Start from files, not from a product tour

Putting an HTML website online is a file logistics problem. You already have (or can create) documents the browser understands. The job is to place them on a host that answers HTTPS requests with those exact files. This checklist assumes you are not asking the host to compile frameworks for you—StaticHost will not—and that you are comfortable opening a folder and inspecting what is inside.

Print this mentally as a sequence. Skip a step and you usually get a blank root, broken CSS, or a custom domain that still shows the old host.

Checklist: local readiness

  • [ ] You have a single folder that represents the site root.
  • [ ] That folder contains index.html at the top level (not only inside a subfolder named after the project).
  • [ ] Opening index.html in a browser shows the layout you expect, even if some absolute paths behave differently than on a real host.
  • [ ] CSS and JS are referenced with paths that will work from /—prefer css/site.css or /css/site.css over accidental ../../ escapes.
  • [ ] Images and fonts used on the home page exist on disk at the referenced paths.
  • [ ] You are not relying on a local Live Server plugin behavior that rewrites routes; StaticHost will not.
  • [ ] If the site is a built SPA, you have read host a single-page application and accepted hash routing or per-route files. History-mode deep links 404 here (try_files $uri $uri/ =404).

If any box is unchecked, fix the folder first. Hosting amplifies structure; it does not repair it.

Checklist: package for upload

  • [ ] Decide zip versus GitHub. Zip is fine for a personal HTML site you edit occasionally. GitHub fits when the repo (or a branch) already holds the files you want served—remember: no remote npm ci on StaticHost. See git deploy a static site.
  • [ ] For zip: select the *contents* of the site root so index.html sits at the archive root. A classic failure is zipping the parent so extraction yields my-site/index.html and / 404s. Remediation: zip a static site without 404.
  • [ ] Exclude junk: .DS_Store, editor swap files, private notes, .env files that somehow landed next to HTML.
  • [ ] Note the approximate size. Starter includes 2 GB; larger media libraries may need Pro (10 GB) or above.

Checklist: create the hosted site

  • [ ] Create an account and pick a plan. Starter ($9/mo) is one site and 2 GB. Pro ($30) adds staging and three sites. Scale ($65) covers ten sites and 30 GB. Business ($130) covers thirty sites, 100 GB, and teams. There is a short trial (~1 day), not a forever-free tier.
  • [ ] Create a new site and upload the zip or connect the repository that contains the built HTML.
  • [ ] Open the HTTPS preview URL as soon as the deploy finishes. TLS on preview does not wait for your DNS.
  • [ ] Hard-refresh. Confirm CSS loads (View Source / Network tab). Confirm favicon and one interior page if you have multiple HTML files.
  • [ ] If you use multiple HTML pages (about.html, contact.html), click each link once on the preview hostname.

Broken relative links that “worked on my desktop” usually show up in this pass. Fix locally, re-zip, redeploy. Use deploy history to roll back if the new zip is worse.

Checklist: custom domain (optional but common)

  • [ ] Decide the hostname (example.com and/or www).
  • [ ] In the StaticHost dashboard, add the domain and copy the DNS records it asks for.
  • [ ] At your DNS provider, create those records. Wait for propagation.
  • [ ] After StaticHost verifies DNS, wait for the certificate to issue for that hostname. Do not announce the custom URL as “live on HTTPS” before that completes.
  • [ ] Re-test the same pages on the custom hostname. Fix mixed content if any asset still points at http://. Guide: static hosting with free SSL.

Fuller DNS narrative: HTML website with custom domain and static hosting with a custom domain.

Checklist: what not to expect

  • [ ] Do not look for cPanel, mailbox setup, or PHP .htaccess tricks. They are not part of this product.
  • [ ] Do not expect a built-in global CDN product; optimize file weight and caching headers expectations realistically—fast static site hosting.
  • [ ] Do not upload a WordPress tree and hope. WordPress needs a PHP host; say that out loud to anyone asking you to “just put the WP zip here.”

A minimal example tree

site/
  index.html
  about.html
  css/site.css
  js/main.js
  images/hero.webp

Zip so that index.html is at the root of the archive. After deploy, https://preview…/ serves index.html, and https://preview…/about.html serves the second page. Directories with their own index.html work as folder URLs; invented SPA paths without files do not.

When the checklist is done

You have an HTML website online: files on disk, HTTPS preview, optional custom domain with a verified certificate, and rollback via deploy history. Maintenance is editing files, rebuilding if you use a generator, and uploading again. That is the entire loop for how to publish HTML CSS JavaScript files as well—this checklist is the HTML-first path into the same system.

If you outgrow a single brochure and need staging or more sites, upgrade the plan rather than overloading one project. If you need server-side sessions or a database-backed CMS, stop and read when static hosting is the wrong choice before forcing the architecture.

FAQ

Can I edit HTML on the server through a browser IDE?

StaticHost is oriented around zip or GitHub deploys of a full tree, not long cPanel-style file managers as the primary workflow. Edit locally, then publish.

Why does my CSS work locally but not on the preview URL?

Almost always a path or nesting issue: wrong relative URL, or the zip contained an extra top-level folder. Inspect the preview with the browser network panel and compare to your local tree.

Do I need Git to put HTML online?

No. Zip upload is enough. Git helps when you want history and repeatable deploys from a repo that already contains the files to serve.

Is one HTML file enough?

Yes. Many personal and campaign pages are a single index.html plus assets. See also host a personal HTML website.

What happens after the short trial?

Choose a paid plan (Starter upward) to keep the site online. There is no forever-free hosting tier on StaticHost.