How to Deploy Your First Website for Free

A Beginner’s Guide to Netlify, GitHub Pages, and Vercel

So, you’ve built your first website. You’ve written your HTML, styled it with CSS, maybe even sprinkled in some JavaScript for interactivity. You’ve opened the file in your browser, admired your work, and thought, “Great! Now, how do I get this online?”

Well, that’s where deployment comes in.

But don’t worry, you don’t need to buy a domain or pay for expensive hosting just to share your work. In this guide, we’ll explore three free and beginner-friendly deployment platforms: Netlify, GitHub Pages, and Vercel. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to get your website online and keep it updated effortlessly.

Why Do You Need Deployment?

Imagine you’ve just designed a personal portfolio or a simple landing page for your project. It looks great on your laptop, but how will the rest of the world see it?

Deployment allows you to:
✅ Make your site accessible to anyone with a web browser
✅ Showcase your work to potential employers, clients, or friends
✅ Collaborate with others easily
✅ Ensure your site stays live even when your computer is off

And the best part? You can do it for free.

But before we get into the how, let’s talk about something important: GitHub and Git.

Why GitHub and Git Matter for Deployment

Before we dive into Netlify, GitHub Pages, and Vercel, you need to understand why GitHub is so important in the web development world.

Git vs. GitHub: What’s the Difference?

• Git is a version control system that helps developers track changes in their code.
• GitHub is a cloud-based platform that stores Git repositories online, making collaboration and deployment easy.

Why You Should Link Your GitHub to Deployment Platforms

Most free hosting services—Netlify, GitHub Pages, and Vercel—work seamlessly with GitHub. This means:
✅ You don’t have to manually upload your website files
✅ Whenever you update your GitHub repository, your live website updates automatically

So before you deploy, make sure your project is on GitHub. If you haven’t done that yet, here’s how:

Initialize a Git Repository in your project folder:shCopyEdit

Create a GitHub Account at github.com (if you don’t already have one).

Create a GitHub Account at github.com (if you don’t already have one).

Create a new GitHub repository and push your project:

Now that your project is on GitHub, let’s explore three easy ways to deploy it.

Method 1: Deploy with GitHub Pages (Best for Static Sites)

If your site is pure HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (with no backend), GitHub Pages is one of the simplest ways to deploy it.

How to Deploy on GitHub Pages

1. Go to your GitHub repository.
   
2. Click on Settings → Pages (in the left sidebar).
3. \
4. Under Branch, select ( main or master).|
   
5. Click Save.
   
6. Your site is live! You’ll get a URL like: https://your-username.github.io/your-repository/

Pros & Cons of GitHub Pages

✅ Completely free
✅ No extra setup needed
✅ Automatic updates from GitHub
❌ Only supports static websites (no databases, no backend code like PHP or Node.js)

Method 2: Deploy with Netlify (Best for Static Sites + More Features)

If you want something more powerful than GitHub Pages—like custom domains, serverless functions, and easy drag-and-drop deployments—Netlify is a fantastic option.

How to Deploy on Netlify (Using GitHub)

1. Sign up at Netlify using your GitHub account.
   
2. Click “New site from Git” and connect your GitHub repository.
   
3. Select your repository and choose the main branch.
   
4. Click Deploy Site.
   
5. Netlify will generate a free URL (e.g., https://your-site.netlify.app/).

Automatic Updates

Because Netlify is connected to GitHub, whenever you push changes to your repo (git push), Netlify automatically updates your site.

Pros & Cons of Netlify

✅ Fast and beginner-friendly
✅ Supports custom domains
✅ Automatic updates from GitHub
✅ Supports serverless functions
❌ Slightly more complex than GitHub Pages

Method 3: Deploy with Vercel (Best for React, Next.js, and Dynamic Sites)

If you’re working with React, Vue, or Next.js, Vercel is one of the best free deployment platforms. It also works for static sites like HTML/CSS projects.

How to Deploy on Vercel

Sign up at Vercel using your GitHub account.

Click New Project → Import GitHub Repository.

Select your project and deploy.

Vercel generates a free URL like: https://your-site.vercel.app/

Pros & Cons of Vercel

✅ Super fast deployments
✅ Perfect for React, Next.js, and dynamic sites
✅ Automatic updates from GitHub
✅ Supports custom domains
❌ More features = slightly more learning curve

Which Platform Should You Choose?

Final Thoughts

If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! 🎉 You now know how to deploy your first website for free using GitHub Pages, Netlify, and Vercel.

Next Steps

Try deploying a simple HTML/CSS site on GitHub Pages

Experiment with Netlify for a portfolio project

Use Vercel for React/Next.js projects

🔗 Have questions? Drop a comment below or visit Odurinde.com for more web development guides!

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