I admit it, I am a beginner when it comes to VPSs. There is much for me to learn regarding VPS configuration, management, etc. Along the way, I have encountered many people who are in worse shape than me. They want a Linux VPS, but don't understand anything about Linux, Internet-facing servers, or anything else. I would like to share my knowledge and experiences as I go through the VPS learning curve, to reduce the pain and struggle for others who follow in my footsteps.
When I signed up for my first VPS, I started a blog on the WordPress website, but was not happy with it at all. Frankly, it sucked. It looked like a reverse order diary (newest entries first). It was a poor tool to help beginners get going. The long entries were difficult to read, because you had to start at the bottom, then read down, then scroll up to the next article, then read down, and so on. I tried setting up the blog with separate pages, but felt that I was going down the wrong path.
I need a way to host standalone articles, each on its own page, with links to related articles, and an easy way for readers to find what they are looking for. I have seen websites that their owners called blogs, but they have a "magazine article" look - each entry on its own web page. Every time I looked at free public blog websites (e.g., WordPress, Blogspot, etc.), they look like reverse diaries with many entries per page, which is not what I need. I may be looking in the wrong place - a blog may not be the solution to my needs.
What I think I need is a wiki, not a blog, but perhaps I must bite the bullet and develop a custom website.
Here are my basic requirements:
* Free to run on any Linux VPS, such as one of my VPSs.
* Easy to setup and configure.
* Low effort to maintain. Zero effort to keep running when I am not adding articles.
* Easy to secure - other than me, contributors/editors (if any) would be individually approved initially, until I could be confident to open it up without getting hacked, or edited with spam, etc.
* Easy for users to find the article they want.
Please keep in mind:
* This is a hobby, not an occupation.
* I don't need lots of features, I need easy, basic, simple. (Remember that what is easy for you may depend on a foundation of years of deeply ingrained knowledge and experience that I do not have. I am a beginner, not an experienced web designer. I want to invest my time in the content of the articles, not the underlying website framework.)
It does not have to be a wiki - be creative! If you can think of a better approach, don't be shy.
If a wiki is the answer, then I would be grateful for suggestions about which free wiki software to install and try.
Your advice, suggestions, and experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!