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title: "I love vercel"

Vercel: A Great Frontend Deployment Platform

Disclaimer: I’m not a professional web developer—just a student who builds websites on the side. These reflections are based on my personal experiences and ongoing learning.

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Beginnings

My journey started with a basic HTML/CSS/JS website built in VSCode. Early on, I realized I didn’t fully understand how the internet worked. To bridge that gap, I spent a lot of time researching and seeking advice from my professors, slowly piecing things together.

Along the way, I discovered that pointing a custom domain to a public IP server was much harder than it seemed—what I humorously refer to as a "skill issue."

Eventually, I explored domain providers while still hoping to host on my own machine. After checking out several options, Namecheap caught my eye, especially given its affordability for a 17-year-old.

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Version 1: Early Steps

I purchased an eye-catching .tech domain using my in-game nametag as inspiration. However, setting up proper HTTPS certificates on my personal machine proved challenging (another “skill issue”), so I opted for Namecheap’s "Stellar Hosting Plan."

After a short period of getting familiar with the UI, deploying my site became as simple as copying my HTML, CSS, and JS files into the public directory—resulting in a secure, live website in no time.

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Advancing My Skills

Once my first site was live, I took a break to explore microcontrollers and lower-level systems. But when I started university, I felt the need to level up my web skills.

This led me to Node.js, which introduced me to server-side possibilities and the power of NPM for managing packages. I even experimented with Namecheap’s feature to deploy Node.js applications, which allowed me to integrate a backend into my site effortlessly.

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A Change in Perspective

Despite my progress, I couldn’t capture the modern look and feel that many websites have today. Watching a favorite channel (Theo - t3.gg) helped me understand the differences between monolithic and serverless architectures. I realized that my single-directory approach was holding me back from the scalability and design trends of modern web development.

My exploration of serverless concepts brought me to React, though I soon discovered that it wasn’t the perfect fit for my workflow. A recommendation to try Svelte changed everything—the simplicity of its templating and its smooth integration with Node/NPM (along with Vite) resonated with me instantly.

This new approach inspired me to find a more efficient deployment platform, one that would eliminate the tedious process of manual file transfers.

Vercel emerged as the ideal solution. With features like GitHub integration, automatic domain assignment, and SSL certificate generation, Vercel transformed my deployment process over the course of a month.

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Reflections

My experience with Vercel has been transformative. While I still manage my domain through Namecheap, I’ve replaced their hosting plan with Vercel’s free Hobby tier.

The ease and efficiency of using Vercel are evident—not only did it streamline my personal projects, but it also allowed me to build a simple website for my mom’s salon. The entire process was both enjoyable and remarkably straightforward.

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These reflections represent my personal journey in web development. I hope my experiences can offer some insight and inspiration to fellow hobbyists and aspiring developers.