I am looking for a developer to perform a clean, professional installation of Discourse for a new intelligence-driven community platform currently in stealth mode. We are handling all UI/UX, CSS, and Theme design in-house; we specifically need an expert to build the “engine,” ensure maximum performance, and guarantee full data ownership.
Scope of Work
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Installation: Set up Discourse on a cloud VPS (DigitalOcean or Hetzner preferred). Must use the official Docker-based install.
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Email/SMTP: Configure a transactional email provider (Mailgun or Postmark) for reliable notifications.
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Security: Set up SSL (Let’s Encrypt), basic firewall, and security best practices.
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Data Ownership & Backups: Configure automated daily backups to an external S3-compatible bucket (Amazon S3 or Cloudflare R2) that I own.
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Operations Readiness: Enable Google Analytics components and ensure Webhooks are accessible for future Airtable integrations.
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Handover: Provide a brief document with SSH access details and administrative credentials.
Budget
$250 – $450 (Negotiable based on experience and ability to meet our timeline).
Timeline
We have a hard target for a soft launch on May 1st. I am looking to have the backend live and accessible by Friday, April 17.
How to Apply
Please send a PM or reply with:
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A brief summary of your experience with Discourse installations.
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Your preferred hosting and SMTP recommendations for a startup.
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Confirmation that you can meet the April 17th handover.
*Please mention “Signal 2026” in your reply so I know you’ve read the full scope.*ou like done?
Thank you.