Host a static website

You can publish a whole website from a ZIP file: HTML pages, CSS, JavaScript, images and fonts. It goes live at its own address, such as your-site.linkinseconds.site, served over HTTPS. There is no server to set up and no build step on our side.

Publish a website#

1. Make a ZIP of your site

   Zip the folder that holds your index.html. A built output folder from a framework works too: we look for index.html at the top of the ZIP, or inside a dist, build, out, public or _site folder, and use that folder as the root of the site.

2. Open the Sites tab

   On your dashboard, open the Sites tab and click Publish a site.

3. Drop the ZIP and name your site

   Drop your .zip on the Publish a website window. Then fill in Name your site: the name becomes the web address, in lower case with dashes. If the name is already in use, a number is added.

   If your site is a single-page app with its own client-side routing, tick Single-page app. Unknown paths are then sent to index.html, so your router can handle them.

4. Wait a few seconds

   We unpack the files, run a safety check and set up the address. When it is done you see Your site is live with the link to copy.

Where your site lives#

Every site gets its own subdomain under linkinseconds.site, with HTTPS included. This is a separate domain from linkinseconds.com on purpose: your site's JavaScript runs on its own origin and can never reach your Link in Seconds account or anyone else's.

On Pro you can also open a site on your own domain, such as www.yoursite.com. See Custom domains.

Limits#

If a ZIP goes over any of these limits, nothing is published. Delete a site you no longer need to make room for another.

What works and what does not#

Works

• Plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript, including JavaScript that runs in the visitor's browser.
• The built output of static site generators and frontend frameworks.
• Images, fonts, video and other files your pages link to, with relative or absolute paths.
• A custom 404.html, shown when a page is not found (when Single-page app is off).

Does not work

• Server-side code. PHP, Python, Ruby, CGI and similar files are never run.
• A database, server-side logins or environment variables.
• .htaccess rules.

Executables and server scripts in your ZIP are left out, and the success screen tells you how many files were skipped. System junk such as __MACOSX folders and .DS_Store files is ignored.

Manage a site#

In the Sites tab, open a site's menu for Details, Open site, Share and Password, expiry & delete. From settings you can:

• Disable site or Enable site to turn it off and on.
• Set a password visitors must enter to view the site.
• Set an expiry date, after which the site turns off.
• Delete the site.

Updating a site

Each ZIP you publish becomes a new site with its own address. To change a live site, publish the updated ZIP as a new site, share the new address, and delete the old site when you no longer need it.

Related#

• Custom domains
• Plans and limits