Adarsh MCreating a web application is one side of the equation; hosting your application and making it accessible to all internet users is the other. Hosting your application can be divided into two parts: hosting the front end, the visual and interactive element of your application that users interact with and hosting the back end, which includes servers, databases, and application logic.
When choosing a hosting provider, you must focus on certain metrics, such as uptime, speed, average response time, and customer support, among others. Additionally, you have to consider the affordability of these platforms.
In this detailed blog, we will look into some of the commonly used web hosting platforms that you can use to host your next full-stack application.
So, let’s get started.
Vercel
Vercel is a complete solution for hosting your application and is best suited for working with Next.js, React.js, Svelte, Vue, and Gatsby.
Vercel allows developers to build the front end of their application without worrying about server management. Along with that, Vercel’s Edge Network enables content storage near your customers and computation execution close to your data, reducing latency and enhancing user performance.
Vercel also supports various add-ons, like web analytics, storage, etc.
Railway App
Railway App is another cloud solution for building, shipping, and monitoring web applications. Railway App also supports version control integrations, allowing you to push to GitHub or any other repository, which triggers a new build and deploys it to the URL within seconds.
The plan starts at less than $5 per month, which includes 8 GB of RAM, 8 vCPUs per service, a 7-day log history, and more.
The Railway CLI also lets you access your secrets i.e, environment variables, and infrastructure, from the terminal. It helps you deploy your application faster by eliminating common development obstacles. With Railway, you can also improve your app over time through environments that are easy to join and upgrade.
They also promised to provide 99.95% uptime with high availability. Their build time is also significantly lower, being 3X faster compared to other platforms, thanks to Nixpacks.
Render
Render is another cloud-based hosting solution. Render allows you to host any kind of application irrespective of the tech stack being used. Render also supports continuous deployment, where you can connect your repository, and it will automatically build and deploy your site.
It offers Native Language Runtimes, supporting a variety of programming languages like Node.js, Python, Ruby, and more. It even allows you to run applications in containers using Docker, making it incredibly flexible for any project.
Render also provides Load-Based Autoscaling, a key feature that allows your services to seamlessly scale with changing traffic patterns. Render will automatically add or remove instances of your service to match demand, ensuring optimal performance without manual intervention.
Firebase Hosting
Firebase is a Google-backed platform that allows developers like you to build and maintain your application. Firebase also provides a hosting solution that allows you to securely host your web application. You can deploy both static and dynamic websites.
Since Firebase is backed by Google, you can be sure that your website will be delivered securely to all users. Firebase has a generous free tier and they have a pay-as-you-go model. You only need to pay for what you use.
Netlify
Netlify is another popular web hosting platform known for its generous free tier. It is particularly well-suited for modern web projects that utilize the Jamstack architecture,
Netlify also allows you to automate your process by connecting it with your GitHub repository. Push your changes to GitHub, and Netlify automatically starts a new build for you. Netlify also supports you with instant rollback. If something goes wrong, Netlify lets you roll back to previous versions of your site with the click of a button.
Another reason to choose Netlify is the developer experience it offers. Whether you’re building a personal blog, a static site for a client, or a complex web application, Netlify provides the tools and services needed for quick and secure deployment.
Their premium plan starts at $19, which is a reasonable amount for the services provided.
Surge
Surge is a generous web hosting platform that allows you to host your frontend. Surge is known for its simplicity. All it takes is a few lines of code, and your site will be live in seconds.
You can publish any static website directly from the command line, which means you can go from development to deployment in just a few keystrokes. All you need to do is to install the Surge CLI, and you are ready to go.
Surge provides a free surge.sh subdomain, and it also allows you to add your custom domain. The premium price of Surge is around $30, but it grants you access to unlimited production-ready projects.
Github Pages
GitHub Pages is one of the most popular web hosting solutions for hosting static sites for free. You can host your website directly from your GitHub repository, and it supports using your own domain and secure HTTPS. It’s an excellent choice for personal or fun projects
Simply push your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files to your repository, and GitHub Pages will take care of the rest. One of the main reasons for using GitHub Pages is that it is absolutely free, making it a good choice for open-source projects or for hosting your personal website.
While GitHub Pages provides a default github.io domain for your projects, you can also use a custom domain if you wish to personalize your site’s URL. GitHub Pages only hosts static content and does not support server-side scripting, such as PHP or Node.js, making it perfect for projects that don’t require backend server setup.
Static App
Static.app is a user-friendly platform for hosting static websites, which means it’s ideal for sites without backend processing or databases, such as portfolios, business pages, or landing pages.
You can upload a ZIP archive of your site or images and Static.app hosts it, making it accessible online. You can manage your files and images through an online interface without needing additional FTP or file management tools.
Static.app has a free plan suitable for small projects, providing 50MB of storage and a static.app subdomain. The starter plan starts at $5 and goes up to $15, offering a wide range of features for more demanding projects. This plan includes hosting for up to 100 websites, providing 10GB of storage, and supporting both free and custom domains.
Cloudflare Workers
Cloudflare Workers is a serverless platform that allows you to deploy your serverless code instantly across the globe. When deploying to Cloudflare, you don’t have to think about regions; you simply deploy your code, and it runs seamlessly around the world.
One of the features of Cloudflare Workers is that there’s no need to manually configure auto-scaling or load balancing, nor is there a need to pay for more capacity than you use.
Everything is handled by the platform itself. The platform supports various programming languages, offers instant code execution without cold starts, and is cost-effective.
Azure Static Web Apps
Azure Static Web Apps is another web service to build and deploy full-stack web applications directly to Azure from a code repository.
Azure Static Web Apps distribute static content globally, reducing latency and improving load times for users, regardless of their location. Azure also offers a CLI tool that enhances the developer experience by simulating a live Azure Static Web Apps environment.
Azure Static Web Apps offers a free tier suitable for personal projects, which includes free web hosting, an SSL certificate, and options for custom domains. For production workloads, the standard plan provides additional features, such as increased bandwidth, support for multiple apps and domains, and enterprise-grade edge capabilities for enhanced security and performance.
Cloudflare Pages
Cloudflare Pages is another web service that allows you to host your frontend. With Pages, you can connect your GitHub or GitLab account. After that, a simple git push is all it takes; Cloudflare Pages will take care of the rest.
Cloudflare Pages also offers serverless capabilities with Pages Functions, allowing you to build full-stack applications with dynamic functionality without managing servers. Furthermore, Cloudflare Pages facilitate easy collaboration. It enables you to share your work and receive feedback from unlimited collaborators at no extra cost.
In terms of pricing, Cloudflare Pages provides a generous free tier, along with options for more concurrent builds, additional features, and higher build limits for those who need them, available in the Pro and Business plans.
Wrapping it up.
Thanks for checking this blog. In this detailed blog, we have looked into some of the best hosting solutions to make your website available to the entire users all over the world. Finding an affordable platform is the first concern. Along with that, we should also depend on platforms that have high uptime and high availability.
With all that set, you now know what the best platforms are to host your application.
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Ajay Yadav
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