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Developer Articles

Introduction to Hosting

Last modified: February 24th, 2026

Table of contents

  • What is web hosting?
  • Custom Domains
  • DNS
  • SSL
  • Routing
  • Authentication
  • External Hosting
  • Forms

    • Hosting through CloudCannon can make your website content available on the Internet. Hosting through CloudCannon is optional, however, it can be convenient to manage your website hosting and content editing through the same software.

    Articles in this section are useful for developers responsible for configuring hosting, domains, and security for CloudCannon Sites.

    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 Developer documentation, we cover:

    • Web Hosting — Learn the basics of getting your website live on the Internet for visitors
    • Custom Domains — Learn how to add a Custom Domain, subdomain, or host on a subpath
    • DNS — Learn how to configure CloudCannon DNS or external DNS
    • SSL Certificates — Learn how to add an auto-generated or custom SSL certificate to your domain
    • Routing — Learn how to configure custom routing, a 404 page, extensionless URLs, geolocation, and HTTP redirects
    • Authentication — Learn how to enable password, user account, or SAML authentication for your hosted Site
    • External Hosting — Learn how to host your Site outside CloudCannon while using CloudCannon for editing
    • Forms — Learn how to receive form submissions and integrate with external providers

    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:

    Custom Domains#

    A Custom Domain is a unique address used to identify a website (e.g., cloudcannon.com). To host your website through CloudCannon, you will need to connect your Custom Domain purchased from a Domain Registrar.

    For a more in-depth explanation of Custom Domains, please read our documentation:

    DNS#

    The Domain Name System allows your computer to translate a human-readable domain name into a machine-readable 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#

    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:

    Routing#

    Routing is the process that determines what content a visitor to your Site should see when they enter a URL in their Internet browser. On CloudCannon, you can configure custom routing to extend default routing behavior.

    For a more in-depth explanation of routing, please read our documentation:

    Authentication#

    If you host your Site on CloudCannon, you can require visitors to your website to authenticate their identity before they can view the webpage content.

    For a more in-depth explanation of authentication, please read our documentation:

    External Hosting#

    You can use CloudCannon as your CMS and host your Site through an external provider such as Netlify or Vercel. This allows you to leverage CloudCannon's editing experience while using your preferred hosting infrastructure.

    For a more in-depth explanation of external hosting, please read our documentation:

    Forms#

    CloudCannon forms allow you to receive form submissions from visitors to your website. You can view submissions in your CloudCannon inbox, forward them to email, or integrate with external providers such as IFTTT, Make, Zapier, or Slack.

    For a more in-depth explanation of forms, please read our documentation:

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