Netlify is the simplest way to get a static website live on a custom domain for free. No server configuration, no database setup, no command line required. Here is the complete process from a downloaded HTML file to a live site at your own domain.
What you need before starting
- Your HTML file or files downloaded to your computer
- A custom domain name (purchased from Namecheap or similar)
- A free Netlify account — sign up with Google or GitHub at netlify.com
Step 1 — Rename your main file
Your homepage file must be named index.html for Netlify to recognize it as the homepage. If your file is named anything else (like GetNicheIQ.html), rename it to index.html on your computer before uploading. Your other pages (about.html, blog.html, etc.) can keep their existing names.
Step 2 — Deploy via drag and drop
Log into your Netlify dashboard at app.netlify.com. You will see a large section at the bottom of the Sites page that says "drag and drop your site folder here." Create a folder on your computer, put all your HTML files inside it, and drag that entire folder onto the Netlify deploy area. Netlify will upload everything and your site will be live within seconds at a randomly generated URL like colorful-name-123456.netlify.app.
Important: drag the folder, not individual files. Netlify needs to see the folder structure to understand how your pages relate to each other.
Step 3 — Add your custom domain
In your Netlify dashboard, click on your newly deployed site. Go to Site Configuration then Domain Management. Click Add a domain and enter your custom domain (for example, getnicheiq.com). Netlify will confirm the domain and give you nameserver addresses to use in the next step.
Step 4 — Update your domain registrar
Log into your domain registrar (Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.) and find the DNS or Nameserver settings for your domain. Change the nameservers from the default registrar nameservers to the four Netlify nameservers you were given. Save the changes. DNS propagation typically takes 10 to 60 minutes, though it can occasionally take up to 48 hours.
Step 5 — Enable HTTPS
Once your DNS has propagated, return to the Domain Management section in Netlify. You will see an option to provision an SSL certificate via Let's Encrypt. Click it. Netlify handles everything automatically — within a few minutes your site will be accessible at https://yourcustomdomain.com with a valid SSL certificate at no cost.
Updating your site
To update your site with new pages or edited files, go to your site in the Netlify dashboard and find the Deploys section. You can drag and drop a new version of your folder there at any time. Netlify will deploy the update and keep a history of all previous versions, allowing you to roll back if needed.
Free tier limits
Netlify's free tier includes 100 GB of bandwidth per month and 300 build minutes. For a new micro site, these limits are extremely generous — most sites do not come close to the bandwidth limit until they have tens of thousands of monthly visitors. You will likely never need to upgrade unless you are running a genuinely high-traffic site.