For Week 1 of the Tech With Achievers 6-Week DevOps Bootcamp, I decided to take a hands-on approach by building and deploying a personal blog using the Clean Blog template from StartBootstrap. This became my first official DevOps assignment submission, and in this post, I’ll walk through exactly what I built, how I customized it, and the steps I followed to prepare and submit the project.
What I Built
I created a personal DevOps blog using the Clean Blog template from StartBootstrap. The goal for Week 1 was simple:
Set up the blog
A Week 1 post describing what I learned
Customize the template to make it my own
Package the project as a ZIP file for upload to Killercoda playgrounds for demonstration
What I Did Step-by-Step
1. Downloaded & Set Up the Clean Blog Template
I went to StartBootstrap and downloaded the Clean Blog starter template.
Extracted it, removed extra files I didn’t need, and set up a folder structure like:
devops-blog/
├── index.html
├── about.html
├── contact.html
├── posts/
│ └── week1.html
├── css/
│ └── styles.css
├── js/
│ └── scripts.js
└── assets/
├── img/
└── favicon.ico
2. Wrote My Week 1 Reflection Post
I created a new HTML file inside the /posts folder (week1.html) and wrote my Week 1 reflection covering the key topics from the bootcamp:
What is DevOps?
DevOps is a set of practices and cultural philosophies that aim to deliver software to end users more efficiently and reliably. It focuses on collaboration between development and operations teams, automation of repetitive tasks, and continuous delivery of value.
The Role of a DevOps Engineer
A DevOps engineer bridges the gap between development teams and operations teams. They help automate builds, testing, deployments, and monitoring so software can be shipped faster and with fewer issues.
Linux Fundamentals
I had a brief introduction to navigating Linux systems—crucial for DevOps because most servers run on Linux, so knowing basic commands, file structure, and permissions is essential.
Why DevOps Matters
Speeds up delivery of software to users
Reduces manual errors through automation
Improves collaboration between teams
Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Models
We covered three main models:
Waterfall – A linear, step-by-step approach
Agile – Iterative and incremental delivery with frequent feedback loops
DevOps – Emphasizes automation, continuous integration, continuous delivery, and close collaboration between dev and ops
Looking Ahead
I'm excited for Week 2 and can't wait to get introduced to the tools we'll be using throughout the bootcamp.
3. Added an About Page
I customized the about.html page to tell my story:
Who I am – My background and current role
My journey into DevOps – What sparked my interest in DevOps and cloud engineering
My goals in the 6-week bootcamp – Skills I want to gain and projects I want to build
Tools and technologies – Linux, Git, VS code I've started exploring
4. Updated the Homepage
I modified index.html to display a preview of my Week 1 post with:
Post title and subtitle
Publication date
A clickable link to read the full post
5. Customized Navigation & Footer
I updated the navigation menu to include links to:
Home
About
Blog
Contact
I also added my social media links in the footer:
Twitter/X
LinkedIn
GitHub
Preparing for Submission
Once everything was ready, I packaged the entire project into a ZIP file:
Selected all project files and folders
Named it something descriptive like devops-blog.zip
What's Included in the ZIP
The submission package contains:
All HTML pages (index, about, contact, week1 post)
CSS and JavaScript files
Assets folder with images and favicon
Clean, organized folder structure
Deploying on Killercoda
Now came the exciting part—actually deploying my blog on a real web server! I used Killercoda's Ubuntu playground to simulate a real-world deployment scenario.
Step 1: Set Up the Killercoda Playground
I launched an Ubuntu playground on Killercoda, which gave me access to a Linux terminal environment.
Step 2: Install Nginx
First, I needed a web server to host my static blog. I installed Nginx:
sudo apt install nginx -y
This installed Nginx and automatically started the web server.
Step 3: Upload the ZIP File
I went to the Editor tab in Killercoda and uploaded my devops-blog.zip file. This made it easy to transfer my project files to the Ubuntu environment.
Step 4: Unzip the Project
Back in the terminal, I unzipped the uploaded file:
unzip devops-blog.zip
This extracted all my blog files into a devops-blog folder.
Step 5: Move Files to Nginx Web Directory
Nginx serves files from /var/www/html/ by default, so I moved my blog files there:
cp -r devops-blog/* /var/www/html/
Step 6: Access the Blog
To view my blog in the browser, I:
Clicked the menu icon (three horizontal lines) on the top right of Killercoda
Selected Traffic / Ports
Clicked 80 as the port to open the URL (the default HTTP port for Nginx)
And there it was—my DevOps blog running live on a web server! 🎉
What I Learned from Deployment
This deployment process taught me several important DevOps concepts:
Linux package management using apt
Web server configuration with Nginx
File permissions and directory structure in Linux
This hands-on experience gave me a taste of what DevOps engineers do daily—taking code from development to a live, accessible environment.
Key Takeaways from Week 1
This wasn't just about creating a blog—it was about understanding the fundamentals:
DevOps is about culture and collaboration, not just tools
Linux skills are essential for any DevOps engineer
Understanding SDLC models helps you see where DevOps fits in the bigger picture
Documentation matters – This blog will serve as my learning journal throughout the bootcamp
What's Next?
In Week 2, we'll be diving into the DevOps toolchain. I'm particularly excited to learn more about:
Version control with Git
Containerization with Docker
CI/CD fundamentals
Infrastructure as Code
I'll be documenting everything here on this blog, so stay tuned!
Resources
Connect With Me
I'd love to connect with fellow DevOps learners! Find me on:
🐦 Twitter/X: @emmaimade14
💼 LinkedIn: emmaimade
💻 GitHub: emmaimade
Let's learn and grow together! 🚀
What's your DevOps learning journey looking like? Drop a comment below!
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