Static page(s)
recommended- fits
- Landing page, portfolio, docs — content changes rarely
- cost
- $0 + domain
- complexity
- Minimal
- upgrade when
- You need per-user content or a form that does more than send email
$ ship a website solo
AI made writing the code the easy part. What nobody hands you is the infrastructure map: what shapes a website can take, which shape fits a one-person project, and which monthly bill each shape drags behind it. Below is the full architecture landscape from a single static page to microservices — most of it exists so you know what NOT to build yet.
RECOMMENDED PATH
One person, first real site? Start static or edge-fullstack (both marked). Everything to the right of them on the map is for the day you have users, revenue, or a team — upgrade when the signal fires, not before.
The architecture map
Every shape this can take. Most exist so you know what not to build yet.
Static site generation (SSG)
- fits
- Blog, docs, this site — many pages built from data at deploy time
- cost
- $0 + domain
- complexity
- Low
- upgrade when
- Content must update without redeploying, or per-request logic appears
Edge full-stack (this site's shape)
recommended- fits
- Solo projects needing APIs, i18n, dynamic bits — without owning servers
- cost
- $0–5/mo
- complexity
- Low–mid
- upgrade when
- Long-running jobs, websockets at scale, or heavy relational data
Static front + serverless functions
- fits
- Mostly-static site with a few API endpoints (forms, payments, auth)
- cost
- $0–10/mo
- complexity
- Low–mid
- upgrade when
- Functions multiply and start sharing state — you're building a backend in fragments
Frontend + BaaS (hosted backend)
- fits
- App-like products needing auth, database, realtime — fast
- cost
- $0–25/mo
- complexity
- Low–mid
- upgrade when
- Pricing curve bends steeply with users, or you need logic the platform won't allow
VPS monolith (one server, everything on it)
- fits
- Full control, weird runtimes, or long-running processes on a budget
- cost
- $5–20/mo
- complexity
- Mid — you are now the ops team
- upgrade when
- The server dying at 3am is your problem; when that stops being acceptable, move
Containerized monolith (Docker)
- fits
- Same app must run identically on laptop, VPS and cloud
- cost
- $5–30/mo
- complexity
- Mid
- upgrade when
- One container can't hold the load, or deploys need zero downtime
Classic three-tier (web / app / DB)
- fits
- Team-built business apps; the textbook enterprise shape
- cost
- $20–100/mo
- complexity
- Mid–high
- upgrade when
- Read traffic crushes the database first — caching is the usual next move
Cache layer + read/write splitting
- fits
- Read-heavy traffic outgrows one database
- cost
- $50–300/mo
- complexity
- High
- upgrade when
- Writes themselves become the bottleneck — sharding territory ahead
Sharded databases (分库分表)
- fits
- Write volume or data size exceeds any single database
- cost
- $300+/mo
- complexity
- Very high
- upgrade when
- Cross-shard queries and team coordination pain → service boundaries beckon
Microservices
- fits
- Many teams shipping independently on one product
- cost
- $1000+/mo + a platform team
- complexity
- Extreme
- upgrade when
- This is the last stop. If you're solo and reading this — close the tab, go build
Concepts you'll actually need
One plain sentence and one metaphor each. Click any tool module for the same treatment.
Domain & DNS
The domain is your address; DNS is the phonebook that maps it to whichever server actually answers.
A shop sign that can point to a new kitchen overnight without customers noticing.
Hosting models
Static hosting serves files; serverless runs your code per-request; a VPS is a whole computer you rent.
Vending machine, food stall staffed on demand, or renting the whole restaurant.
SSG vs SSR
SSG bakes pages once at deploy; SSR cooks each page fresh per request. Baked is cheaper and faster if content allows.
A bakery's morning batch versus a made-to-order kitchen.
Edge computing
Your code runs in hundreds of locations near users instead of one region — low latency, no server to manage.
Convenience stores on every corner instead of one warehouse across the country.
CI/CD
Every push triggers automatic checks and deployment — humans stop being the release process.
A factory line where the conveyor belt inspects and ships each item untouched by hand.
Environment variables & secrets
Config and keys live outside the code, injected at runtime — never committed to the repo.
The safe combination is in your head, not written on the safe door.
Caching
Store the answer to an expensive question and reuse it until it goes stale.
The barista writes the regular's order on a sticky note instead of asking every morning.
i18n routing
Each language gets its own URLs (/zh, /ja) so search engines index every version separately.
One museum, three fully-signposted routes — not one route with a translation earpiece.
Pick your budget tier
Three loadouts, one switch. Click any module for a plain-words intro with a metaphor.
The setup this very site used for Phase 0-1. A few dollars of API gets the whole thing scaffolded, designed and deployed in an evening.
Take the skill.md with you
The Skill-Centric starter file for this scenario — hand it to your agent before the first prompt. It carries the plan, the stack and the known pitfalls.