Deploying a Static Site

The following guides are based on some shared assumptions:

You are using the default build output location (dist). This location can be changed using build.outDir, and you can extrapolate instructions from these guides in that case.
You are using npm. You can use equivalent commands to run the scripts if you are using Yarn or other package managers.
Wite is installed as a local dev dependency in your project, and you have setup the following npm scripts:

{
  "scripts": {
    "build": "wite build",
    "preview": "wite preview"
  }
}

It is important to note that wite preview is intended for previewing the build locally and not meant as a production server.

NOTE

These guides provide instructions for performing a static deployment of your Wite site. Wite also has experimental support for Server Side Rendering. SSR refers to front-end frameworks that support running the same application in Node.js, pre-rendering it to HTML, and finally hydrating it on the client. Check out the SSR Guide to learn about this feature. On the other hand, if you are looking for integration with traditional server-side frameworks, check out the Backend Integration guide instead.

Building The App

You may run npm run build command to build the app.

$ npm run build

By default, the build output will be placed at dist. You may deploy this dist folder to any of your preferred platforms.

Testing The App Locally

Once you've built the app, you may test it locally by running npm run preview command.

$ npm run build
$ npm run preview

The wite preview command will boot up local static web server that serves the files from dist at http://localhost:4173. It's an easy way to check if the production build looks OK in your local environment.

You may configure the port of the server py passing --port flag as an argument.

{
  "scripts": {
    "preview": "wite preview --port 8080"
  }
}

Now the preview method will launch the server at http://localhost:8080.

GitHub Pages

Set the correct base in wite.config.js.
If you are deploying to https://<USERNAME>.github.io/, you can omit base as it defaults to '/'.
If you are deploying to https://<USERNAME>.github.io/<REPO>/, for example your repository is at https://github.com/<USERNAME>/<REPO>, then set base to '/<REPO>/'.

Inside your project, create deploy.sh with the following content (with highlighted lines uncommented appropriately), and run it to deploy:

#!/usr/bin/env sh

# abort on errors
set -e

# build
npm run build

# navigate into the build output directory
cd dist

# if you are deploying to a custom domain
# echo 'www.example.com' > CNAME

git init
git checkout -b main
git add -A
git commit -m 'deploy'

# if you are deploying to https://<USERNAME>.github.io
# git push -f git@github.com:<USERNAME>/<USERNAME>.github.io.git main

# if you are deploying to https://<USERNAME>.github.io/<REPO>
# git push -f git@github.com:<USERNAME>/<REPO>.git main:gh-pages

cd -

TIP

You can also run the above script in your CI setup to enable automatic deployment on each push.

GitHub Pages and Travis CI

Set the correct base in wite.config.js.
If you are deploying to https://<USERNAME or GROUP>.github.io/, you can omit base as it defaults to '/'.
If you are deploying to https://<USERNAME or GROUP>.github.io/<REPO>/, for example your repository is at https://github.com/<USERNAME>/<REPO>, then set base to '/<REPO>/'.
Create a file named .travis.yml in the root of your project.
Run npm install locally and commit the generated lockfile (package-lock.json).

Use the GitHub Pages deploy provider template, and follow the Travis CI documentation.

language: node_js
node_js:
  - lts/*
install:
  - npm ci
script:
  - npm run build
deploy:
  provider: pages
  skip_cleanup: true
  local_dir: dist
  # A token generated on GitHub allowing Travis to push code on you repository.
  # Set in the Travis settings page of your repository, as a secure variable.
  github_token: $GITHUB_TOKEN
  keep_history: true
  on:
    branch: main

GitLab Pages and GitLab CI

Set the correct base in wite.config.js.
If you are deploying to https://<USERNAME or GROUP>.gitlab.io/, you can omit base as it defaults to '/'.
If you are deploying to https://<USERNAME or GROUP>.gitlab.io/<REPO>/, for example your repository is at https://gitlab.com/<USERNAME>/<REPO>, then set base to '/<REPO>/'.

