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From Zero to Production in 15 Minutes: Deploying a Website With Vercel

2026-04-02

Why Vercel

You have a site. Maybe it's a static HTML page, maybe a Next.js app, maybe a portfolio built over the weekend. You want it live on the internet, on your own domain, with HTTPS, and you don't want to manage a server.

Vercel does exactly this. Free tier covers most personal projects. No Docker, no Nginx configs, no SSH. Push code — site is live.

I deployed my portfolio (vladzsh.org) this way. The whole process — from buying the domain to seeing the site live — took about 15 minutes.

What Vercel Handles Well

Static sites — plain HTML/CSS/JS, Hugo, Jekyll, Astro. Vercel serves them from a global CDN. Fast everywhere.

Next.js — Vercel built Next.js, so the integration is seamless. Server components, API routes, ISR, middleware — everything works out of the box. If you're using output: "export" for a fully static build, it's even simpler.

Any frontend framework — React, Vue, Svelte, Nuxt. Vercel auto-detects the framework and applies the right build settings.

Step 1: Buy a Domain

Go to any registrar — Namecheap, Cloudflare, Google Domains (now Squarespace), or even Vercel's own domain service. Pick a .com, .dev, .org, whatever fits.

I use Namecheap. A .org domain costs about $10/year.

You don't need to configure DNS yet — Vercel will tell you exactly what to set.

Step 2: Push Your Code to GitHub

If your project isn't on GitHub yet:

git init
git add .
git commit -m "initial commit"
git remote add origin git@github.com:yourusername/your-repo.git
git push -u origin main

That's it. Vercel will pull from this repo.

Step 3: Connect Vercel to GitHub

  1. Go to vercel.com and sign up with your GitHub account
  2. Click "Add New Project"
  3. Select your repository
  4. Vercel auto-detects the framework (Next.js, static, etc.)
  5. Click Deploy

First deploy happens automatically. Your site is now live at your-project.vercel.app.

Step 4: Connect Your Domain

In the Vercel dashboard:

  1. Go to your project → Settings → Domains
  2. Type your domain (e.g. vladzsh.org) and click Add
  3. Vercel shows you the DNS records to add

Go to your registrar's DNS settings and add:

Type: A
Name: @
Value: 76.76.21.21

Type: CNAME
Name: www
Value: cname.vercel-dns.com

Wait a few minutes for DNS propagation. Vercel automatically provisions an SSL certificate — HTTPS works immediately.

Step 5: Deploy

From now on, you have two ways to deploy:

Option A: Git Push (recommended)

git add .
git commit -m "update homepage"
git push

Every push to main triggers an automatic deploy. Vercel builds your project, runs the build command, and updates the live site. You also get preview deployments for every branch and PR — each one gets its own URL.

Option B: Vercel CLI

Install the CLI:

npm i -g vercel

Deploy to production with one command:

vercel --prod

This is useful when you want to deploy without pushing to Git, or when you're testing something quickly. The CLI also supports vercel dev for local development that mirrors the production environment.

My Setup

For my portfolio (vladzsh.org), the setup is:

  • Framework: Next.js 15 with output: "export" (fully static)
  • Hosting: Vercel free tier
  • Domain: Namecheap → DNS pointed to Vercel
  • Deploy: git push to main → auto-deploy in ~30 seconds
  • SSL: Automatic, zero configuration

The next.config.js for a static export:

const nextConfig = {
  output: "export",
};

module.exports = nextConfig;

That's it. No server needed. Vercel builds the static files and serves them from the edge.

What You Get for Free

  • Global CDN — your site loads fast everywhere
  • Automatic HTTPS — SSL certificates provisioned and renewed automatically
  • Preview deployments — every PR gets its own URL for testing
  • Instant rollbacks — one click to revert to any previous deployment
  • Analytics (basic) — page views, web vitals
  • 100 GB bandwidth/month — more than enough for a personal site
  • Serverless functions — if you need API routes later

When Not to Use Vercel

Vercel is great for frontend and static sites. It's not the right choice for:

  • Backend services — Django, FastAPI, Express. Use Railway, Fly.io, or a VPS
  • Databases — Vercel has Postgres and KV storage, but for serious workloads, use a dedicated provider
  • Long-running processes — serverless functions have execution time limits

For a portfolio, blog, or frontend app — Vercel is the fastest path from code to production.

The Whole Process

1. Buy domain           → 2 minutes
2. Push code to GitHub  → 1 minute (if code exists)
3. Connect Vercel       → 3 minutes
4. Add domain + DNS     → 5 minutes
5. Wait for propagation → 15 min to 24 hours
───────────────────────────────
Total: ~15 minutes

After setup, every deploy is one git push. That's the whole workflow.