Deploying a static website on AWS offers a scalable, secure, and cost-effective solution for hosting web content. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the steps of securing your domain with AWS Certificate Manager (ACM), hosting static content on Amazon S3, configuring Amazon CloudFront for enhanced delivery, connecting your domain to CloudFront with Amazon Route 53, updating your website content, geo-restricting access with CloudFront, and hands-on exercises with AWS services.

Securing Your Domain with ACM

To ensure your website’s security, you need an SSL/TLS certificate. AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) provides a straightforward way to request and manage certificates.

Steps:

  1. Open ACM Console: Navigate to the AWS Certificate Manager console.
  2. Request a Certificate: Click “Request a certificate,” then select “Request a public certificate.”
  3. Enter Domain Names: Add your domain name and any subdomains.
  4. Validate Domain: Choose DNS validation and follow the instructions to add CNAME records in Route 53.
  5. Wait for Validation: ACM will issue the certificate once the DNS records are propagated.

Hosting Static Website Content on S3

Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) is perfect for hosting static websites due to its durability, scalability, and low cost.

Steps:

  1. Create an S3 Bucket: Open the S3 console and create a bucket with a name matching your domain.
  2. Enable Static Website Hosting: In the bucket properties, enable static website hosting and specify the index and error documents.
  3. Upload Your Content: Upload your static files (HTML, CSS, JS, images) to the bucket.
  4. Set Permissions: Make your bucket public by configuring the bucket policy to allow public read access.

Configuring CloudFront for Enhanced Delivery

Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) that speeds up the distribution of your static content by caching it at edge locations worldwide.

Steps:

  1. Create a Distribution: Open the CloudFront console and create a new distribution.
  2. Specify Origin: Set the origin to your S3 bucket.
  3. Configure Settings: Customize settings like enabling SSL/TLS, setting the default root object, and adding behaviors for caching policies.
  4. Use ACM Certificate: Attach the ACM certificate to the CloudFront distribution to enable HTTPS.

Connecting Your Domain to CloudFront with Route 53

Amazon Route 53 is a scalable DNS web service that helps you connect your domain to your CloudFront distribution.

Steps:

  1. Open Route 53 Console: Navigate to the Route 53 console.
  2. Create Hosted Zone: If you don’t have a hosted zone, create one for your domain.
  3. Create Record Set: Add an alias record pointing your domain to the CloudFront distribution.

Updating Website Content

Keeping your website content up-to-date is essential. With S3, updating content is straightforward.

Steps:

  1. Upload New Content: Upload the new or updated files to your S3 bucket.
  2. Invalidate CloudFront Cache: Use the CloudFront console to create an invalidation for the updated files, ensuring users get the latest content.

Geo-Restricting Access with CloudFront

To restrict access to your website based on geographical location, you can use CloudFront’s geo-restriction feature.

Steps:

  1. Open CloudFront Console: Navigate to the CloudFront distribution settings.
  2. Configure Geo-Restriction: In the restrictions tab, enable geo-restriction and specify the countries to allow or block.

Hands-On Exercises with AWS Services

To get hands-on experience, follow these exercises:

  1. Request a Certificate in ACM: Secure your domain by requesting a certificate.
  2. Host a Website on S3: Set up a static website on S3.
  3. Create a CloudFront Distribution: Configure a CloudFront distribution for your S3-hosted content.
  4. Connect Domain with Route 53: Point your domain to CloudFront using Route 53.
  5. Update Website Content: Practice updating and invalidating cached content.
  6. Set Geo-Restrictions: Apply geo-restriction to control access.

Conclusion

Deploying a static website on AWS involves several steps, but each AWS service simplifies the process, ensuring a secure, high-performance, and globally accessible site. Follow this guide to seamlessly set up your website and leverage AWS’s powerful capabilities.

References

Use an Amazon CloudFront distribution to serve a static website

Automating Secure and Scalable Website Deployment on AWS with Amazon CloudFront and AWS CDK