stupid question from a real-world-arcuitect

Heya,

Sorry to hear that you are in that position!

The DigitalOcean Droplet is a actually a server which has your data on it, the place where your Developer was working on your website.

Now, regarding support to finish the website, you’ll need to hire another Developer as it seems that can help you create/finish your project. By how you phrased your question, it would seem that you don’t have access to the current Droplet but you have the files. You can check this Droplet:

https://marketplace.digitalocean.com/apps/lemp

and the developer that you hire eventually can set a new Droplet that’s yours and in your account to avoid such complications in the future.

Hey Wolf-D. Schulze! 👋

Not a stupid question at all! It sounds like you have a Droplet (which is like a virtual server) on DigitalOcean, where your website’s files are stored. Now, let’s get you on the right path to get your site up and running!

Here is what would need to be done in general:

First, you’ll need to log in to your Droplet to check its contents. If your contractor left instructions with login details, you can use those to access it using SSH (a secure way to access remote servers). You can use a tool like FileZilla as well:

https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/droplets/how-to/transfer-files/

Once inside, you should see those .js and .sample files. These are likely JavaScript and configuration files needed for your website. Typically, there should also be an index.html or similar file that acts as the main page for the site.

To make the site accessible, the files need to be served by a web server (like Nginx or Apache). Your Droplet might already be set up with one, but if not, you can either try to set it up yourself (DigitalOcean has guides for this), or consider reaching out for some help from a freelancer or support:

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-secure-nginx-with-let-s-encrypt-on-ubuntu-20-04

For easier server management, you might want to consider switching from the Droplet to the App Platform as everything will be automated there for you.

Since you mentioned this isn’t your area of expertise, you might want some support to help get things finalized. You could consider getting a new freelancer from platforms Upwork or Freelancer. Those platforms allow you to hire developers to set things up for you.

Before making any changes, it’s always a good idea to take a snapshot of your Droplet (essentially a backup). This way, you can revert back if something doesn’t go as planned.

Let me know if any of these steps make sense, and I’m happy to provide more specific instructions if needed.

Good luck, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you need more guidance!

- Bobby