I'm a complete newbie and I've never launched anything in production before. I need to create a digital menu for a restaurant that includes an admin panel for easy updates. The restaurant isn't willing to pay for hosting, so I need some advice. My idea is to host the frontend on GitHub Pages since I believe it will be stable for a long time. I'm trying to figure out a reliable way to host the backend for free, without changing the menu URL since QR codes will be printed. I've considered options like Render, Cloudflare Workers, and Google Sheets for backend hosting, but I'm not sure if they're effective. Any guidance from those with more experience would be greatly appreciated!
6 Answers
I've actually worked on something similar! I built a service with a permanent link, customizable QR codes, admin features, analytics, and all that jazz. You can check out my project at ala.menu, and I’d be happy to help you if you have questions! Here are a couple of examples: ala.menu/cookielicious and ala.menu/sandwichbarleb.
You might want to check out Supabase, Mongo Atlas, or Firebase's free tier. They all provide decent setup options to get you going without upfront costs.
Hey there! I've got experience with implementing Google Sheets for backend solutions that fit your needs. I can help you get it set up if you're interested!
Keep in mind that while "free" hosting is attractive, the hidden costs can sneak up on you. Consider maintenance, potential downtimes, and how well you can scale the solution. If the digital menu is vital for the restaurant's operations, a low-cost hosting plan could save you from critical issues down the line.
Is this restaurant really operating with actual customers and staff? I can’t understand why they can't spare a little for hosting, even if it’s just about 5 bucks a month. But if you want to go for a free option, I usually recommend serverless solutions like Supabase or Convex. Their free tiers are pretty generous and should work well for something small like yours!
I get that, but they are super small and are hesitant to spend much. I'm hoping to turn this into something bigger and make it affordable for more people if it takes off. Thanks for the Supabase suggestion! Can I deploy an entire Express.js backend there? I'm not too familiar with Supabase yet.
It may sound unusual, but I host my solutions on a home server with a static IP behind Cloudflare to dodge bot traffic. It’s been running smoothly for over three years! If your project is relatively small, it’s worth considering, though initial investments on the hardware and support do add up—I've spent less than 400€ total.
Thanks for the tips! I'm just a bit worried about their reliability, though.