How to Host a Static Website with AWS: Complete Beginner Guide
By Braincuber Team
Published on April 13, 2026
Hosting a static website with AWS is an excellent choice for beginners looking to publish their first website. This complete tutorial walks you through buying a domain, configuring DNS with Route 53, hosting files with S3, and securing your site with a free SSL certificate. AWS offers a free tier that makes this extremely cost-effective.
What You'll Learn:
- Understanding domain names and DNS concepts
- Step by step guide to buying a domain name
- Complete tutorial on AWS S3 bucket configuration
- Beginner guide to Route 53 hosted zone setup
- How to add A records and alias records in Route 53
- Setting up CloudFront CDN for your website
- Configuring free SSL certificate with AWS Certificate Manager
Understanding Domain Names and DNS
A domain name is your website address, for example, example.com. But for computers, domain names are actually series of numbers called IP addresses, like 123.321.0.1. Since these numbers are hard to remember, computers use DNS (Domain Name System) to translate text-based addresses into IP addresses.
DNS acts like a directory for the internet. When you type a domain name in your browser, the DNS looks up the corresponding IP address and directs your request to the correct server.
Domain Name
Your unique website address (e.g., mywebsite.com). Prices start from a few dollars per year.
DNS
Domain Name System translates domain names to IP addresses so browsers can load websites.
Why Choose AWS for Static Hosting?
AWS offers a free tier option that makes hosting extremely affordable. You get many free products, some for 12 months and others free indefinitely. The only cost is for a Route 53 hosted zone at $0.50 per month.
AWS Free Tier Benefits
AWS offers 5GB of S3 storage, 20,000 GET requests, and 2,000 PUT requests free each month for the first 12 months.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, make sure you have completed these steps:
Buy a Domain Name
Research domain registrars and purchase your domain. Prices start from a few dollars.
Create AWS Account
Sign up for a free AWS account at aws.amazon.com
Prepare Your Website Files
Have your HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and image files ready for upload.
Creating Route 53 Hosted Zone
Route 53 is AWS's DNS service that handles all your DNS requests. If you bought your domain through AWS, a hosted zone is created automatically. If not, you need to create one manually.
Navigate to Route 53
Go to AWS Console, search for Route 53, and click "Create Hosted Zone".
Configure Hosted Zone
Enter your domain name (e.g., example.com), add a comment if desired, and select "Public Hosted Zone".
Update Name Servers
Copy the NS records from AWS and paste them into your domain registrar's DNS settings.
Important: Propagation Time
DNS changes can take up to 24 hours to propagate worldwide. Be patient after updating your name servers.
Setting Up S3 Buckets
S3 (Simple Storage Service) is where your website files will be stored. You need to create two S3 buckets: one for your domain (e.g., example.com) and another for www (e.g., www.example.com) that redirects to the main bucket.
| Bucket Name | Purpose |
|---|---|
| yourdomain.com | Main bucket - hosts all website files |
| www.yourdomain.com | Redirects to main bucket |
Create Main Bucket
Go to S3, create bucket named "yourdomain.com", and enable static website hosting.
Upload Files
Upload your HTML, CSS, JS, and image files to the bucket. Make sure index.html is included.
Create Redirect Bucket
Create "www.yourdomain.com" bucket and configure redirect to yourdomain.com.
http://yourdomainname.com.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com
Adding Alias Records in Route 53
Now you need to create alias records in Route 53 to point your domain to the S3 buckets. This connects your domain name to your website.
Go to Hosted Zone
Open your Route 53 hosted zone and click "Create Record".
Create A Record
Create an A record for "yourdomain.com" and select "Alias to S3 website endpoint".
Create WWW Record
Create another A record for "www.yourdomain.com" pointing to the www S3 bucket.
Understanding SSL Certificates
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encrypts data between users and your website. Without SSL, browsers show "Not Secure" warnings. With SSL, you get HTTPS and a padlock icon in the address bar.
HTTPS Security
SSL provides encryption and Google gives ranking boosts to HTTPS websites.
AWS Certificate Manager
AWS issues SSL certificates for $0.75 that last for one year. No renewal needed.
Important: Region Selection
When requesting SSL certificates, make sure to select "N. Virginia" region - it's the only region that can issue certificates.
Requesting SSL Certificate
Follow these steps to get your free SSL certificate from AWS Certificate Manager:
Navigate to ACM
Go to AWS Certificate Manager. IMPORTANT: Change region to "N. Virginia" first.
Request Certificate
Click "Get Started" under Provision Certificates and request a public certificate.
Add Domain Names
Enter your domain: "yourdomain.com" and "*.yourdomain.com" for wildcard coverage.
Validate with DNS
Choose DNS validation. Add CNAME records to your Route 53 hosted zone to prove domain ownership.
CNAME Record 1: @ -> _abc123.example.com
CNAME Record 2: * -> _abc123.example.com
Setting Up CloudFront Distribution
CloudFront is AWS's CDN (Content Delivery Network) that speeds up your website by caching content globally. It also enables HTTPS for your site.
Create Distribution
Go to CloudFront and create a new web distribution.
Configure Origin
Enter your S3 website endpoint as the origin (e.g., yourdomain.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com).
Add SSL Certificate
Select your SSL certificate from the dropdown menu in the distribution settings.
Update Route 53
Change your Route 53 A records to point to the CloudFront distribution domain.
Wait for Deployment
CloudFront can take 15-20 minutes to deploy. Your site will be fully live once the status shows "Deployed".
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does AWS static hosting cost?
The main cost is $0.50/month for Route 53 hosted zone. S3 and CloudFront are largely free within the AWS free tier limits.
Can I use my domain from GoDaddy with AWS?
Yes, you can use a domain from any registrar with AWS. Just update the name servers in your registrar's DNS settings.
How long does DNS propagation take?
DNS changes typically take 24-48 hours to propagate globally, though often it completes within a few hours.
Do I need to renew my SSL certificate?
AWS ACM certificates auto-renew if they're associated with a CloudFront distribution or load balancer.
What is the difference between S3 website hosting and CloudFront?
S3 hosts your files directly while CloudFront caches them globally for faster delivery. CloudFront also enables HTTPS.
Need Help with AWS Hosting?
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