Full Stack Development

Continuous Deployment (CD)

by Tomas Trescak t.trescak@westernsydney.edu.au

CD

Introduction

Picture this : instant, safe deploys
Why it matters : speed and reliability
👺 Myth : It's reckless!

CD

Preview vs Production with Git

Git branch = Preview Deploy

Branch : feature/date-filter

DNS Magic: Auto-subdomains
- URL : date-filter.feature.myblogapp.com
Merge to Main = Production Deploy
- URL : myblogapp.com

CD

vercel.com

CD

vercel.com

CD

vercel.com

CD

Vercel: Pros, Cons and Alternatives

Advantages : Fast, Reliable, "Free"
Disadvantages : Less control, Expensive
Alternatives:

Netlify : Static Simplicity
Heroku : Dynamic Power
GitHub Actions : DIY Control

Let's talk about advantages, disadvantages and alternatives to Vercel deployments.

The advantage of using trusted CD providers such as Vercel is their speed. The auto-DNS makes our blog’s filter feature live in minutes. Free tier’s a bonus!

The disadvantage is that you get less control over servers, meaning our admin backend might need more. Costs rise with traffic, too.

There are also many alternatives to Vercel, each different in features and pricing.

Netlify is like Vercel, great for our blog’s frontend. It's free and easy, but less for backends.

Heroku supports Node.js needs. It scales well but has slower deploys.

You can also host your own server or use cloud servers such as AWS, Azure or Digital Ocean in combination with CI pipelines such as Github actions. There is much more to set up, but you gain absolute control ... largely over the cost as well.

CD

Wrap Up

Key Takeaway: CD = Speed + Safety
Best Practice: Test First
Pitfall: Don’t Overcomplicate