Netlify is a modern cloud hosting platform that revolutionizes how developers deploy and manage static websites, JAMstack applications, and serverless functions. Built for the AI-assisted development era, Netlify enables you to ship code from natural language descriptions directly to production through seamless Git-based workflows and continuous deployment automation.
Netlify transforms the deployment experience by automating the entire build and release process. Connect your GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket repository once, and every code push automatically triggers builds and deploys to a globally distributed CDN—no manual configuration required. This Git-based workflow aligns perfectly with vibe coding practices, letting you focus on describing what you want to build while AI handles implementation and Netlify handles deployment.
Continuous Deployment from Git Netlify automatically detects changes in your repository and builds your site using your preferred static site generator or frontend framework. Whether you're building with Next.js, React, Vue, Gatsby, or Hugo, Netlify's build system handles the compilation and optimization automatically.
Deploy Previews for Every Pull Request Every pull request generates a unique preview URL, allowing your team to review changes in a live environment before merging to production. This feature accelerates AI-assisted development workflows—when Claude or ChatGPT generates code, you can instantly preview the results in a production-like environment.
Edge Functions and Serverless Backend Run serverless functions at the edge using Netlify Edge Functions, powered by Deno. These functions execute close to your users, reducing latency and enabling dynamic functionality without managing servers. Perfect for adding API endpoints, authentication logic, or real-time features to static sites.
Global CDN with Automatic Optimization Your site deploys to Netlify's globally distributed content delivery network, ensuring fast load times worldwide. Automatic HTTPS, asset optimization, and intelligent caching come standard—no additional configuration needed.
| Feature | Netlify | Traditional Hosting |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment Speed | Automatic on git push | Manual FTP/SSH uploads |
| CDN Distribution | Global by default | Often requires separate setup |
| HTTPS | Automatic with Let's Encrypt | Manual certificate management |
| Rollbacks | One-click to any previous deploy | Complex manual process |
| Preview Environments | Automatic per PR | Requires custom infrastructure |
The platform now offers an always-free plan with generous monthly limits: 100 GB bandwidth, 300 build minutes, 125,000 function invocations, and 1 million edge function invocations—perfect for personal projects and small applications.
Netlify pioneered the JAMstack (JavaScript, APIs, and Markup) architecture, decoupling the frontend from backend services. This approach delivers superior performance, enhanced security, and infinite scalability compared to traditional monolithic architectures. Your AI-generated frontend code runs as static files served from the CDN, while serverless functions handle dynamic operations.
Form Handling Without Backend Code
Netlify processes form submissions automatically, storing responses and sending notifications—no server-side code required. Simply add a netlify attribute to your HTML forms.
Split Testing and A/B Experiments Test multiple versions of your site simultaneously with built-in split testing. Deploy different branches to different percentages of your traffic without external tools.
DNS Management and Custom Domains Manage domains directly through Netlify's DNS service with automatic HTTPS configuration. Point your custom domain and SSL certificates are provisioned instantly.
Atomic Deploys and Instant Rollbacks Every deployment is atomic—all files update simultaneously, preventing broken states. If issues arise, roll back to any previous version with a single click.
Developers report deploying sites in under 60 seconds from code push to live production. The platform handles traffic spikes effortlessly—whether you're serving 100 visitors or 100,000, Netlify's infrastructure scales automatically without performance degradation.
Netlify's 2025 updates include Agent Runners, letting you ship AI-generated code directly from the dashboard using Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini without local setup. This native AI integration makes Netlify the ideal platform for vibe coding workflows—describe your feature in natural language, let AI generate the code, and deploy to production instantly.
Choose Netlify when you need:
While Vercel offers superior edge computing for Next.js applications with advanced SSR capabilities, Netlify excels in simplicity, plugin-based customization, and broader static site generator support. Both platforms serve the modern frontend development ecosystem brilliantly—your choice depends on specific framework requirements and team preferences.
Netlify is a cloud hosting platform designed for deploying static websites, JAMstack applications, and serverless functions. It automates the entire deployment process through Git-based continuous deployment—connect your GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket repository and every code push automatically builds and deploys your site to a global CDN. Netlify is used for hosting modern web applications built with frameworks like Next.js, React, Vue, Gatsby, and Hugo, providing features like automatic HTTPS, deploy previews, edge functions, and form handling without managing servers.
Netlify offers an always-free plan with generous limits perfect for personal projects and small applications. The free tier includes 100 GB bandwidth per month, 300 build minutes, 125,000 serverless function invocations, 1 million edge function invocations, and 10 GB storage. If your project exceeds these limits, Netlify suspends it until the next month or you can upgrade to a paid plan starting at $19/month per user, which provides 1TB bandwidth, 25,000 build minutes, and 2 million edge function calls.
Deploying to Netlify takes just a few steps: First, sign up for a free Netlify account and connect it to your Git provider (GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket). Select the repository containing your site and configure build settings—Netlify auto-detects most frameworks like Next.js, React, and Gatsby automatically. Click deploy and Netlify builds your site and publishes it to a global CDN. For subsequent deployments, simply push code to your repository and Netlify automatically rebuilds and redeploys. You can also drag and drop a folder of static files directly into the Netlify dashboard for instant deployment without Git.
Netlify and Vercel are both excellent frontend hosting platforms with similar core features like Git-based continuous deployment, automatic HTTPS, and serverless functions. The key differences: Vercel offers superior edge computing capabilities and is optimized specifically for Next.js with advanced server-side rendering support, while Netlify excels in simplicity, broader static site generator support, and plugin-based customization. Netlify provides more generous free tier limits and built-in form handling, while Vercel has more advanced edge caching and faster cold starts for serverless functions. Choose Vercel for Next.js production apps requiring advanced SSR; choose Netlify for simpler static sites, JAMstack applications, and ease of use.
Netlify supports virtually all modern frontend frameworks and static site generators including Next.js, React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, Gatsby, Hugo, Jekyll, Eleventy, Astro, and many more. Netlify auto-detects popular frameworks and configures build settings automatically. You can also deploy plain HTML/CSS/JavaScript sites or use any build tool that generates static files. The platform handles any static site generator that outputs HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, giving you complete flexibility in technology choices while maintaining the same seamless deployment experience.
Yes, Netlify provides serverless functions through AWS Lambda integration and Edge Functions powered by Deno. You can write serverless functions in JavaScript, TypeScript, or Go to handle API requests, authentication, database operations, and dynamic content without managing servers. Edge Functions run at the CDN edge close to users for minimal latency. The free tier includes 125,000 serverless function invocations and 1 million edge function invocations per month. Functions are deployed automatically with your site and can be used for form processing, payment handling, server-side API calls, and any backend logic your application needs.
Free static site hosting with global edge deployment, automatic CI/CD from Git, serverless functions, and built-in security from Cloudflare.
Premier frontend deployment platform with zero-config Git deployments, Edge Functions, serverless architecture, and v0 AI component generator. Perfect for Next.js with automatic optimization.
Object storage service with zero egress fees and S3-compatible API. Cloudflare R2 offers 20-40% faster performance than AWS S3 with global uniform pricing for startups, media apps, and AI workloads.