How to setup a website

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Hello fellow Torians. I got 2 question that i hope people can help me get answered.
NR 1. After i create my Tor Site and get a onion URL up and running, how do i program it to be the sites you see on tor. My question is how do i customize it with users and codes or with banners, pictures , and so on ? Do i program it and if so which language is the easiest and safest to build on Python or ? i can´t find tutorials or anything anywhere , only how to setup an URL on Tor that´s it.
My second question is . Do i need a PC running 24 hours a day to keep a tor pc up and use it like a server, i mean is there another way keep the site up or?
I hope that there´s is someone that can help me with this please.

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  1. You got to search for something like “how to create a website”, and let me tell you it’s a whole industry. Onion sites work on regular web technology, Tor is just about how the connection is routed.
    I’d start with plain HTML + CSS, then JavaScript (search for “HTML crash course”).
  2. Yes, the host machine has to run 24/7 in order for the website to be accessible 24/7. There is hardware that is more suitable to be used as a server. The lightest thing I can recommend are microcomputers, like Raspberry Pi.
    You can also consider a VPS (Virtual Private Server), which are machines that you rent and can remotely access, but keep in mind that VPS providers have full access to your machine as well.
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Thank you so much for your answer. I think that Raspberry Pi is the answer.
1 .Does it matter which code language you use on the Raspberry Pi? Can you use any Code Language on their operating system , the Raspberry If i want to code in HTML or Python or c++? do they all work if you want to create an tor site?
2. When you say Tor is just about how the connection is routed. Can i make a mistake in my code that makes it easy to identify me or others in a way or don’t i have to worry about a thing? My question is : Do i just make a normal Website code as if it was for open source and then post into command SSH?
3. Do you anything about Onionshare ? They got a new feature that allows you to host a site so you only need to post in your HTML code and then you are up and running ? But is it the same like with VPS , the fact that they will know and have control over your site or?

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Python and C++ are client side language, it means that is a script is executed, it’s your browser (Tor broswer is that case) who will execute it, not the serveur (your Raspberry), HTML is a balise language and of course supported by any web server. So yes with a Raspberry you will certainly use Apache or Nginx as web server, but it doesn’t matter for Python or C++.

For your second question I’m not a web developper but it should be not related, Tor network will hide your Raspberry so at this time… But maybe wait a confirmation from another member :wink:

And for your last question, I never used / installed Onionshare but as it’s self-hosted there is no reason that anyone except you will have control your site over Onionshare so no it’s not like a VPS, a VPS is a server that you will take to a provider, Onionshare is a “programm” that you will install, it can be on any device, like your Raspberry

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  1. Yes, you can develop in any language on Raspberry Pi. By default it comes with Raspberry Pi OS, which is based on Debian, which is Linux, which is the most widely used server OS (kernel).

  2. Well, yes, especially if your website is an interactive one (and not just a static page with some links and images). For example, you could accidentally code your server to expose the time zone or the real IP of the server to the users of your website. Or there can be a generic security vulnerability, like remote code execution.
    But for static websites there’s less stuff that you can mess up.

    I’m not sure where the question comes from. But yeah, you just write the website and upload it to the server, with SSH (SCP).

  3. AFAIK Onionshare is a purely client-side app. It’s a somewhat thin GUI wrapper around Tor. So the Onion site is actually hosted on your machine, it’s not like a VPS. See How OnionShare Works — OnionShare 2.6 documentation.

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