Hosting a Static Website on AWS S3

In this post, we’ll walk through the steps to host a static website using Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service). S3 is an excellent option for static site hosting due to its reliability, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.

Step 1: Create an S3 Bucket

1. Log in to your AWS Management Console.
2. Navigate to the S3 service.
3. Click on Create bucket.
4. Enter a unique bucket name (e.g., your-website-name) and choose your preferred region.
5. Uncheck Block all public access to allow public access to your website. Acknowledge the warning.
6. Click Create bucket.

Step 2: Upload Your Website Files

1. Open your newly created bucket.
2. Click on Upload and select the files you want to host. This typically includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, etc.
3. Once uploaded, ensure all files are accessible.

Step 3: Set Bucket Policy for Public Access

1. Go to the Permissions tab in your S3 bucket.

2. Scroll down to Bucket policy and add the following policy, replacing your-bucket-name with your actual bucket name:

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

Step 4: Enable Static Website Hosting

1. Go to the “Properties” tab in your S3 bucket.
2. Scroll down to “Static website hosting” and select “Enable.”
3. Choose “Host a static website.”
4. Set the index document (e.g., index.html).
5. Optionally, specify an error document (e.g., error.html).
6. Save the changes.

Step 5: Access Your Website

You’ll see a URL provided in the “Static website hosting” section (e.g., http://your-bucket-name.s3-website-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com). This URL is now the public URL for your static website.

In case the main website fails it redirects to an error page.

Resources: aws-s3-static-website