Context: I'm a decision record enthusiast and will absolutely write more about this in the future. This post format is inspired by Architectural Decision Records and is meant to show how I got to my hosting solution, not how to use it.

• Status: [thinking | nope | current | superceded by ]
• Last Updated: Mar 9, 2024
• Objective: Choose a web host for my static site

Context & Problem Statement

To have a website, there must be a web host. A website is the visual artifact that everyone sees, the pages, images and videos. The web host is a service provides the compute, storage, networking, and all the bits that make it usable. For my personal website, I need to choose a web host that adheres to the following priorities and constraints.

Priorities & Constraints

Every project has requirements, here are a few of mine:

• Be low cost: My personal website is a personal expense I'd rather keep minimal. My goal is to fit within a free tier, but not to exceed a "dollars per month" cost.
• Be focused on publishing over development: My time is immensely valuable. I want to publish content with some flexibility to tailor for my way of working. However, I do not want to generate (too many) new side projects in web development instead of writing.
• Be low attention: I want to ignore this site for months at a time without incurring security risks or a backlog of infrastructure projects.
• Minimal Service Providers: I prefer to use the fewest number of service providers for my personal IT. I have GitHub, DNS, and Google Cloud already in the mix. Each additional company is another credit card profile to update and set of corporate customer policies to track.
• Learn from Everything: Balance existing skills with learning opportunities
• Sourcing from GitHub: I've decided to keep my site source and content in a public GitHub repository. I want to see merges to my main branch deploy to a live site.
• Constraint: I've previously chosen Hugo and Go with code hosted on GitHub as tools for building the site. Hugo is a static site generator flexible enough to be used across many (all?) hosting services.

Considered Options

• Option 1: Use Firebase Hosting
• Option 2: Use GitHub Pages
• Option 3: Use Google Cloud Run
• Option 4: Use Netlify

Decision

Chosen option Option 1: Firebase Hosting

Firebase Hosting is a specialized tool for static site hosting, providing ease of deployment, a global CDN, and a good free tier. I have a lot of familiarity with Google Cloud, but less familiarity with the Firebase products.

Working for Google means my day job pays me to be familiar with Google Cloud, which may lead me to use Google Cloud for more personal projects. This gives Firebase Hosting some advantage in the decision.

I'm choosing Firebase Hosting because it meets all my requirements and broadens my knowledge of Google Cloud.

Alternatives Considered

I have experience hosting sites on Option 2: GitHub Pages. However, I have been frustrated by the lack of performant redirects (redirects via HTML meta refresh lack wildcard configuration options and can't be cached compared to server-side options). Other solutions have server-side redirect features (firebase hosting, netlify)

I've found GitHub Pages to be a bit complex for PR Previews, with various advice around multiple repositories, random & niche GitHub Actions, or building your own custom preview solution.

I'm not choosing GitHub Pages because it's missing features I want.

Option 3: Use Google Cloud Run. With 6 years of experience working on the developer experience of Google Cloud Run, using it would be straightforward. I don't need (or want) the control over the serving details like which web server is running. The other options are better aligned with my preference for minimal maintenance.

💡 My teammate Brian Dorsey has a great post on hosting a static website using Google Cloud Run if you'd like a recipe.

I'm not choosing Cloud Run because I want more abstraction away from the technical details. I don't want to pick up a new infrastructure hobby.

Option 4: Use Netlify. Several folks recommended Netlify as their preferred static site host, with strong GitHub integration. Since I am already using Google Cloud for other projects, Netlify has a disadvantage as a new service provider.

If Firebase Hosting doesn't work out, Netlify would be my next choice. It was a close decision.

Expected Consequences

Any of these options will meet my goal of serving a few megabytes of data. I expect problems to come from pet peeves or curiousity about the alternatives. Either way, this is a low stakes decision not worth a deeper analysis. If I had to change my decision, I expect the switching cost to move to another static site host to be an evening of work.

Revisiting this Decision

I've scheduled a reminder for March 2025 to reflect on this decision, and decide if I'd like to change hosting. With the low expected switching cost, it might be worth trying another host just for the learning experience.

Cover Photo by Mike Enerio on Unsplash