Deployment Overview

Deploy your Portfolio CMS to production and make it available to the world.

Deployment Options

Platform	Best For	Difficulty	Cost
Vercel	Easiest deployment	Easy	Free tier available
Netlify	Static + Functions	Easy	Free tier available
VPS	Full control	Medium	$5-20/month

Pre-Deployment Checklist

Before deploying, ensure you have:

Environment Variables

# Required
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://...
PAYLOAD_SECRET=your-secret-key-at-least-32-characters

# Required for production
NEXT_PUBLIC_SITE_URL=https://yourdomain.com

# Required for media uploads
S3_BUCKET=your-bucket-name
S3_ACCOUNT_ID=your-account-id
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-access-key
S3_SECRET=your-secret-key

# Optional
RESEND_API_KEY=re_...
RESEND_FROM_EMAIL=...
RESEND_FROM_NAME=...

Database

Choose a managed PostgreSQL provider:

Provider	Free Tier	Notes
Neon	512MB	Serverless, auto-scaling
Supabase	500MB	Full Postgres features
Railway	$5 credit	Easy setup
Vercel Postgres	256MB	Native integration

S3 Storage

For media uploads, set up S3-compatible storage:

Provider	Free Tier	Notes
Cloudflare R2	10GB	No egress fees
AWS S3	5GB	Industry standard
DigitalOcean Spaces	None	Simple pricing
Backblaze B2	10GB	S3 compatible

Content

1. All content is entered and published
2. Images are uploaded and optimized
3. SEO settings are configured
4. Site Settings are complete

Build Process

Local Build Test

Before deploying, test the build locally:

# Generate types
pnpm generate:types

# Build the application
pnpm build

# Test the production build
pnpm start

Build Requirements

• Node.js 18.20+ or 20.9+
• 4GB+ RAM for build
• TypeScript compiles without errors
• All environment variables set

Common Build Issues

TypeScript Errors:

# Check for type errors
pnpm typecheck

# Generate latest types
pnpm generate:types

Missing Dependencies:

# Reinstall dependencies
rm -rf node_modules
pnpm install

Memory Issues:

# Increase Node.js memory
export NODE_OPTIONS="--max-old-space-size=4096"
pnpm build

Database Setup

Creating the Database

Neon (Recommended):

1. Sign up at neon.tech
2. Create a new project
3. Copy the connection string

Supabase:

1. Sign up at supabase.com
2. Create a new project
3. Go to Settings > Database
4. Copy the connection string

Running Migrations

After setting up the database:

# Run migrations
pnpm payload migrate

Or if your platform supports it, add to build command:

payload migrate && pnpm build

S3 Storage Setup

Cloudflare R2 (Recommended)

1. Sign up for Cloudflare
2. Go to R2 > Create bucket
3. Create API token with R2 permissions
4. Note: Account ID, Access Key, Secret Key, Bucket name

Configuration

S3_BUCKET=your-bucket-name
S3_ACCOUNT_ID=your-cloudflare-account-id
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your-r2-access-key
S3_SECRET=your-r2-secret-key

CORS Configuration

For R2, configure CORS in bucket settings:

[
  {
    "AllowedOrigins": ["https://yourdomain.com"],
    "AllowedMethods": ["GET", "PUT", "POST"],
    "AllowedHeaders": ["*"],
    "MaxAgeSeconds": 3000
  }
]

Domain Setup

Custom Domain

1. Purchase domain from registrar (Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.)
2. Configure DNS based on your platform:
   • Vercel: Add domain in project settings
   • Netlify: Add domain in site settings
   • VPS: Point A record to server IP

SSL Certificate

• Vercel/Netlify: Automatic SSL
• VPS: Use Let's Encrypt with Certbot

DNS Records

Type    Name    Value
A       @       YOUR_SERVER_IP
CNAME   www     yourdomain.com

Post-Deployment

Verify Deployment

1. Homepage loads: Check all sections render
2. Admin panel works: Login at /admin
3. Images display: Media loads correctly
4. Forms work: Test contact form
5. SEO correct: Check meta tags

Set Up Monitoring

• Uptime: Use UptimeRobot or Better Uptime
• Analytics: Configure Google Analytics or Plausible
• Errors: Set up Sentry for error tracking

Next Steps

Choose your deployment platform:

• Vercel - Recommended for most users
• Netlify - Great alternative
• VPS - For full control