How to Host a Static Website for Free with AWS S3

Posted on September 30, 2025 • 5 min read • 956 words

Aws S3 Helene

Share via

Link copied to clipboard

A guide to hosting a static website for free using AWS S3.

On this page

How to Host a Static Website for Free with AWS S3 — Photo by Helene Hemmerter

I. Why Choose AWS S3 to Host a Static Website for Free?

Amazon S3 allows hosting of fully static websites (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
With the AWS Free Tier, a small site can stay free for 12 months (up to 5 GB of storage, 20,000 GET requests & 2,000 PUT requests per month).
Highly resilient, scalable, and serverless, S3 provides 99.999999999% durability and handles traffic spikes effortlessly.
For HTTPS and custom domains, Amazon recommends using Amazon CloudFront + Route 53.

II. Prerequisites and Initial Setup

Create a bucket
Disable public access restrictions
Add a public access policy

Before deploying a static site with S3, basic configuration is required. Here’s the step-by-step setup:

1. Create a Bucket

In the AWS console, go to Amazon S3 and click Create bucket.
Name the bucket exactly like your domain (e.g., example.com) to use it with a custom domain.
Choose a region close to your users.

2. Disable Public Access Restrictions

By default, new buckets block public access. In the Permissions tab, edit Block Public Access and disable the options.

3. Add a Public Access Policy

Add the following policy in Bucket Policy:

{
  "Version":"2012-10-17",
  "Statement":[
    {
      "Sid":"PublicReadGetObject",
      "Effect":"Allow",
      "Principal":"*",
      "Action":["s3:GetObject"],
      "Resource":["arn:aws:s3:::YOUR_BUCKET_NAME/*"]
    }
  ]
}

Replace YOUR_BUCKET_NAME with the actual name of your bucket.

III. Deployment and Hosting Setup: Step by Step

Prepare your site files
Upload files to S3
Enable static website hosting
Test the website
Add a custom 404 page (optional)

Once your S3 bucket is properly configured, it’s time to upload your static website and enable the hosting feature. Here are the detailed steps to get your site online in just a few minutes.

1. Prepare Your Site Files

Create a simple structure like:

my-site/
├── index.html
├── style.css
├── script.js
└── img/
    └── logo.png

The index.html file is required.
Make sure all relative paths in your HTML are correct.

2. Upload Files to S3

Two methods:

A. Via the AWS Web Console:

Open your bucket in S3.
Click Upload > Add files and select your site files.
Click Upload (default options are fine if public access is enabled).

B. Via AWS CLI:

If AWS CLI is installed and configured:

aws s3 cp ./my-site/ s3://BUCKET_NAME/ --recursive

Replace BUCKET_NAME with your actual bucket name. The –recursive option is essential to upload the entire folder.

3. Enable Static Website Hosting

Open the Properties tab of your bucket in AWS.
Find the Static website hosting section.
Click Edit > check Use this bucket to host a website.
Enter:
- Index document: index.html
- Error document (optional): 404.html
Save changes.

An endpoint URL like http://BUCKET_NAME.s3-website-REGION.amazonaws.com will be generated.

4. Test the Website

Open the generated URL in your browser.
You should see your index.html.

If it doesn’t work:

Check that files were uploaded correctly.
Make sure the bucket policy allows public read access.
Check the permissions using the Permissions > Bucket policy button.

5. Add a Custom 404 Page (Optional)

Create a 404.html file and place it at the root of your project.

Minimal example:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><title>Page Not Found</title></head>
<body>
  <h1>404 – Page Not Found</h1>
</body>
</html>

Specify this file in the Error document setting so S3 can display it for invalid URLs.

📌 Note: the generated URL uses HTTP only. To enable HTTPS, configure CloudFront with an SSL certificate.

IV. Advanced Options: CloudFront, Custom Domain, and Security

A. Add a Custom Domain

Create a Hosted Zone in Route 53.
Add an A Alias record pointing to the bucket or CloudFront.

B. Improve Performance with CloudFront

Create a CloudFront distribution.
Enable Origin Access Control (OAC) to restrict bucket access.
Use ACM certificate for HTTPS.

C. Comparison Table

Feature	S3 Only	S3 + CloudFront + Route 53
HTTPS	❌ No	✅ Yes
Custom Domain	❌ Limited	✅ Full with Route 53
CDN (Caching)	❌ No	✅ Yes
Estimated Cost (Post-Free)	✅ ~$0–0.50/month	✅ ~$1/month

V. What Happens After the Free Tier?

When the 12-month AWS Free Tier period ends, the resources you use are billed at the standard service rates. This does not disable your site, but it can lead to monthly charges if you continue using Amazon S3, CloudFront, or Route 53.

A. Standard Pricing (post-Free Tier)

Amazon S3 (Static Site Hosting)

Resource	Price (us-east-1)
Standard Storage	~$0.023 USD/GB/month
GET Requests	~$0.0004 per 1,000 requests
PUT/COPY/POST	~$0.005 per 1,000 requests

Amazon CloudFront (CDN + HTTPS)

Resource	Price
Data Transfer Out	~$0.085 USD/GB
HTTP/HTTPS Requests	~$0.0075 per 10,000 reqs

Route 53 (Custom Domain)

Resource	Price
Hosted Zone DNS	~$0.50/month
DNS Records	Free (up to 10,000)
Domain Name (optional)	~$12/year

B. Example: Static Blog – 100 MB & 5,000 Visits/Month

Assumptions:

Total site size: 100 MB
Monthly traffic: ~500 MB to 1 GB
5,000 GET requests, 0 PUTs

Estimated Monthly Cost:

Service	Cost Estimate
S3 Storage	$0.0023
S3 Requests	~$0.002
CloudFront	~$0.10–0.20
Route 53	$0.50 (if custom DNS)
Total	~$0.60 to $0.75

Static sites remain very inexpensive, even post-Free Tier, especially at moderate traffic levels.

Tip: Set Up AWS Budgets

Use AWS Budgets to get alerts if your usage exceeds thresholds:

👉 https://console.aws.amazon.com/billing/home#/budgets

This helps you keep costs under control even after the Free Tier expires.

VI. Use Cases and Benefits

Personal portfolio
Static documentation
Landing page
Generated blog (Hugo, Jekyll, etc.)

VII. Conclusion

Amazon S3 offers a reliable and low-cost solution for hosting static sites. With no server maintenance and high durability, it’s perfect for modern web projects. Paired with CloudFront and Route 53, you get global delivery, HTTPS, and custom domains at minimal cost.

🔗 Useful Resources

The Basics of SEO: How Search Engines Work

How to Host a Static Website for Free with GitHub Pages

We work with you!