Best Digital Ocean setup for a content-heavy gaming website with downloadable assets?

Hi everyone,

I’m planning the infrastructure for a gaming website that mainly publishes game guides, tutorials, screenshots, and downloadable resources visit the website. Most days the traffic is fairly steady, but whenever a major update or new guide goes live, there’s a noticeable spike in visitors.

I’m trying to decide which DigitalOcean setup would make the most sense in the long run. My current considerations are:

• Using a single Droplet versus App Platform.
• Storing screenshots and downloadable assets on Spaces instead of the server.
• Adding the CDN for faster global delivery.
• Implementing an effective caching strategy to reduce server load during traffic spikes.
• Keeping the deployment process simple while leaving room to scale later.

For those who have hosted similar content-heavy websites on DigitalOcean, what architecture has worked best for you? Would you start with a single Droplet and migrate later if needed, or is it worth adopting a more scalable setup from the beginning?

I’d appreciate any recommendations, especially regarding storage, caching, and handling occasional bursts of traffic without overprovisioning resources.