Hey folks! I'm in the process of setting up a client site on Netlify and I'm torn between two deployment options: 1) Let Netlify automatically build the site whenever I push to the repo, or 2) Use GitHub Actions to build the site first and then deploy the pre-built output to Netlify. I've already tried the first option before and found it quicker to set up. However, I'm more accustomed to working with GitHub Actions for building sites and have experience deploying projects through SSH to shared hosting. For this particular project, I'm planning to use 11ty and Decap, both of which are new to me since I've only worked with Jekyll in the past. I'm also concerned about any complications with Decap if I choose the second option. I'm leaning towards using GitHub Actions because I prefer not to give third-party access, and while I know that using Actions might save on Netlify build minutes, it's a small site so I'm not sure if that's a significant factor for me. I understand I'll lose out on some features like deploy previews without connecting Netlify to GitHub. What do you think? Change my mind if possible!
2 Answers
Using your own CI system is usually only worth it if you're deploying multiple services in a specific order. If you're just doing a straightforward deployment, Netlify's automatic build process should be just fine.
If it's a small site that doesn't need frequent rebuilds, I'd stick with Netlify. It's simpler and requires less management. You can still run type checking and unit tests through GitHub Actions if you want that extra safety net. Since you're thinking about disconnecting Netlify from your GitHub account, it really depends on how often you'll need to rebuild. Reconnecting is pretty easy if you need to.
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