Deploy Static Sites with Zero Configuration and Custom Domains

In this guide, you'll learn how to deploy static websites to Railway with automatic GitHub builds, SSL certificates, and custom domains. All with zero configuration required.

What is Railway?

Railway is a modern deployment platform that lets you deploy static websites and applications without managing servers, configuring load balancers, or learning complex infrastructure. It provides automatic builds, zero-downtime deployments, and built-in CI/CD.

Learn more about Railway's core components and foundations.

Why Choose Railway for Static Hosting?

Railway offers several advantages for static site hosting:

Zero configuration: Deploy from GitHub without build scripts or complex setup.
Automatic builds: Every push triggers a new deployment automatically.
Custom domains: Automatically provisioned SSL certificates and custom domain setup.
Preview environments: Test changes with automatic PR previews.
Usage-based pricing: Pay only for what you use, starting at $5/month.
Private repositories: Deploy from private GitHub repos without additional cost.

Prerequisites

This is a beginner-friendly guide. You'll need:

A Railway account
Git configured and a GitHub account

Deploy a static site on Railway from your own GitHub repository

Go to railway.com/new
Select "Deploy from GitHub repo"
Connect your GitHub account and choose your repository
Railway will automatically detect the build configuration and deploy your site

Configure a custom domain

Custom domains can be added to any Railway service with automatic SSL certificate provisioning.

Navigate to your service settings:
- In your Railway project, click on your deployed service
- Go to the "Settings" tab
- Scroll to the "Networking" section
Add your domain:
- Click the "+ Custom Domain" button
- Enter your domain (e.g., example.com) and specify the target port
- Railway will provide you with a CNAME record to configure in your DNS provider

Add a Custom Domain

Configure DNS:
- In your DNS provider (Cloudflare, Namecheap, etc.), create a CNAME record
- Point your domain to the Railway-provided CNAME
- Wait for verification (usually takes a few minutes but can take up to 72 hours)
SSL Certificate:
- Railway automatically issues and renews SSL certificates
- Your site will be available at https://your-domain.com

Learn more about custom domains and SSL configuration in Railway.

Set up preview environments for every pull request for your static site

Railway can automatically create preview environments for every pull request, letting you test changes before merging.

Configure project settings:
- Go to your Project Settings → Environments tab
- Click "Enable PR Environments"

PR Environments

Create a feature branch:

git checkout -b feature/new-page
# Make your changes
git add .
git commit -m "Add new page"
git push origin feature/new-page

Create a pull request:
- Once you create a pull request, Railway will automatically deploy a preview environment with a unique URL where you can preview your changes.
- When the PR is merged or closed, the PR environment is automatically deleted.

Learn more about using environments and PR environments.

Deploy replicas in different regions for global performance

Railway enables you to deploy your static site across multiple regions for improved global performance and availability.

Reduced latency: Serve content from the region closest to your users
High availability: If one region experiences issues, traffic automatically routes to healthy regions
Better performance: Faster loading times for users worldwide
Automatic failover: Seamless traffic routing without manual intervention

To get started:

In your Railway project, click on your deployed service
Go to the "Settings" tab
Under "Deploy", go to the "Regions" section and click "+ Add Region"

Railway automatically distributes replicas across available regions and routes traffic to the nearest region.

Multi-region deployment

Each replica runs with the full resource limits of your plan. So if you're on the Pro plan and deploy 3 replicas, you'll get a combined capacity of 96 vCPU and 96 GB RAM across all regions.

Total resources = number of replicas × maximum compute allocation per replica

Learn more about scaling applications and multi-region deployments in Railway.

Alternatively, you can integrate a CDN like Cloudflare for global content delivery and improved performance.

Add Cloudflare as a CDN

While Railway doesn't currently provide a built-in CDN, you can easily integrate a CDN like Cloudflare for global content delivery and improved performance.

Add your domain to Cloudflare:
- Sign up for a free Cloudflare account
- Add your Railway domain to Cloudflare
- Update your nameservers as instructed
Configure DNS:
- Create a CNAME record in Cloudflare
- Point your domain to your Railway service URL
- Enable "Proxy" (orange cloud) for CDN benefits
Verify setup:
- Test your domain to ensure it's working correctly
- Monitor performance improvements in Cloudflare's dashboard

Add API Endpoints with Railway Functions

For static sites that need lightweight API endpoints, Railway Functions enable you to write and deploy code from the Railway canvas without managing infrastructure or creating a git repository.

Railway Functions are Services that run a single file of TypeScript code using the Bun runtime. They're perfect for:

Form submissions
Simple API endpoints
Webhook handlers
Cron jobs

Add a new service:
- In your Railway project, click the "+ Create" button
- Choose "Function" as the service type
- Deploy
Write your function:
- Click on the "Source Code" tab
- Write your function code
Deploy instantly:
- Press Cmd+S (or Ctrl+S) to stage changes
- Press Shift+Enter to deploy
- Your function is live in seconds