Choosing Between AWS and Firebase for a Simple Web Dashboard

If you're sticking with Next.js, consider looking into Payload. It's a CMS designed for Next.js, and it’s super simple to deploy! It could be a perfect fit for your dashboard needs without much hassle.

People often act like AWS is complicated, but the setup you've mentioned can be straightforward, and it's quite manageable with AWS CDK. Firebase has better documentation, but there are other alternatives to Firebase that could also fit your needs well.

For your project, Firebase might be the better option. It's really easy to set up and has integrated features like authentication, Firestore for data storage, and image hosting, all with minimal configuration. With AWS, you'd have to set up services like S3, Cognito, and Lambda, which could be overkill for your needs. Plus, Firebase's free tier is generous, so you can start there and scale later if needed. Vendor lock-in is a consideration, but for a freelance project, that shouldn't be a major concern.

Honestly, either cloud option will suffice for your project's needs, but stick with what you're comfortable maintaining. Since the site won't be updated often, keeping the setup straightforward is more crucial than aiming for the ‘perfect’ tech stack. If you're already using Next.js, a lightweight backend or a hosted CMS might save you some headaches down the line.

For a small site like yours, either service could be overdone. Until you're dealing with thousands of concurrent users, you could get by with a basic hosting solution that runs Node.js. Keeping things simple now will save you time later.