How to put your AI-built website online for free (Cloudflare, Netlify, Vercel)

Hosts want the finished site, not the whole project. If your AI tool gave you plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript, upload the folder that contains index.html. If it built a project with a build step (Astro, Next.js or React), upload the build output folder, usually called dist, build or out. If you are not sure, ask your AI tool: "Give me the finished static site as one folder I can upload, and tell me which folder it is."

Facts below come from each host's official documentation, which we read on 25 October 2026. Plans and limits change, so check the host's page before relying on a number.

1. In the Cloudflare dashboard, open Workers & Pages.
2. Select Create application, then Get started, then Drag and drop your files.
3. Type a project name.
4. Drag your site folder (or a ZIP file) into the upload frame.
5. Select Deploy site. When the upload finishes, select Save and Deploy.
6. Your site is live at your-project-name.pages.dev.
7. To update it later, open the project and select Create a new deployment.

• Available on all plans, including Free.
• Drag and drop accepts up to 1,000 files and 25 MiB per file.
• Free plan: 500 deploys a month, up to 100 custom domains per project.
• Cloudflare's documentation does not state a bandwidth limit or a commercial-use restriction on Pages.
• A project created with drag and drop cannot be switched to Git later.

1. If your site is a ZIP, unzip it so the files sit in one folder.
2. Open app.netlify.com/drop.
3. Drag the folder that holds index.html into the drop zone.
4. The site goes live at a unique Netlify address.
5. To update it later, drag the new folder onto the Deploys page of your site.

• The Free plan is $0 a month with 300 credits a month and a hard limit, so you are not charged.
• It includes custom domains with SSL and a global CDN.
• Netlify states a limit of 54,000 files per directory.
• The pages we read do not say how long a drop without an account stays online. Sign in to keep your site.

1. Put your site in a Git repository on GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket.
2. Sign in to the Vercel dashboard and click New Project.
3. Choose your repository.
4. Set the project name, framework preset and output settings.
5. Click Deploy. Every push to the main branch publishes a new production version.

• The free plan is called Hobby. Vercel states it is for non-commercial, personal use only, so a business website needs a paid plan.
• Hobby includes up to 50 custom domains per project and 100 deployments a day.
• The documentation we read describes no drag-and-drop upload; the no-command-line route is a Git repository.

For a business site made from a folder, Cloudflare Pages or Netlify is the simplest. Pick Vercel if your project is already in Git and the site is personal or non-commercial.

The host gives you a free address. A domain you own, bought from a registrar, can point to it. The exact record depends on who runs your domain's DNS, and each host's documentation shows the values to use.

• Cloudflare Pages: open the project, then Custom domains, then Set up a domain. For www, add a CNAME record to your-project.pages.dev (add the domain in the dashboard first, or you will see a 522 error). For the bare domain, Cloudflare asks you to use its nameservers.
• Netlify: Domain management, then Add a domain you already own. With external DNS, use an ALIAS or A record for the bare domain and a CNAME for www. Changes can take up to 48 hours.
• Vercel: Settings, then Domains, then Add Domain. Add the A or CNAME record that Vercel shows, and wait until the Domains page shows it as configured.

A blank page usually means the wrong folder was uploaded: the site must open from index.html at the top of the folder. Broken images mean the file paths point outside the folder. Our help page has a ready fix prompt for deploy errors. If you would rather not do it yourself, we can publish it for you. The same steps, with each host's source links, are on the publish guide.