Exporting & Deploying

Once your website is ready, PageSmith gives you multiple options to get it live on the web or download the code for self-hosting.

Quick Deploy (Recommended)

The fastest way to get your website live:

1. Click "Publish" in the editor
2. Choose a subdomain (e.g., yoursite.pagesmith.app)
3. Click "Deploy Now"
4. Your site is live in seconds!

Free Hosting Features

• Fast CDN - Global content delivery
• SSL Certificate - Automatic HTTPS
• Custom Subdomains - yourname.pagesmith.app
• 99.9% Uptime - Reliable hosting

Custom Domain (Pro Plan)

Connect your own domain name:

1. Go to Project Settings → Domain
2. Enter your custom domain (e.g., www.example.com)
3. Follow the DNS configuration instructions
4. Wait for DNS propagation (up to 24 hours)
5. Your site is live on your domain!

Supported Domains

• Top-level domains (.com, .org, .net, etc.)
• Subdomains (blog.example.com)
• International domains
• Multiple domains per project (Business plan)

Export Your Code

Download your website as clean, production-ready code:

Export Options

Static HTML/CSS/JS

• Perfect for simple websites
• Works on any web server
• No dependencies required
• Upload via FTP or hosting panel

Next.js Project

• Full React/Next.js application
• Includes all components and assets
• Deploy to Vercel, Netlify, or any Node.js host
• Customize the code further

React Components

• Individual component exports
• Use in existing React projects
• TypeScript support included
• Styled with Tailwind CSS

How to Export

1. Open your project in the editor
2. Click the menu → "Export"
3. Choose your export format
4. Download the ZIP file
5. Extract and deploy to your hosting

Deployment Platforms

PageSmith code works with all major hosting platforms:

Static Site Hosts

• Netlify - Drag and drop deployment
• Vercel - Git-based deployments
• GitHub Pages - Free hosting for static sites
• AWS S3 - Scalable cloud storage

Traditional Hosting

• cPanel Hosting - Upload via File Manager or FTP
• Shared Hosting - Works on any Linux host
• VPS/Dedicated - Full control over environment

Specialized Platforms

• Cloudflare Pages - Fast global CDN
• DigitalOcean App Platform - Simple deployment
• Render - Automatic builds and deploys

Deploying to Vercel (Next.js)

For Next.js exports:

1. Export your project as "Next.js Project"
2. Extract the ZIP file
3. Push to a GitHub repository:

   git init
   git add .
   git commit -m "Initial commit"
   git remote add origin YOUR_REPO_URL
   git push -u origin main
   

4. Connect to Vercel:
   • Visit vercel.com
   • Click "Import Project"
   • Select your GitHub repository
   • Click "Deploy"

Your site will be live in minutes!

Deploying to Netlify (Static)

For static HTML exports:

1. Export your project as "Static HTML/CSS/JS"
2. Extract the ZIP file
3. Visit netlify.com
4. Drag the extracted folder to the Netlify drop zone
5. Your site is deployed!

Continuous Deployment

For automatic updates:

1. Push your code to GitHub
2. Connect Netlify to your repository
3. Every push automatically redeploys

FTP Upload (Traditional Hosting)

For cPanel or traditional shared hosting:

1. Export as "Static HTML/CSS/JS"
2. Connect via FTP client (FileZilla, Cyberduck)
3. Upload all files to public_html or www directory
4. Your site is live at your domain!

Common FTP Settings

• Host: ftp.yourdomain.com
• Username: Your hosting username
• Password: Your hosting password
• Port: 21 (standard) or 22 (SFTP)

Environment Variables

For Next.js projects with dynamic features:

Configure these in your hosting platform:

# Required for forms
NEXT_PUBLIC_FORM_ENDPOINT=your-form-api-endpoint

# Optional analytics
NEXT_PUBLIC_GA_ID=your-google-analytics-id

SSL/HTTPS

All deployments should use HTTPS:

PageSmith Hosting

• Automatic SSL certificates
• No configuration needed

Custom Domains

• Free SSL via Let's Encrypt
• Auto-renewal

Third-Party Hosts

• Netlify/Vercel: Automatic SSL
• Traditional hosts: Enable in cPanel
• Manual: Use Certbot for Let's Encrypt

Testing Before Going Live

Always test your deployed site:

1. Check all pages - Navigate through your site
2. Test forms - Ensure form submissions work
3. Mobile testing - View on actual devices
4. Performance - Use PageSpeed Insights
5. Links - Verify all internal and external links
6. Images - Confirm all images load properly

Updating Your Live Site

PageSmith Hosted

1. Make changes in the editor
2. Click "Publish" again
3. Changes are live immediately

Self-Hosted

1. Make changes in the editor
2. Re-export your project
3. Upload/deploy the updated files

Troubleshooting

Site Not Loading

• Check DNS settings (custom domains)
• Verify hosting account is active
• Clear browser cache
• Check for SSL certificate errors

Images Not Showing

• Ensure images are included in export
• Check file paths are correct
• Verify images were uploaded to host

Forms Not Working

• Configure form endpoint
• Check API keys in environment variables
• Test with form debugging enabled

Next Steps

After deploying:

• Set up analytics to track visitors
• Configure SEO settings
• Submit sitemap to Google Search Console
• Monitor performance and uptime