Following extensive Beta trials, Kinsta has now unveiled its Static Site Hosting to all, offering a platform for rapid delivery of HTML content and resources like JavaScript and CSS.
This service, propelling your static site projects through a network of over 260 data centers via Cloudflare, is provided at no cost.
Yes, rapid and complimentary.
To shed light on this, let’s delve into the question: What exactly is a static website?
Understanding Static Sites
Andras Gerencser, Kinsta’s Development Director, explains, “Static Site Hosting means delivering files without backend processing." He emphasizes its efficiency and performance strengths.
Gerencser notes that static sites — comprising HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and media files — are served directly to browsers, bypassing the need for server-side dynamic generation.
He cites examples like personal portfolios, basic business websites, marketing pages, or documentation sites. “You can also employ static site generators to create static assets from Markdown files or a CMS,” he adds.
Michael Fuller, a JavaScript specialist at Kinsta, elaborates that these generators transform various inputs into “an operational website” through themes, plugins, and automation of tasks like text replacement, page linking, image optimization, and HTML conversion.
Gerencser also points out the dynamic potential of “static sites.”
“You can pair Static Site Hosting with various backends, such as a Node.js service on our Application Hosting or headless WordPress on our Managed WordPress Hosting,” he says.
Fuller describes this as a “hybrid strategy”:
“With JavaScript often served statically, you can craft a static site that communicates with a separately managed server. This offers initial load speed benefits coupled with dynamic site versatility.”
Benefits of Kinsta’s Complimentary Static Site Hosting
Beyond the tools for building and deploying static sites, Kinsta’s free offering includes SSL certificates, support for custom domains, and an optional API for site management, with the following generous conditions:
- Up to 100 static sites per organization
- One concurrent build per site
- A maximum build image size of 1 GB per site
- 600 build minutes monthly per organization
- 100 GB monthly bandwidth per organization
"How Kinsta Implements Static Site Hosting
For developers initiating a static site via Kinsta, the journey starts with their project in a Git repository, supported by platforms like BitBucket, GitHub, or GitLab. Integrating the Git repository and tailoring the build and deployment settings is streamlined through MyKinsta.
Your site isn’t restricted to being crafted with a static site generator. If your static web assets reside in a repository on one of the supported Git hosts, you’re set to deploy your project as a static site.
Kick-starting your first static site in MyKinsta.
Upon adding a static site set to build upon deployment, MyKinsta adeptly identifies the build configurations needed by various popular static site generators:
Detected build configurations for a project using Astro.
“Subsequently,” mentions Gerencser, “MyKinsta transfers your repository’s files to a dedicated pod within our Kubernetes clusters, executing your build command if necessary. The outcome — your static files — are then uploaded to Cloudflare’s R2 storage.”
“This disperses your files across over 260 Cloudflare servers globally, ensuring proximity-based delivery to your site visitors,” he adds.
A glimpse into the infrastructure powering Kinsta’s Static Site Hosting.
Once your static site is operational, personalize it with your domain and complimentary SSL support:
Setting up a custom domain for your static site in MyKinsta.
Begin Constructing Your Static Site
To swiftly embark on Static Site Hosting with Kinsta, peruse our expanding collection of quick-start guides for various compatible static site generators. These guides provide Git repositories to jumpstart your projects.
Eager to enrich your “static” site with dynamic JavaScript content? Integrate Static Site Hosting with Application Hosting and Database Hosting to develop the backend your web project necessitates.