DEV Community

James Carter
James Carter

Posted on

How to Easily Deploy Your Vue.js Project on Netlify for Free

Vue.js is one of the most popular JavaScript frameworks for building modern, reactive user interfaces. After developing your Vue.js project, the next step is to host it online so it’s accessible to users. Among the many hosting platforms available, Netlify stands out for its simplicity, speed, and ability to deploy projects for free.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the steps to deploy a Vue.js application on Netlify.


Why Choose Netlify for Hosting?

Netlify is a developer-friendly platform that offers:

  • Continuous Deployment: Automatically redeploy your app whenever you push changes to your Git repository.
  • Free Plan: Generous free tier with bandwidth, build minutes, and serverless function usage.
  • Custom Domains: Easily configure custom domains with HTTPS support.
  • Global CDN: Fast and secure content delivery.

Now, let’s get started!


Step 1: Set Up Your Vue.js Project

If you don’t already have a Vue.js project, you can quickly create one using Vue CLI:

npm install -g @vue/cli
vue create my-vue-app
cd my-vue-app
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Build your project locally to ensure everything works as expected:

npm run build
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

This will generate a dist folder containing your production-ready files.


Step 2: Push Your Code to GitHub (or GitLab/Bitbucket)

Netlify connects to your repository for deployments. To do this:

  1. Initialize Git in your project:
   git init
   git add .
   git commit -m "Initial commit"
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  1. Push the code to a repository:
   git remote add origin https://github.com/your-username/your-repo-name.git
   git push -u origin main
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Step 3: Deploy Your Project on Netlify

1. Login to Netlify

Create a free account at Netlify and log in.

2. Create a New Site

  • Click on "Add New Site" > "Import an Existing Project".
  • Choose your Git provider (e.g., GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket).
  • Select the repository containing your Vue.js project.

3. Configure Deployment Settings

  • Branch: Select the branch you want to deploy (usually main or master).
  • Build Command: Enter npm run build.
  • Publish Directory: Set this to dist, which contains your production files.

Example configuration:

   Build Command: npm run build
   Publish Directory: dist
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

4. Deploy Your Site

  • Click on "Deploy Site".
  • Wait for Netlify to build and deploy your project. Once complete, you’ll see a live URL (e.g., https://your-site-name.netlify.app).

Step 4: Configure Custom Domain (Optional)

If you have a custom domain, you can easily configure it in Netlify:

  1. Go to the Domain Settings of your site.
  2. Add your custom domain.
  3. Update your domain’s DNS settings to point to Netlify (instructions provided in the dashboard).
  4. Netlify automatically provisions HTTPS for your domain.

Step 5: Optimize for Performance

Netlify ensures excellent performance out of the box, but here are additional tips:

  1. Enable Lazy Loading in Vue.js: Load components only when needed.
  2. Use Netlify’s Edge Functions: For server-side logic close to the user.
  3. Optimize Assets: Compress images and minimize CSS/JS.

Why Choose a Pre-Built Admin Template?

Building an admin dashboard from scratch can be time-consuming. Using a pre-built admin template lets you focus on your core application features rather than reinventing the wheel.


PrimeDash: A Ready-to-Use Admin Template

If you’re working on a project requiring an admin dashboard, check out PrimeDash Vue.js Admin Template. It’s a modern, fully responsive template built on Vue.js and Vuetify.js, making it a perfect starting point for your projects. It comes with:

  • Pre-designed UI components.
  • Modular code structure.
  • Customizable themes.
  • Comprehensive documentation.

Integrating PrimeDash into your Vue.js project can save you weeks of development time.


Conclusion

Deploying a Vue.js application on Netlify is a quick and hassle-free process. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can have your project live in minutes, complete with continuous deployment and optional custom domain support.

And if your project involves building dashboards or admin panels, consider using PrimeDash for a head start. Check it out on ICreator Studio.

Happy coding! 🚀

Top comments (0)