DigitalOcean
Cloud hosting for VPS, managed databases, and app platforms. Simple pricing, good docs, and Droplets that scale. I use it for side projects and self-hosted services.
DigitalOcean provides cloud infrastructure including virtual servers (Droplets), managed databases, Kubernetes, and an app platform. The pricing is straightforward and the documentation is consistently well-written.
I use DigitalOcean for side projects and self-hosted services where I want a VPS with predictable costs. Droplets are easy to spin up and scale, and managed databases remove the operational overhead of running Postgres or MySQL yourself.
The app platform offers Heroku-style deployments for when you don't want to manage infrastructure directly. Combined with their marketplace of one-click apps, it's a practical choice for getting services running quickly without over-engineering the infrastructure.
Other Hosting tools
Vercel
Frontend and serverless hosting optimised for Next.js. Zero-config deploys, edge functions, and preview URLs per branch. My go-to for static sites and JAMstack apps.
Dokku
Self-hosted Heroku-style PaaS. Git push to deploy, buildpacks, and one-command app management. Runs on any VPS - great for small teams who want control without Kubernetes.