Web hosting is when you make your website available on the Internet. You can host your Site through CloudCannon with a free Testing Domain or by connecting your Custom Domain. Configuring hosting includes managing your DNS settings, securing your website with an SSL certificate, and setting up optional features such as routing and authentication.
Hosting your Site through CloudCannon is optional. You can always edit your Site using CloudCannon as your CMS and host your content through an external hosting service.
In the Hosting Section of our documentation, we cover:
- What is web hosting? — Learn the basics of getting your website live on the Internet for visitors.
- Testing Domain — Learn about the free Testing Domain provided by CloudCannon for each of your Sites.
- Custom Domains — Learn about Custom Domains, including how to add a Custom Domain, add a subdomain, or host on a subpath.
- DNS — Learn about DNS, including how to configure CloudCannon DNS or external DNS.
- SSL Certificates — Learn about SSL certificates, including how to add an auto-generated SSL certificate or a custom SSL certificate to your domain.
Let's briefly introduce a few of these topics.
What is web hosting?#
Web hosting is where, after a successful build, all your files are stored on a web server and made available to the public on the Internet. You can host your Site through CloudCannon, or through an external service.
For a more in-depth explanation of web hosting, please read our documentation:
Testing Domains#
Every Site on CloudCannon is assigned a free Testing Domain with the .cloudvent.net URL. A Testing Domain is useful for seeing your content live after a successful Site build. If you use a publishing workflow, your Testing Domain will allow you to see the content for each branch on its own domain.
For a more in-depth explanation of Testing Domains, please read our documentation:
Custom Domains#
A Custom Domain is a unique address used to identify a website. For example, CloudCannon's domain is cloudcannon.com. The domain is the part of your URL that users are most likely to remember. To host on CloudCannon, you need to connect your Custom Domain to your Organization.
For a more in-depth explanation of Custom Domains, including how to add them to your CloudCannon Organization, please read our documentation:
DNS#
The Domain Name System (DNS) allows your computer to translate a domain name into an IP address. DNS providers, like CloudCannon or other external providers, allow you to manage your domain's DNS records.
For a more in-depth explanation of DNS, including how to configure CloudCannon or external DNS, please read our documentation:
SSL certificates#
An SSL certificate (or a TLS certificate) is a periodically regenerated digital certificate that supports your website's authenticity and enables encryption for greater security between your web server and the visitor's browser. On CloudCannon, any Site with a Custom Domain can use an auto-generated or custom SSL certificate.
For a more in-depth explanation of SSL certificates, please read our documentation: