcean. Additionally, we ensured that your blog is protected with SSL encryption, enhancing security and trust for your readers. Choose the platform that best suits your requirements and enjoy a seamless and secure blogging experience with Ghost!