wraith

I will need it to be available via a VPN or other means, but it's not going to be any more public-facing than it has to be.

I think you meant to reply to me! I actually do need it to be accessible externally, via a VPN or other means.

I am fairly new to self hosting and just wanted to know if this was a big enough deal that I should just get a domain that doesn't require HSTS preload. It's one thing to tinker with an IP address on a local network for some unimportant project; it's just intimidating to try it for real using a domain and hosting my own data.

I'm just a little nervous tbh. Thanks for the help!

Google requires HSTS preload for all of their domains. Charleston Road Registry (their subsidiary), enforces this by adding the TLD to the HSTS preload list.

Here is the Wikipedia link to the TLD. It's at the bottom.

Google is the registry that owns the rights to the TLD. They require all of the domains they control to have HSTS preload enabled.