Welcome - Code with Susan

Hello! My name is Susan and I make clear, to-the-point web development videos and guides.

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Videos & Guides

Web Server - Setting up a local web server to run our experiments.

Run PsychoPy online experiments on your own server - Run PsychoPy experiments and collect data on your own web server. Alternative to the paid Pavlovia service.

Web Developers - How good are your backups? - A PSA for anyone who manages web servers or sites: not only should you have backups in place, you should make sure you understand how to use those backups if needed.

Run Laravel via a subdirectory on an Apache server - Apache site configs for running a Laravel application via a subdirectory, e.g. http://yourdomain.com/admin.

Run Laravel via a subdirectory on a Nginx server - Nginx site configs for running a Laravel application via a subdirectory, e.g. http://yourdomain.com/admin

Multiple Laravel apps on a single Nginx server - Deploy unique Laravel applications on a single Nginx server, accessed from separate domains.

Multiple Laravel apps on a single Apache server - Deploy unique Laravel applications on a single Apache server, accessed from separate domains.

New Laravel app on Laragon - How to set up and run Laravel applications with Laragon, an all-in-one server management program for Windows.

8 development server options for Laravel - Summary of development server options for Laravel including: PHP's built-in server, Valet, Herd, Homestead, Docker, Sail, Laragon, XAMPP, MAMP, and WAMP.

SSH Remote development with VSCode - Using VSCode’s Remote SSH extension, you can do development work directly on a remote server. Learn how to set up a new connection and troubleshoot any connection issues.

Sequel Ace - Connecting to a Forge managed databases - These are the settings you need to enter into Sequel Ace to connect to a MySQL / Maria database system on a Forge managed server.

Deploying Laravel - MySQL / MariaDB database setup (Ubuntu) - As a follow-up to my guides on setting up Laravel on an Ubuntu server, this guide covers creating and configuring your MySQL (or Maria) database.

Forge Under the Hood - Databases (MySQL / MariaDB) - In this guide, I’ll explain how to manage MariaDB/MySQL databases directly via MySQL command line instead of via the Forge interface. You can use this information when troubleshooting or if you decide to cancel your Forge subscription and manage your own servers.

Forge Under the Hood - Scheduler (Cron) - Laravel’s server management service, Forge, has a Scheduler feature which allows you to schedule commands to be run on your server at a set time. This Scheduler feature is just a nice interface for your server’s underlying Cron program. In this guide we’ll learn how to work directly with Cron. You can use this information when troubleshooting or if you decide to cancel your Forge subscription and manage your own servers.

Forge Under the Hood - Daemons (Supervisor) - Forge uses the Supervisor process control system to manage and monitor daemons. Daemons are used to keep long-running scripts alive on your server. In this guide I‘ll break down how Forge is managing Supervisor on your servers. You can use this information when troubleshooting or if you decide to cancel your Forge subscription and manage your own servers.

Configuring subdomains on Apache web servers - How to set up a subdomain on a Ubuntu server running Apache. Includes steps to set your DNS settings and configure the server to process the incoming subdomain traffic.

Configuring a subdomain on a Nginx web server - How to set up a subdomain on a Ubuntu server running Nginx. Includes steps to set your DNS settings and configure the server to process the incoming subdomain traffic.

Copy files from a server to your computer using command line / SSH SCP - How to use the SCP (Secure Copy) command to move files or directories from a remote server to your computer (or some other server) via SSH.

Laravel permissions for storage and bootstrap/cache (Apache or Nginx) - How to identify your web server user and set the correct permissions for Laravel’s storage and bootstrap/cache directories.

Install and configure MySQL / MariaDB (Ubuntu) - Install and configure a MySQL (MariaDB) database service on an Ubuntu server.

Deploy Laravel on Ubuntu Apache server - How to deploy a Laravel application to a Ubuntu server running Apache.

Deploy Laravel on Ubuntu Nginx server - How to deploy a Laravel application to a Ubuntu server running Nginx.

How to fix SSH WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED! - Understanding and fixing a “SSH WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED!” error when connecting to a remote server.

Upgrading to PHP 8.2 (Ubuntu with Apache) - Upgrading PHP on an Ubuntu server running Apache.

Upgrading to PHP 8.2 (Ubuntu with Nginx) - Upgrading PHP on an Ubuntu server running Nginx.

SSH Keys and Github - Learn how to communicate with Github from your computer/server by authenticating with SSH key pairs.

Common Laravel Installation Issues (500 Server Error) - Run through of five common system-level bugs that might be preventing your Laravel application from loading.

Fix for SSH Permission Denied (Public Key) - In this guide I’ll go through troubleshooting steps for when you attempt to SSH into a remote server/system using SSH keys as your authentication method and it fails with the error Permission denied (publickey).

Creating a SSH key connection with a server - How to connect to a server using SSH key authentication which provides a more secure and convenient way of logging into a server versus using a password.

Enable Swap Space an Ubuntu server - Easy Backup RAM Memory - One way to increase the responsiveness of a server and prevent out of memory errors is to add swap space. Swap space designates an area of your hard drive where your operating system can temporarily store data that it can no longer hold in RAM.

HTTPS / SSL via “Let’s Encrypt” on a Nginx Web Server - Learn how to configure HTTPS on a Nginx web server using a free certificate obtained from LetsEncrypt.org.

HTTPS / SSL via “Let’s Encrypt” on an Apache Web Server - Learn how to configure HTTPS on an Apache web server using a free certificate obtained from LetsEncrypt.org.

Configuring sites/URLs on an Apache web server - How to configure a new site/URL on an Apache web server. Includes steps on configuring your domain’s DNS and setting up an Apache VirtualHost.

Configuring sites/URLs on a Nginx web server - Learn how to configure a new site/URL on an Ubuntu server running Nginx. Steps include: Configuring your domain’s DNS settings, creating the site config in Nginx, and testing/debugging your new site.

Remote Development with VSCode (SSH) - Using VSCode’s Remote Development extension, you can do development work directly on a remote server. This offers a lot of benefits versus the traditional approach of running a development server on your own computer.