Netlify

Netlify Introduction

Netlify is an all-in-one modern web development and hosting platform. It primarily provides frontend developers and teams with automated workflows spanning code deployment, global distribution, and serverless backend integration.

Its purpose is to serve websites and applications built on the JAMstack architecture. By deeply integrating Git workflows with a global edge network, it simplifies the process of building, deploying, and maintaining high-performance websites and web applications.

1. Netlify Basics

• Service Provider Name: Netlify
• English Name: Netlify
• Established: 2014
• Headquarters Address: San Francisco, USA
• Official website address: https://www.netlify.com/
• Service Type: Web Hosting Platform, Edge Network, Front-End Workflow Automation
• Reference Pricing: Free plan available; Paid plans starting at $19/month per site; Enterprise plans available upon request.
• Is a trial available? Yes, the free plan includes most core features.

2. Core Advantages and Technical Features of Netlify

Git-Driven Automated Workflow
Deeply integrated with GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket, it supports automatically triggering builds, tests, and global deployments after code submission, enabling continuous deployment.

Global Edge Network Pre-Deployment
All deployed sites and resources are automatically distributed across its global edge network (powered by multiple CDN partners), delivering out-of-the-box global acceleration.

Native Integration of Serverless Functions
The platform natively integrates Netlify Functions, allowing developers to deploy and run serverless functions directly within their projects without managing additional infrastructure.

Rich pre-built integrations and plugins
Offers out-of-the-box features such as form processing, authentication, and A/B testing, along with a vast plugin ecosystem to extend platform capabilities.

3. Netlify's Core Products and Services

• Automated static website and web application hosting.
• Global Edge Content Delivery Network.
• Serverless function hosting.
• Form Processing Service.
• Identity Verification and User Identity Services.
• Site Deployment Preview and Split Testing.
• Visual configuration and plugin system.

4. Netlify Supported Regions / Billing Currencies

Coverage Areas: Through its global edge network, site content is distributed to edge nodes across multiple regions worldwide, including North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and South America.

Coverage Features: Built in partnership with multiple leading CDN providers, this network delivers low-latency global access for static resources and serverless functions.

Supported billing currency: USD (United States Dollar).

5. How to Integrate with Netlify

1. Visit the official website and register using your email, GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket account.
2. Click the “New site from Git” button in the console to connect to your code repository.
3. Select the repository and branch to deploy, and authorize access permissions.
4. Configure build settings (such as build commands and output directories), or use the results from platform auto-detection.
5. Click “Deploy site,” and the platform will automatically execute the build and deploy the product to the global network.
6. After deployment is complete, access the site using the system-assigned netlify.app subdomain or add a custom domain.

6. Netlify Use Cases

• JAMstack websites or blogs built using modern frameworks such as React, Vue, Next.js, Nuxt.js, and others.
• Static sites requiring rapid iteration, high availability, and fast global access speeds, such as technical documentation and product marketing pages.
• Frontend applications requiring integration with serverless functions to handle form submissions, user authentication, or lightweight APIs.
• The development team needs to automatically generate separate deployment previews for each Pull Request for code review and testing.

7. Netlify FAQ

How does Netlify differ from traditional web hosting or VPS?
It is specifically designed for modern Git-based frontend workflows, offering high automation with integrated build, deployment, CDN, and serverless capabilities—rather than providing a generic server environment.

What are the limitations of the free plan?
Includes limits such as monthly build minutes, bandwidth traffic, form submissions, and serverless function calls. Specific quotas are subject to the latest policy.

Does it support custom domains and SSL certificates?
Fully supported. Custom domains can be added, and HTTPS/SSL certificates issued by Let's Encrypt are automatically provided and renewed.

Can non-static web applications (such as Node.js backends) be deployed?
Its core hosting service targets static files and pre-rendered content. Dynamic server-side logic must be implemented through serverless functions, rather than running persistent Node.js server processes.

How to manage environment variables or sensitive information on a website?
These variables can be configured in the “Environment variables” section of the site settings and are available during the build process and in the runtime environment.