How I Built hitsukaya.com

From scratch, no WordPress, no templates. hitsukaya.com is a personal project built with Laravel, hosted on my own server, designed for full control and continuous learning. In this article, I’ll show you how I created it, what technologies I used, and what I learned along the way.

Why I Chose to Build It from Scratch

I didn’t want just a website — I wanted a digital space that truly represents me. I wanted control over every detail, to learn new things, and not depend on external platforms.

My Favorite Tech Stack

The site is built with:

• Laravel – the core application framework

• Jetstream + Fortify – for authentication

• FilamentPHP – for the admin panel

• TailwindCSS + Alpine.js – for a minimalist, interactive UI

• Livewire – for dynamic components

Everything is coded by me. I avoid CMSs to better understand how everything works behind the scenes.

Hosting on My Own Server

The site runs on a local server configured with:

• Proxmox VE – virtualization

• AlmaLinux – operating system

• Nginx, PHP-FPM, MariaDB – a classic but solid setup

I learned to manage everything myself: DNS, SSL, backups, uptime. It’s more complex than shared hosting, but it gives me immense freedom.

It all started on a rackable server with 24 GB RAM, 2 XEON E5 processors, and two 2.5-inch HDDs.

Challenges and How I Solved Them

Building a personal digital space on my rackable server using Proxmox and AlmaLinux was an interesting challenge. My goal was to be able to develop and work from almost anywhere, with secure and fast access to my environment.

• Setting up remote development: I created a virtualized infrastructure with Proxmox that lets me run multiple virtual machines and manage resources efficiently. This gives me maximum flexibility whether I’m home or traveling.

• Choosing AlmaLinux as the OS: Picking a stable and secure system was crucial, and AlmaLinux provided an environment compatible with all the tools I needed.

This setup gave me huge freedom and turned me into not just a developer, but also an admin of my own digital ecosystem.

Cool Features

• Dark mode toggle – built with Alpine.js

• Custom blog – managed with Filament

• reCAPTCHA – integrated without external packages

• Email forwarding and SMTP – configured via cPanel + Cloudflare DNS

Everything is modular and ready for the future.

What I Learned

• Jetstream is great but flexible – you can adapt it.

• Custom middleware beats heavy packages sometimes.

• Filament is awesome but requires good organization.

• Running your own server means you’re dev, admin, and DevOps all in one.

What’s Next

• I will build a members-only area with a personalized user dashboard

• I plan to integrate a newsletter to keep the community updated

• In the future, I might even integrate an AI assistant — possibly an AI model developed by me

I wanted to build something that represents me. I learned a ton and managed to create my own corner of the internet — completely under my control. If you’re passionate about digital autonomy, I highly recommend trying something similar. And if you have questions, feel free to reach out!