DEV Community

Cover image for ๐Ÿš€ Deploying a Static Website with AWS under $1 per month
PHANI KUMAR KOLLA
PHANI KUMAR KOLLA

Posted on

4 2 2 3 1

๐Ÿš€ Deploying a Static Website with AWS under $1 per month

No servers. No maintenance headaches. Just pure web magic.

Here's how I created "https://www.cloudprojects.site/" using AWS services that scale automatically and never go down.

The results will shock you. ๐Ÿ‘‡

This is how the website looks like:

Image 1

โŒ The Old Way (Traditional Hosting):
โ€ข Monthly server costs: $20-50+
โ€ข Constant updates and patches
โ€ข Downtime during traffic spikes
โ€ข Security vulnerabilities

โœ… The New Way (AWS Static Website):
โ€ข Monthly cost: Under $1
โ€ข Zero maintenance required
โ€ข Handles millions of visitors
โ€ข Bank-level security included

Why didn't I discover this sooner?

Here is the draw.io Architecure Diagram:

Image 10


My 7-Step AWS Setup Process ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

Step 1: Domain Registration ๐ŸŒ

  • Bought my domain from Hostinger **for **89/- INR.
  • Simple interface.
  • Competitive pricing.

Image 2

Step 2: S3 Bucket Creation ๐Ÿ“ฆ

  • Created an S3 bucket named "cloudprojects.site".
  • Enabled static website hosting.
  • Uploaded all HTML, CSS, JavaScript files.

Image 3

Pro tip: Make sure your main file is named "index.html"

Step 3: CloudFront Distribution โšก

  • Set up CloudFront CDN for lightning-fast global delivery.
  • This serves my website from 400+ edge locations worldwide.
  • Users in Tokyo load my site as fast as users in New York.

Image 4

Game changer for website speed.

Step 4: SSL Certificate (FREE) ๐Ÿ”’

  • Used AWS Certificate Manager to get a free SSL certificate.
  • This gives my site the green padlock in browsers.
  • No annual SSL costs.
  • AWS handles renewal automatically.

Image 5

Step 5: Route 53 DNS Configuration ๐ŸŽฏ

  • Connected my Hostinger domain to AWS Route 53.
  • Created hosted zones and DNS records.
  • This routes traffic from my custom domain to CloudFront.

Image 6

Step 6: CloudFront Invalidations ๐Ÿ”„
Whenever I update my website files:

  1. Upload new files to S3
  2. Create CloudFront invalidation
  3. Changes go live globally in minutes

No server restarts. No deployment scripts.

Step 7: Monitor and Optimize ๐Ÿ“Š
AWS provides detailed analytics:
โ€ข Traffic patterns
โ€ข Load times
โ€ข Error rates
โ€ข Geographic distribution


The Results That Shocked Me ๐Ÿ“ˆ

Page load speed: Under 1 second globally
Uptime: 99.99% (better than most traditional hosting)
Monthly cost: $0.50 - $2.00 depending on traffic
Security: AWS-grade protection included
Scalability: Handles traffic spikes automatically

This completely changed my perspective on web hosting.

Image 6


Why This Setup Beats Traditional Hosting ๐Ÿ†

โœ… No server management
โœ… Automatic scaling
โœ… Global CDN included
โœ… Free SSL certificate
โœ… 99.99% uptime SLA
โœ… Pay-as-you-use pricing
โœ… Enterprise-grade security


The Business Impact ๐Ÿ’ผ

My website now:
โ€ข Loads instantly worldwide
โ€ข Costs almost nothing to run
โ€ข Requires zero maintenance
โ€ข Scales to millions of users
โ€ข Stays secure automatically

Perfect for:
โ€ข Portfolio websites
โ€ข Landing pages
โ€ข Documentation sites
โ€ข Marketing campaigns

โ€ข Small business websites


Want to Build Your Own? ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ

Check out my complete project code on GitHub:
https://github.com/phanikolla/AWS-HandsOn-Projects/tree/main/personal_website

All files included with step-by-step documentation.

Here is the Architecture Flow :

Image 8


The Future is Serverless ๐ŸŒŸ

Static websites aren't just a trend.
They're the smart way to build for the web.
Fast. Reliable. Cost-effective.
AWS makes it incredibly simple.


Have you tried hosting a static website on AWS?
What's holding you back from making the switch?

Drop your questions below! ๐Ÿ‘‡
I'll help you get started.

Follow me for more AWS tips and cloud architecture insights!


Heroku

Tired of jumping between terminals, dashboards, and code?

Check out this demo showcasing how tools like Cursor can connect to Heroku through the MCP, letting you trigger actions like deployments, scaling, or provisioningโ€”all without leaving your editor.

Learn More

Top comments (4)

Collapse
 
pkkolla profile image
PHANI KUMAR KOLLA โ€ข

This has great reach! Thanks for your support.
Feel free to rach out to me on linkedin or github.
Share your comments here.

Collapse
 
pkkolla profile image
PHANI KUMAR KOLLA โ€ข

Looking for building and deploying a static website on AWS?
You are at right place.

Collapse
 
pkkolla profile image
PHANI KUMAR KOLLA โ€ข

You can find the code snippets in my github page:
github.com/phanikolla/AWS-HandsOn-...

Collapse
 
pkkolla profile image
PHANI KUMAR KOLLA โ€ข

Here is the update website with great look and feel.

Image description

Need your feedback!

Some comments may only be visible to logged-in visitors. Sign in to view all comments.

Tiger Data image

๐Ÿฏ ๐Ÿš€ Timescale is now TigerData: Building the Modern PostgreSQL for the Analytical and Agentic Era

Weโ€™ve quietly evolved from a time-series database into the modern PostgreSQL for todayโ€™s and tomorrowโ€™s computing, built for performance, scale, and the agentic future.

So weโ€™re changing our name: from Timescale to TigerData. Not to change who we are, but to reflect who weโ€™ve become. TigerData is bold, fast, and built to power the next era of software.

Read more

๐Ÿ‘‹ Kindness is contagious

Dive into this thoughtful piece, beloved in the supportive DEV Community. Coders of every background are invited to share and elevate our collective know-how.

A sincere "thank you" can brighten someone's dayโ€”leave your appreciation below!

On DEV, sharing knowledge smooths our journey and tightens our community bonds. Enjoyed this? A quick thank you to the author is hugely appreciated.

Okay