Deploy your first site

Two ways in, a repository or a folder of built files, and what happens after you hand it over.

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Two ways in

Pick whichever matches what you actually have.

A GitHub repository

Best when you have a project you are still working on. Connect the repository once, and every push to the branch you chose rebuilds and republishes on its own.

  1. Install our GitHub App on the account or organisation that owns the repository. It asks for read-only access to repository contents and nothing else. This is one of two steps only you can do, because GitHub will not let anything else authorise on your behalf.
  2. Create a site and pick the repository and branch.
  3. We build it and put it live. First-time setup can take up to about two minutes while the repository is copied across.

A folder of built files

Best when you have output rather than a project. No repository, no commit, no git involved. This is usually what you want when an agent has produced files for you.

  1. Create a site and choose the upload path.
  2. Upload the folder, zipped.
  3. There is no build step at all, so it goes straight out.

What we can build today

Static sites built with Astro, and any folder of already-built files.

Static means the pages are built once and then simply served. That covers most personal sites, portfolios, documentation and landing pages. If your project needs a server running behind it to answer each request, it will not work here, and we would rather you knew that now.

Astro projects need to build to dist/ with npm run build, with no server adapter. That is the default for a static Astro project, so if you have not changed it, you are fine.

Then what

You get a working address straight away, on our domain, with HTTPS already working. You can hand that link to somebody before you have decided anything about domains.

When you want your own, see Point your own domain at it.

When a build fails

The deploy stops and your live site stays exactly as it was. We tell you what broke in ordinary words rather than handing you a log to decipher. Fix it, push again, and the next build replaces it.

FAQ

The questions worth answering before you hand us anything, including the ones where the answer is no.

Do I need a GitHub account?
Only for the repository path. The upload path needs no repository, no commit and no git at all.
Why does my build sit there saying it is waiting?
Builds run one at a time and yours is in the queue. The page says so rather than spinning at you, and it starts on its own.
What happens to my live site while a new build runs?
Nothing. It stays exactly as it was until the new build succeeds. A failed build never takes a site down.
Can I get an earlier version back?
Yes. Pick any earlier deploy from the history and it goes back out. We keep the archive so you do not have to rebuild.