Hosting on Netlify — Setup & DNS Guide

What is Netlify?

Netlify is a web hosting and serverless backend platform that pioneered the JAMstack architecture. It's been a favourite of developers since 2015 for its simplicity, powerful features, and generous free tier.

Pros

• ▸Simple drag-and-drop deployment for static sites
• ▸Git-based CI/CD with automatic deployments
• ▸Netlify Functions (serverless AWS Lambda under the hood)
• ▸Form handling, identity, split testing — all built in
• ▸Free tier includes 100GB bandwidth and 300 build minutes/month
• ▸Deploy previews for every PR
• ▸Built-in redirects and custom headers via _redirects file

Cons

• ▸Slower build times compared to Vercel
• ▸Less Next.js optimisation than Vercel
• ▸Bandwidth limits are strict on free tier

Best For

• ▸Static sites, portfolios, documentation
• ▸Gatsby, Eleventy, Hugo, Jekyll sites
• ▸Projects using Netlify CMS or form handling
• ▸Teams wanting an all-in-one platform

Deploying to Netlify

# Install Netlify CLI
npm install -g netlify-cli

# Login and deploy
netlify login
netlify deploy

# Or drag-and-drop your build folder at app.netlify.com
# Or connect a GitHub repo in the Netlify dashboard

DNS Configuration for Custom Domain

Using a Subdomain (CNAME)

Type:  CNAME
Name:  www
Value: yoursite.netlify.app.

Using Root Domain (Netlify DNS or A Record)

# Netlify load-balanced IPs (check Netlify docs for current IPs)
Type: A
Name: @
Value: 75.2.60.5

# Or use Netlify DNS (recommended for full feature support)
# Change your nameservers to Netlify's at your registrar

Netlify Redirects

Netlify's redirect engine is one of the best in the industry. Add a _redirects file to your build output:

# Simple redirect
/old-page    /new-page    301

# SPA fallback (important for React/Vue apps)
/*    /index.html    200

# Country-based redirect
/   /en    302    Country=US
/   /de    302    Country=DE