I've been developing an interactive website and initially planned to use GitHub for deployment. However, I learned that GitHub only supports static sites. I'm looking for recommendations on a reliable web hosting service that can handle my project and would love some guidance on how to actually get it deployed.
5 Answers
If you want to deploy your backend, think about containerizing it with Docker. I’ve had great experiences deploying on Railway, and it really simplifies the process!
You can still use GitHub Pages if your site is purely frontend, even with some JS interactions. But if you need a backend, I’d recommend using platforms like Vercel or Netlify. They make deployment super easy—just push your repo, link it, set up the build command, and they take care of hosting, SSL, and automatic updates for you. It’s perfect for beginners!
For a first project, I’d suggest Vercel or Netlify because they simplify hosting and Continuous Integration straight from Git. Just connect your repo and set it up for automatic deployments!
I pay a small monthly fee for a Digital Ocean droplet, which is like a virtual private server. You can SSH into it, git clone your project, and then use nginx to link it to your domain name. It's a bit more technical, but it gives you a lot of control! Be careful with Docker, though—it might be a bit advanced for your level right now. It all depends on your goals, whether it’s just getting it live or learning more about deployment.
Have you tried just Googling the options? There are tons of opinions out there. It may take a bit of critical thinking to find which service seems best for you.
I’ve looked up hosting services, but I’m unsure which one to pick and what the next steps are after that.
My backend is C# with a database on SSMS21. I’m not as worried about the app itself, but I want to know how it’ll interact with the database and where it’ll actually run.