Deploying and Optimizing Your PortfolioLesson 5.1

How to deploy a portfolio site to Vercel or Netlify for free

Vercel deployment, Netlify deployment, Git-based deployment, production branch, automatic deploys, deploy previews, environment variables in dashboard, free tier limits

Deploying in Under 5 Minutes

Both Vercel and Netlify connect to your GitHub repository and deploy automatically on every push to your main branch. You do not need to touch a server.

Vercel Deployment

# Option 1: Vercel CLI
npm install -g vercel
vercel login
vercel --prod

# Option 2: Dashboard
# 1. Go to vercel.com and sign in with GitHub
# 2. Click "Add New Project"
# 3. Import your portfolio repository
# 4. Click "Deploy" — no config needed for static sites

Netlify Deployment

# Option 1: Netlify CLI
npm install -g netlify-cli
netlify login
netlify deploy --prod --dir .

# Option 2: Drag and Drop
# 1. Go to app.netlify.com
# 2. Drag your project folder onto the deploy zone
# This creates a live URL instantly — no account needed

Which to Choose

Both are free for personal projects. Use Vercel if you plan to add Next.js or serverless functions later — it is the same company and integration is seamless. Use Netlify if you want form handling built in — Netlify Forms can replace Formspree for your contact form with zero code.

After first deploy, every git push origin main triggers an automatic redeploy. Share the generated URL immediately — it is permanent and does not require a custom domain.