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.

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

Open the site's ... menu and choose Upload a new version, then drop the updated ZIP. It replaces every file of the site and keeps its address, password and expiry date, so the link you already shared shows the new version. The old files keep serving until the new ones are fully unpacked and checked. Pages that are not in the new ZIP are removed. If the new version is flagged by the safety check, the site is held for review like a new one. An update doesn't count as another site against your plan. Uploading a new version needs Pro, like publishing.

Related#

• Custom domains
• Plans and limits