Deploy to Netlify

Netlify is a well-established static host with a generous free tier and strong CI/CD features. This guide covers connecting a Project Broadsheet repo, build settings, and custom domains.

Netlify is a popular alternative to Cloudflare Pages. It has a slightly more mature deploy dashboard, branch deploys with per-commit preview URLs, and an extensive plugin ecosystem. The free tier is enough for most independent publications.

Connect your repo

1. Sign in at https://app.netlify.com.
2. Click Add new site, then Import an existing project.
3. Choose GitHub and authorize access to the Project Broadsheet repository.

Build settings

On the configuration screen:

• Branch to deploy: main
• Build command: npm run build
• Publish directory: _site
• Node version: set NODE_VERSION to 20 (or 18) in environment variables.

Click Deploy site. The first build completes in about 60 seconds.

Custom domain

Settings → Domains → Add custom domain. Netlify provides a CNAME value to point at from your DNS provider. HTTPS is issued automatically via Let's Encrypt.

Deploy previews

Netlify automatically creates a preview URL for every pull request. Share the link with editors or collaborators for review before merging to main.

netlify.toml (optional)

If you prefer configuration in the repo over the dashboard, create a netlify.toml at the repo root:

[build]
  command = "npm run build"
  publish = "_site"

[build.environment]
  NODE_VERSION = "20"

Redirects

Migrating from another platform? Add a _redirects file at the repo root:

/old-path /new-path 301

Netlify picks this up on every deploy and serves the redirects for you.

Differences from Cloudflare Pages

• Cold starts. Neither has meaningful cold-start time for static content.
• Global distribution. Both are comparable. Cloudflare's network is larger; Netlify's is sufficient.
• Pricing. Both offer generous free tiers. Paid plans start in similar ranges.
• Build minutes. Netlify's free tier includes 300 build minutes per month.

What to do next

• Custom domain for DNS and HTTPS setup.
• Environment variables for production secrets.
• Cloudflare Pages to compare.