# Static site hosting Source: https://www.fortrabbit.com/use-cases/static-site-hosting Created: 2026-07-21 Reviewed: 2026-07-27 > Static site hosting alongside PHP apps — upload finished HTML or let build commands run an SSG like Astro, Nuxt or Statamic at deploy time. **Static sites rarely need us. Static sites standing next to PHP apps do.** Finished HTML, CSS, and images — written from scratch or generated from templates and content at build time. Nothing executes per request; the web server hands out files. ## Proximity beats specialization For a static site on its own, hosts built for static output are hard to argue with — free tiers, global CDNs, instant rollbacks. We don't pretend to beat that. The site worth hosting here is the one that isn't alone: an agency running a dozen PHP apps with one static microsite in between, or a project where the marketing pages are static and the application behind them is not. One account, one deploy workflow, one bill — and when the static site sprouts a form or a search box, PHP is already there. ## Generated on deploy, or uploaded as-is A git push triggers the deploy pipeline, and build commands run Composer and Node.js tasks before the result syncs to the web space. That is enough to run a static site generator on every deploy: Statamic's SSG on the PHP side, or JS stacks like Astro, Nuxt, and Eleventy on the Node side. The repository holds source and content; the server only ever sees the output. This very website works that way — a Nuxt app pre-rendered at build time, served as flat files from fortrabbit. ## Nothing to size, little to pay With no code executing per request, the smallest PHP plan is not a compromise — it's the correct choice. There is no database component to book, no cache to configure, no memory limit to reason about. Billing is pro-rated, post-paid, by the day, which keeps a site that hardly changes close to the bottom of the invoice. ## Why fortrabbit? The static site is never really the point — everything around it is. fortrabbit is a PHP host that serves files well, not a static platform hoping to grow a runtime one day, and would rather say so than sell the wrong thing. One account, one deploy workflow, one invoice for the microsite and the applications beside it. The day the site needs a form, a search route, or a login, PHP is already underneath it. ## FAQ ### Is fortrabbit the best host for a static site? **Often not** — A standalone static site is usually served cheaper on a platform built for static output, with a CDN in front and a free tier underneath. The case for hosting it here is proximity: when the site lives next to PHP apps in the same account, it shares the deploy workflow, the access setup, and the bill — one provider instead of two. ### How does the HTML get on the server? **git push** — The usual way is a git push: the deploy package is synced to the web space, and build commands can generate the pages on the way. Files can also be uploaded over SFTP, which suits a site that is exported elsewhere and published as-is. ### Can the site be generated at deploy time? **Yes** — Build commands run Composer and Node.js tasks in a separate deploy service on every git push. That covers `nuxt generate`, an Astro build, Eleventy, or Statamic's static site generator — the source lives in the repository and the finished pages land in the web space. ### Which components does a static site need? **The smallest** — One small PHP component serves the files; there is no database to book, no jobs, and usually no extra storage. Since components are billed pro-rated by the day, a static site is about the cheapest thing that can run on the platform. ### What about forms and search? **Add PHP later** — A static site that outgrows itself doesn't need a new host. A contact endpoint or a search route can run as PHP next to the generated pages, or as a second app in the same account — the deploy workflow stays the same. --- - [Build commands](/features/build-commands) - [Free certificates](/features/free-certificates) - [Cancel any time](/benefits/cancel-any-time)