Create a file called .gitlab-ci.yml in the root of your project with the content below. This will build and deploy your site whenever you make changes to your content:

image: node:16.5.0
pages:
  stage: deploy
  cache:
    key:
      files:
        - package-lock.json
      prefix: npm
    paths:
      - node_modules/
  script:
    - npm install
    - npm run build
    - cp -a dist/. public/
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - public
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH

Netlify

Install the Netlify CLI.
Create a new site using ntl init.
Deploy using ntl deploy.

# Install the Netlify CLI
$ npm install -g netlify-cli

# Create a new site in Netlify
$ ntl init

# Deploy to a unique preview URL
$ ntl deploy

The Netlify CLI will share with you a preview URL to inspect. When you are ready to go into production, use the prod flag:

# Deploy the site into production
$ ntl deploy --prod

Google Firebase

Make sure you have firebase-tools installed.

Create firebase.json and .firebaserc at the root of your project with the following content:

firebase.json:

{
  "hosting": {
    "public": "dist",
    "ignore": [],
    "rewrites": [
      {
        "source": "**",
        "destination": "/index.html"
      }
    ]
  }
}

.firebaserc:

{
  "projects": {
    "default": "<YOUR_FIREBASE_ID>"
  }
}

After running npm run build, deploy using the command firebase deploy.

Surge

First install surge, if you haven’t already.
Run npm run build.
Deploy to surge by typing surge dist.

You can also deploy to a custom domain by adding surge dist yourdomain.com.

Heroku

Install Heroku CLI.
Create a Heroku account by signing up.
Run heroku login and fill in your Heroku credentials:
```
$ heroku login
```
Create a file called static.json in the root of your project with the below content:
static.json:
```
{
  "root": "./dist"
}
```
This is the configuration of your site; read more at heroku-buildpack-static.

Set up your Heroku git remote:

# version change
$ git init
$ git add .
$ git commit -m "My site ready for deployment."

# creates a new app with a specified name
$ heroku apps:create example

# set buildpack for static sites
$ heroku buildpacks:set https://github.com/heroku/heroku-buildpack-static.git

Deploy your site:

# publish site
$ git push heroku main

# opens a browser to view the Dashboard version of Heroku CI
$ heroku open

Vercel

Vercel CLI

Install the Vercel CLI and run vercel to deploy.
Vercel will detect that you are using Wite and will enable the correct settings for your deployment.
Your application is deployed!

$ npm i -g vercel
$ vercel init wite
Vercel CLI
> Success! Initialized "wite" example in ~/your-folder.
- To deploy, `cd wite` and run `vercel`.

Vercel for Git

Push your code to your git repository (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket).
Import your Wite project into Vercel.
Vercel will detect that you are using Wite and will enable the correct settings for your deployment.
Your application is deployed!

After your project has been imported and deployed, all subsequent pushes to branches will generate Preview Deployments, and all changes made to the Production Branch (commonly “main”) will result in a Production Deployment.

Learn more about Vercel’s Git Integration.

Azure Static Web Apps

You can quickly deploy your Wite app with Microsoft Azure Static Web Apps service. You need:

An Azure account and a subscription key. You can create a free Azure account here.
Your app code pushed to GitHub.
The SWA Extension in Visual Studio Code.

Install the extension in VS Code and navigate to your app root. Open the Static Web Apps extension, sign in to Azure, and click the '+' sign to create a new Static Web App. You will be prompted to designate which subscription key to use.

Follow the wizard started by the extension to give your app a name, choose a framework preset, and designate the app root (usually /) and built file location /dist. The wizard will run and will create a GitHub action in your repo in a .github folder.

The action will work to deploy your app (watch its progress in your repo's Actions tab) and, when successfully completed, you can view your app in the address provided in the extension's progress window by clicking the 'Browse Website' button that appears when the GitHub action has run.

Building for Production

Env Variables and Modes

Deploying a Static Site #

Building The App #

Testing The App Locally #

GitHub Pages #

GitHub Pages and Travis CI #

GitLab Pages and GitLab CI #

Netlify #

Google Firebase #

Surge #

Heroku #

Vercel #

Vercel CLI #

Vercel for Git #

Azure Static Web Apps #