Learn · Deployment & hosting
HTTPS is the secure version of the connection between a browser and a site, and SSL (now technically TLS) is the certificate that enables it. It encrypts data in transit, so passwords and payments can't be read in between. It's shown by the padlock, and as of 2026 it's mandatory in practice, not optional.
Without it, browsers mark your site "not secure," which scares visitors away, and Google favors secure sites in ranking. Any site collecting information, even just a contact form, needs it to protect users and to be trusted.
The good news is it's free and usually automatic. Certificates from Let's Encrypt are free, and most hosts and platforms set up and renew HTTPS for you with no manual work. There's rarely any reason to run a site without it.
Updated July 2026
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DNS (domain name system) is the internet's address book. It translates a human name like example.com into the numeric IP address of the server that hosts the site, so your browser knows where to connect. Every time you visit a site, a DNS lookup quietly happens first.
Match the host to your site's type and traffic, then weigh reliability (uptime), speed, support quality, security features, and price, in roughly that order. A simple site fits cheap shared hosting or a free platform tier. A busy store or app needs cloud or a VPS. Don't choose on price alone.
Deployment is the process of taking code from a developer's computer and putting it live on a server so real users can access it. It covers moving the files, configuring the environment, and switching the site over, ideally with no downtime. "Shipping" a change means deploying it.
A domain name is your site's readable address (example.com), which you rent from a registrar, usually for around $10 to $15 a year. It points, via DNS, to wherever your site is hosted. You don't own it forever, you lease it, so it must be renewed to keep it.
The main types are shared (many sites on one server, cheapest), VPS (a guaranteed slice of a server, more power), dedicated (a whole server to yourself, most control and cost), and cloud or serverless (flexible capacity that scales with demand). Which you need depends on traffic, budget, and control.
Serverless means your code runs on demand without you managing any server. The platform automatically provides capacity when a request comes in and scales down when it's idle, and you pay only for what's actually used. Platforms like Vercel, Netlify, and cloud functions work this way.