How to put your website online

Publish your website on AWS, share a link anyone can see, and update it every time you change your files on GitHub.

Series: Build your website on AWS (4 articles)

1
How to create your AWS account and first project
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4
How to put your website online This article

Ana Cunha

Developer Advocate @ AWS

Published Oct 30, 2026

Last modified Oct 30, 2026

Your website works on your computer and it's saved on GitHub, but nobody can visit it yet. To share it with other people, your site needs to be online.
In this guide we'll use AWS Amplify Hosting to publish your site. Amplify takes the files from your GitHub repository, puts them online at an HTTPS address, and publishes them again every time you update the repository.
You'll need  an AWS account with a project , and a  GitHub repository with your site's files .
Open your projectEach project has its own AWS account, so first make sure you're in the right one. Go to  AWS Settings  and choose AWS Console next to your project. Ours is Portfolio, but use your project's name.
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Console Home opens with your project name in the upper right corner.
Connect Amplify to GitHubIn the search bar at the top of the console, type  Amplify  and choose AWS Amplify.
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Choose Deploy an app. Deploying means putting your site online so other people can open it.
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Choose GitHub, then Next.
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GitHub opens a window that asks you to authorize AWS Amplify, followed by your project's Region. Choose Authorize.
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Back in Amplify, on Add repository and branch, choose Update GitHub permissions to pick which repositories Amplify can see.
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In GitHub, choose Only select repositories, select your repository (ours is  portfolio ), and choose Install & Authorize. This way Amplify only sees the repository for your site, not everything else on your GitHub account.
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Back in Amplify, choose the refresh button next to the repository list so your repository shows up. Select your repository, then the  main  branch, and choose Next.
Deploy your siteOn App settings, Amplify names the app after your repository. Your site doesn't need a build step, so Frontend build command stays empty and Build output directory is  / , the top of your repository. Leave them as they are and choose Next.
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Check the repository and branch, then choose Save and deploy. Amplify copies the files from GitHub and publishes them, without changing anything in your repository.
Your app's page opens, and under Branches,  main  shows Deploying. When it changes to Deployed (in about a minute), your site is live.
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Check your live siteChoose Visit deployed URL. Your site opens at an address that ends in  amplifyapp.com , and anyone with that link can open it.
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You can  see mine here .
Go through your site one more time and check that everything works. If you get a 404 page, make sure that  index.html  is at the top of your repository and not inside a folder. If styles or images are missing, check that each file name in your code matches the file on GitHub exactly, including uppercase and lowercase letters. Your computer probably treats  Photo.png  and  photo.png  as the same file, but your live site doesn't.
Update your siteNow that GitHub and Amplify are connected, you don't have to set any of this up again. When you change your site, upload the changed files to GitHub the same way you did before, and Amplify deploys the new version on its own.
If a deployment fails and you've  connected your coding agent to AWS , you can ask your agent to check the deployment's logs and tell you what went wrong.
What you deployedYour website is live at an HTTPS address you can share. GitHub keeps your site's files, and Amplify publishes them again every time you make a change, so updating your site is the same upload you already know.
Amplify charges for the minutes it spends deploying your site, for storing your files, and for the data it sends every time someone visits. For a site like a portfolio, that's usually less than a dollar a month, and on the Free Plan it comes out of your credits.
If you stop using your site at some point, you can  delete the Amplify app : open your app in Amplify and choose App settings, General settings, then Delete app. Deleting the app takes your site offline, so wait until you no longer need the link you've shared. If you don't need the project anymore either, you can also  close it : in AWS Settings, choose your project, then Close project.
Now it's time to share your link! Send it to your friends and your mom, add it to your résumé or LinkedIn, and leave it in the comments so I can see what you built.