Build and Host a Free Website Using Replit and AWS Free Tier

Overview

Building a website used to require expensive hosting, complex software installations, and technical expertise. Today, you can build and deploy a fully functional website, completely free for an entire year, using Replit and the Amazon Web Services Free Tier.

In this guide, we will:

Build a professional website using Replit AI
Deploy it on AWS
Keep everything within the AWS Free Tier limits
Run your site live on the internet for $0

Let’s get started.

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Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Create Your Website Using Replit AI

Go to Replit and create a free account.

Instead of manually writing HTML and CSS, we will use Replit’s AI feature to generate the website for us.

Create a New Repl

Click Create Repl
Choose HTML/CSS/JS
Name your project (example: burger-shop-website)

Now here’s the important part.

Use This Prompt Inside Replit AI:

Create a modern website design for a local fast-food shop competing with McDonald’s.
The shop sells burgers, fries, drinks, and desserts, but focuses on better quality and freshness.
Include:

A hero section with a catchy headline
A menu section
About Us section
Contact section
Modern colors and responsive layout

This prompt will generate:

Clean HTML
Styled CSS
Sometimes even animations

You now have a professional-looking website without having to code everything manually.

Step 2: Test Your Website

Click Run in Replit.

Make sure:

All sections load properly
Images display correctly
Layout works on mobile preview

Once satisfied, download the project as a ZIP file. You will upload this to AWS in the next step.

Step 3: Set Up AWS Free Tier

Go to Amazon Web Services and create an account.

Important Notes:

You will need a debit or credit card for verification.
You will not be charged if you stay inside Free Tier limits.

After logging in:

Search for EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud).

Step 4: Launch Your Free Server

Click Launch Instance.

Choose:

Amazon Linux 2 (Free Tier eligible)
Instance Type: t2.micro (Free Tier eligible)
Keep default storage (8GB is free)
Create and download a key pair

Launch the instance.

AWS gives you 750 hours per month of micro instance usage, which is enough to run one server 24/7 for free.

Step 5: Connect and Install Web Server

Click your instance → Click Connect → Use browser-based connection.

Run the following commands:

sudo yum update -y
sudo yum install httpd -y
sudo systemctl start httpd
sudo systemctl enable httpd

sudo yum update -y

sudo yum install httpd -y

sudo systemctl start httpd

sudo systemctl enable httpd

This installs the Apache web server.

Step 6: Upload Your Website to AWS

We will now move your Replit website to the server.

Option 1 (Simple Method):

Open your downloaded files
Copy the HTML content
Paste into:

sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html

1	sudo nano /var/www/html/index.html

Save and exit.

Restart Apache:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

1	sudo systemctl restart httpd

Now, copy your EC2 Public IP address and paste it into your browser.

Your website is LIVE.

Step 7: Keep Everything Free for 1 Year

To avoid charges:

Only run one t2.micro instance
Do not exceed 750 hours/month
Keep storage under 30GB
Avoid extra paid services
Enable billing alerts

You can set billing alerts inside the AWS Billing Dashboard.

If you follow these rules, your website will run free for 12 months.

Why This Setup Is Powerful?

You are combining:

Fast AI website creation with Replit
Real cloud infrastructure from Amazon Web Services

This means:

You learn development
You learn cloud hosting
You gain real-world deployment skills
You spend $0

Perfect for:

Students
Freelancers
Startup testing
Portfolio projects

Conclusion

Launching a website no longer requires expensive hosting or deep technical knowledge. By using Replit’s AI to generate a professional design instantly and deploying it through AWS Free Tier, you can build and host a real website completely free for a year.

You now know how to:

Generate a website using AI
Launch a cloud server
Install a web server
Deploy your project live
Stay within free limits

This setup gives you real-world skills while keeping costs at zero. Start building today, experiment, improve your design, and take your first step into cloud hosting.

Drop a query if you have any questions regarding Replit and we will get back to you quickly

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About CloudThat

CloudThat is an award-winning company and the first in India to offer cloud training and consulting services worldwide. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, AWS Advanced Tier Training Partner, and Google Cloud Platform Partner, CloudThat has empowered over 850,000 professionals through 600+ cloud certifications winning global recognition for its training excellence including 20 MCT Trainers in Microsoft’s Global Top 100 and an impressive 12 awards in the last 8 years. CloudThat specializes in Cloud Migration, Data Platforms, DevOps, IoT, and cutting-edge technologies like Gen AI & AI/ML. It has delivered over 500 consulting projects for 250+ organizations in 30+ countries as it continues to empower professionals and enterprises to thrive in the digital-first world.

FAQs

1. Is AWS Free Tier really enough to run a real website?

ANS: – Yes. The Free Tier provides 750 hours per month of a micro EC2 instance, enough to run a small website 24/7. It’s ideal for beginner projects, portfolios, or small business demos.

2. What if I accidentally exceed the free limits?

ANS: – If you exceed usage limits, AWS may charge you. That’s why it’s important to:

Use only t2.micro or t3.micro
Avoid launching multiple servers
Enable billing alerts

3. Can I use a custom domain?

ANS: – Yes. You can connect a domain to your Amazon EC2 public IP. Domain registration itself is not free, but hosting remains free under the AWS Free Tier.

WRITTEN BY Guru Bhajan Singh

Guru Bhajan Singh is currently working as a Software Engineer - PHP at CloudThat and has 7+ years of experience in PHP. He holds a Master's degree in Computer Applications and enjoys coding, problem-solving, learning new things, and writing technical blogs.