Vercel
The fastest way to deploy a Next.js site.
What it is
Vercel is the company behind Next.js, and their hosting platform is built specifically for it. Connect a GitHub repository, and every push to the main branch triggers an automatic build and deployment. Every pull request gets a preview URL. The global edge network serves the site from locations close to each visitor. There's no server configuration, no NGINX, no deployment scripts.
For static sites and Next.js applications, Vercel is the most straightforward deployment platform available. The performance optimisations built into Next.js (image compression, font loading, static generation) work best in the environment that was built alongside the framework.
How I use it
Vercel is the deployment platform for this site and most client projects. The workflow is: build locally, push to GitHub, Vercel picks it up and deploys within a minute or two. Preview deployments mean you can share a URL of a specific branch with a client before it goes live. Domain management, SSL certificates, and redirects are all handled through the Vercel dashboard.
Analytics, Core Web Vitals monitoring, and edge function deployment are also available on Vercel, which means you can see how a site is actually performing for real visitors without a separate analytics stack.
Why this over the alternatives
For Next.js projects, Vercel is the easiest deployment option because it's made by the same company as the framework. AWS and other cloud providers can host Next.js, but they require more configuration. Netlify is a comparable alternative, but Vercel has deeper Next.js integration and better performance on some metrics.
What it means for your site
- Zero-configuration deployment - connect a repo and it deploys automatically
- Global edge network for fast delivery to visitors anywhere in the world
- Preview deployments for every branch and pull request
- Built-in SSL, custom domains, and redirects without touching server config
