Deploy Your First Website on AWS Using S3 and CloudFront (Beginner Tutorial)

Deploying your first website feels scary—especially on AWS. But here’s the truth 👇 Hosting a static website on AWS using S3 and CloudFront is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most production-ready ways to go live.

In this beginner tutorial, you’ll learn:

• What S3 and CloudFront actually do

• How to host a website on AWS step by step

• How CloudFront makes your site fast globally

• Common beginner mistakes (so you don’t repeat them)

By the end, your website will be: ✅ Live ✅ Globally accessible ✅ Secure ✅ Scalable

What We Are Building (Simple Overview)

Flow:

What Is Amazon S3?

Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) is used to store files like:

• HTML

• CSS

• JavaScript

• Images

Think of S3 as a cloud folder that can host your website files.

Why S3 for Beginners?

• Extremely cheap

• No servers to manage

• Highly reliable (99.999999999% durability)

What Is Amazon CloudFront?

Amazon CloudFront is a Content Delivery Network (CDN).

It:

• Caches your website globally

• Makes your site load faster

• Adds security (HTTPS)

• Sits between users and S3

👉 Never expose S3 directly in production. CloudFront is best practice.

Step 1: Create a Simple Website

Create a folder on your laptop:

index.html

style.css

Step 2: Create an S3 Bucket

Steps:

1. Go to AWS Console → S3

2. Click Create bucket

3. Bucket name:

4. Region: choose nearest region

5. Uncheck “Block all public access”

6. Create bucket

Step 3: Upload Website Files to S3

1. Open your bucket

2. Click Upload

3. Upload

4. Click Upload

Step 4: Enable Static Website Hosting (Optional but Important)

1. Go to Bucket → Properties

2. Scroll to Static website hosting

3. Enable it

4. Index document:

This gives you a temporary website URL, but we won’t use it in production.

Step 5: Create a CloudFront Distribution

Steps:

1. Go to CloudFront

2. Click Create distribution

3. Origin domain:

4. Origin access:

5. Viewer protocol:

6. Default root object:

7. Create distribution

⏳ CloudFront takes 10–20 minutes to deploy.

Step 6: Restrict S3 Access (Security Best Practice)

Make sure:

• S3 bucket is not public

• Only CloudFront can access it

CloudFront OAC automatically helps with this.

Step 7: Access Your Live Website 🎉

Once CloudFront finishes deploying:

You’ll get a URL like:

Open it in your browser - your website is LIVE!

Cost Breakdown (Very Cheap)

💡 Many personal sites run under ₹50/month.

Common Beginner Mistakes (Avoid These!)

• Forgetting index.html as root object

• Making S3 public unnecessarily

• Skipping CloudFront

• Not redirecting HTTP → HTTPS

• Uploading backend code to S3

When Should You Use This Setup?

Perfect for:

• Portfolio websites

• Landing pages

• Blogs

• Documentation sites

• React build output

Not suitable for:

• Backend APIs

• Authentication servers

• Dynamic server-side logic

How This Helps in Interviews & Freelancing

Interviewers love hearing:

“I deployed my site using S3 + CloudFront with HTTPS and CDN caching.”

It shows:

• Cloud knowledge

• Security awareness

• Production mindset

Final Thoughts

If you’re new to AWS, this is the best possible first deployment.

You learned: ✅ Cloud fundamentals ✅ CDN concepts ✅ Secure hosting ✅ Real production practices

From here, you can easily move to:

• Custom domains

• React / Next.js deployments

• Full-stack AWS architecture