Web Hosting - Static Hosting Options (HTML/Javascript/CSS)
DoIT's Web Hosting service offers free hosting of static websites (Bring your own site / HTML-only) to UW-Madison customers.
Please note: Unless you already have a static site built you may want to consider the free Campus WiscwebCMS offering based off WordPress and easy to manage via the UW WordPress Theme.
There are two options for Static/HTML only hosting
Option 1: Traditional Apache Web Server Hosting
- Hosted on virtual servers in CCI.
- Includes a Web Administration Control Panel (Plesk) with:
- File manager
- Secure FTP access
- Built-in web statistics and access logs
- Basic authentication for password protection
- GIT integration
.htaccessconfiguration support
- Provides flexibility and additional tools for site management.
Option 2: AWS Highly Available CDN
- Leverages Amazon’s global infrastructure for fast content delivery and high availability.
- Access is to publish files is provided via GIT Lab repository (NetID-based):
- Access rights to grant other NetIDs permission to the repository.
- Deploy by committing files to the repository; a built-in CI/CD pipeline automatically pushes updates to the CDN.
- Ideal for sites built with Static Site Generators (e.g., Hugo, Gatsby, Jekyll).
Feature |
Option 1: Apache Hosting |
Option 2: AWS CDN Hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting Type | On-premise CCI virtual servers | AWS global CDN infrastructure |
| Deployment Method | Secure FTP or Plesk control panel | GIT commit → automatic CI/CD pipeline |
| Access Control | Plesk Login | NetID-based GIT repository |
| Best For | Traditional static sites | Static Site Generators (Hugo, Gatsby, Jekyll) |
| Flexibility | High (Plesk tools, .htaccess) | Limited (CDN-focused) |
| Performance | Standard | High availability & fast delivery |