Web Architecture & Operations
juanchi.dev: Bilingual Content Platform with Deterministic Quality and Self-Hosted Analytics
Full-stack architecture with zero third-party CMS dependencies, running on an owned VPS with Coolify, PostgreSQL analytics, and end-to-end observability.
Core Web Vitals
LCP < 1.2s · CLS 0.00
Automated Tests
+920 passing tests
Deployment Speed
< 90s in Coolify
Third-party SaaS Cost
$0 additional subscriptions
01 · The Engineering Challenge
Overcoming the fragility of typical content tech stacks
Most engineering blogs and content hubs suffer from slow or costly headless CMS lock-in, privacy-invasive third-party analytics that get blocked by ad blockers, and severe bilingual SEO cannibalization where translated articles compete against each other for search keywords.
Key risks addressed:
- Slug collision and keyword cannibalization when publishing automated content in English and Spanish.
- Runaway SaaS subscription costs and vendor lock-in across multiple managed providers.
- Lack of strict validation gates in AI generation workflows, leading to unchecked hallucination in technical posts.
02 · Architecture & System Design
Sovereign Architecture on Owned VPS with Coolify and Next.js 16
The entire stack runs on an owned VPS orchestrating Docker containers with Coolify. The frontend relies on Server Components by default for minimal client-side JavaScript. PostgreSQL stores posts, atomic bilingual translations, cookie-free reader analytics, and Search Console performance snapshots.
Core modules & responsibilities:
Next.js 16 App Router
Server Components delivering sub-second page loads and dynamic bilingual metadata.
Prisma 7 + PostgreSQL 17
Normalized relational schema supporting versioned post translations and unverified attribution signals.
Coolify Orchestrator
Zero-downtime Git webhook deployments, secret isolation, and standalone Docker scheduled tasks.
Cohort Metrics Engine
Deterministic 7, 14, and 28-day reader retention and Search Console opportunity discovery.
Qualified Contact Inbox
Receives professional inquiries while preserving source context from the referring article or case study.
03 · Engineering Decisions & Trade-offs
Every technical choice prioritizes reducing operational risk and maintaining system clarity.
Owned VPS infrastructure with Coolify over serverless vendor platforms
Rationale: Predictable fixed hosting costs, unlimited background task durations, and complete data ownership.
Explicit trade-off: Requires system administration oversight for disk space, backups, and Docker engine upgrades.
PostTranslation relational model with independent localized slugs
Rationale: Enables each post to target native search queries and intent per language without awkward literal translations.
Explicit trade-off: Requires rigorous bidirectional hreflang mapping and coordinated bilingual sitemaps.
Self-hosted PostgreSQL analytics combined with Search Console over heavy client trackers
Rationale: Zero invasive tracking cookies, accurate completion metrics, and complete immunity to browser ad-blockers.
Explicit trade-off: Demands careful index tuning and archival policies on growing event tables.
Operational Benchmarks & Performance
juanchi.dev demonstrates that modern web systems can be exceptionally fast, privacy-first, bilingual, and maintainable by a single software architect applying sound engineering principles.
Professional discussion
Looking to modernize your engineering platform or web architecture?
I help technical teams migrate away from costly legacy setups to Next.js, Java, and PostgreSQL with robust CI/CD and predictable operation.