Publish with a clear refresh plan.
Static websites make an effective starting point for CDN delivery because published pages and assets can be shared across visitors. Reliable publishing still needs careful URL mapping and freshness rules. Plan how HTML finds its assets, how updates become visible, and how an earlier release can be restored.
Map public URLs to real files
A common portable structure uses a directory for each clean URL: /about/ maps to /about/index.html. Choose a host that serves directory index files and verify its behavior for trailing slashes. Keep internal links, canonical URLs, sitemap entries, and feeds consistent with the chosen public addresses.
Confirm how the host handles missing pages and redirects. A static multi-page site should return the intended page for a direct visit to a nested URL. Do not assume that a platform's single-page application fallback is appropriate for a directory-based site. Test deployed routes directly, including a URL that should be missing.
Give pages and assets separate lifetimes
HTML points visitors toward the current collection of stylesheets, scripts, and images. Its freshness policy should reflect how quickly content changes need to appear. Public assets with a version or content hash in their filenames can use longer reuse periods when those URLs always identify the same bytes.
For example, a new stylesheet can receive a new filename before the HTML is updated to reference it. Keep the previous stylesheet available while cached HTML may still request it. If a stable asset URL must change, include that URL in the refresh plan and account for browser caches separately from edge caches.
Make deployment a complete release
- Build the full output and verify that every referenced file is present.
- Publish new assets before, or atomically with, the HTML that references them.
- Apply the intended HTML refresh or invalidation process.
- Check nested routes, images, response headers, and one deliberately missing path.
- Retain a coherent previous release and the configuration needed to restore it.
Some hosting platforms manage caching and deployment coordination automatically. Understand those defaults before adding another cache layer or broad custom rules. Our developer reference covers the header distinctions, and the invalidation guide explains refresh choices. Treat URL structure, cache policy, and release contents as one publishing contract: the visitor should always receive a compatible page and its required assets.