Ghost 1.0, Apps, and More! | Updates & Stuff 4

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Time for more Updates & Stuff! This one covers a big website upgrade, some cool design tweaks, Telegram, and more!

A lot has changed since the last post but a lot of it isn’t visible so lets discuss it!

Website Updates

New Server

As much as I loved using NearlyFreeSpeech, there was some issues with it involving Ghost. Ghost 1.0 just came out and now requires more stuff to install which NearlyFreeSpeech doesn’t allow being a shared host.

So to upgrade to Ghost 1.0, I’ve moved over to DigitalOcean instead. This will cost a bit more ($5/month vs pay-per-usage which averaged $3/month) but will be better in the long run:

  1. A full private server meaning no matter what changes Ghost makes, it will work.
  2. I can host more stuff now if I wanted to (email, cloud storage, etc.) for my own use.
  3. Still cheaper than most VPS’ and DO is super highly praised for their support and service.

Ghost 1.0

Speaking of Ghost 1.0, this site is now running on it! I had to rebuild the entire site from scratch and manually move stuff over so if you notice any issues, please let me know. Currently one bug is the video posts don’t display the Vid.me embeds right, this is gonna be fixed soon. (Getting the theme dev to add it natively so I don’t have to redo it each theme upgrade) With the change, everything should be faster and more stable.

CloudFlare Apps

I’ve installed some CloudFlare apps to make the site a tiny bit better!

  • PACE: Adds a cool progress bar to the top of every page.
  • A Better Browser: Warns you if your browser is out of date (And may be incompatible with the site)
  • Reading Time: Shows you how long it will take to read a post
  • AutoLink: Automatically fixes links that were just text and links Twitter usernames and hashtags automatically (like @BrandonGiesing and #CosiCast)
  • Typist: Provides that cool typing animation on the homepage.

Ads

I’ve replaced the LeadsLeap ads with RevenueHits cause I wasn’t earning much and added the RevenueHits toolbar at the bottom. I know these new ads aren’t the best (fake Download buttons usually) but they do earn more and at least they aren’t slow or virus filled like some others.

Other Stuff

CosiCast

Since the last Updates & Stuff, I released 3 new videos!

  1. A preview of what a CAST Channel Promo could look like
  2. A Shorties based on Sonic Mania (coming out in a few days, PC version in a few weeks!!)
  3. A Shorties on AntiSepticEye’s newest hijacking.

Social Media

I made a Telegram to send notifications about new stuff! Think of it like these posts but in realtime instead of as a recap later on. You can join here!

Overall the site should be running way better now! If you notice any issues, let me know. See you guys next time!