
Ask HN: Why is it so difficult to install a web app or service on a server? - open-source-ux
There is only one language that makes it (relatively) simple: PHP.<p>Imagine you create a server-side web app. You want your users or customers to install the app themselves. You want to give them the widest choice of installation options possible including shared hosting, VPS or on installation on their own server.<p>The shared hosting option is probably the easiest for most users. In the case of PHP, it can be as simple as uploading files to the folder on the server. And that&#x27;s it. (Even that might be too complicated for some users.)<p>But why is it so much more complicated with other languages? Even web-friendly languages like Python and Ruby rarely let you simply upload files to a folder and be done with it.<p>The topic of decentralisation sometimes pops up on Hacker news. You could argue that shared hosting is a form or decentralisation. It may not be the &#x27;pure&#x27; solution for decentralisation, but it is a practical and realistic option for people to self-install software.<p>Wordpress is an example of a profitable open source app that can easily be installed on countless shared hosting platforms. It&#x27;s easy to switch hosting providers when you want to (and to take your data with you). Is it the ultimate example of a decentralised app?<p>Having a ridiculously easy web app installation process for servers would unlock countless opportunities for developers to reach more users or customers.<p>If you&#x27;re a server-side web developer, is this something you think about? Is it a source of frustration in the language you work with? What can be done to make server-side installation easy?<p>I find it kind of crazy that in 2017, server app installation remains needlessly complicated for so many languages.
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the_common_man
Have you tried cloudron.io? It solves exactly what you are talking about

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prismoida
Try Sandstorm, Sandstorm make it easy to install web apps or services.

