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Installing a HTML Static Site Template

Deployment guide for static & web hosts

This guide explains how to get a HTML static site template online using common hosting options.

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • index.html
  • 404.html
  • robots.txt
  • an assets/ folder containing CSS, JavaScript, and images

Keep the folder structure exactly as provided.

This is the simplest and fastest option for static sites.

Step 1: Prepare your files​

Put the following into a single folder on your computer:

  • index.html
  • 404.html
  • robots.txt
  • assets/

For example:

my-site/ ├─ index.html ├─ 404.html ├─ robots.txt └─ assets/

Step 2: Deploy​

  1. Go to https://netlify.com and sign in
  2. Open Sites
  3. Choose Add new site → Deploy manually
  4. Drag your my-site folder into the drop area

Netlify will deploy the site automatically.

Step 3: Add your domain (optional)​

  1. Open Domain settings
  2. Click Add custom domain
  3. Enter your domain name
  4. Follow Netlify’s DNS instructions

Option 2: Traditional web hosting (cPanel / FTP)​

Use this if you already have paid hosting.

Step 1: Create a ZIP​

Select:

  • index.html
  • 404.html
  • robots.txt
  • assets/

Right-click and compress them into a ZIP file (for example site.zip).

Step 2: Upload​

  1. Log into your hosting control panel
  2. Open File Manager
  3. Navigate to public_html
  4. Upload site.zip

Step 3: Extract​

  1. Right-click the ZIP file
  2. Choose Extract
  3. Ensure index.html ends up directly inside public_html

Correct:

public_html/index.html

Incorrect:

public_html/my-site/index.html

Troubleshooting​

Images or CSS not loading​

Common causes:

  • The assets folder was not uploaded
  • File paths were changed
  • Filename casing does not match (Linux servers are case-sensitive)

Image.jpg is not the same as image.jpg.

404 or blank page​

Check that:

  • The file is named exactly index.html
  • It is located in the root folder of the site
  • There are no extra sub-folders in the path

© 2026 Luke Dunsmore