🌐 Host Static Websites with GCS
Google Cloud Storage (GCS) makes it easy to host static websites without managing web servers. You can start with a simple public bucket to serve files directly, or enhance it with a global load balancer to unlock features like CDN, clean URLs, and custom error pages.
📺 Architecture Overview
This diagram shows two ways to serve static files from a public GCS bucket:
➔ Direct GCS Hosting
- Serves files via
https://storage.googleapis.com/your-bucket/... - Quick and simple
- Ideal for testing or budget-conscious deployments
➔ Load Balancer Extension
- Adds Cloud CDN, Load Balancer, and Static IP
- Enables clean root domain, custom error pages, and faster global delivery
- Best for production setups
You can start with Direct GCS, and later extend via Load Balancer without changing your storage setup.
🧱 Hosting Comparison
| Feature | Direct GCS | Load Balancer Extension |
|---|---|---|
| Root Access | Returns XML listing | ✅ Serves index.html cleanly |
| Error Pages | Default GCS XML error | ✅ Custom 404.html supported |
| CDN Support | ❌ Not available | ✅ Cloud CDN enabled |
| Static IP | ❌ Not available | ✅ Global IP address |
| Setup Effort | ✅ Very easy | ⚠️ Requires network setup |
| Monthly Cost | 💚 ~\$0.03 (free tier) | 💰 ~\$20+ |
[ index.html ] — accessible directly
[ 404.html ] — not automatically served on error
🚀 Why Extend with Load Balancer?
- Clean root domain (
https://yourdomain.com/) - SEO-friendly behavior
- Faster global delivery via CDN
💡 Recommendation Guide
| Scenario | Suggested Setup |
|---|---|
| Learning / Testing | Direct GCS |
| Production Website | Load Balancer |
| Budget-Conscious | Direct GCS |
| SEO / CDN Requirements | Load Balancer |
📚 Further Reading
To deploy this setup with minimal effort, use the fully documented and ready-to-deploy Terraform project: tf-gcp-gcs-static-site-demo