Host a Framer site on your own VPS (nginx)

Deploy it

Unzip the export first, so the commands below run from inside the folder that contains index.html.

rsync -avz --delete ./ user@your-server:/var/www/your-site/
sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com -d www.yourdomain.com
sudo systemctl reload nginx

The /etc/nginx/sites-available/your-site you need

Serve the export with extensionless URLs, gzip, and a real 404.

server {
  listen 80;
  server_name yourdomain.com www.yourdomain.com;
  root /var/www/your-site;
  index index.html;

  location / {
    try_files $uri $uri.html $uri/ /404.html;
  }

  error_page 404 /404.html;
  gzip on;
  gzip_types text/css application/javascript image/svg+xml;
}

Custom domain

An A record at the server's IP. Certificates come from certbot, renewed by a systemd timer.

What it costs

None, but a small instance costs a few currency units a month and will serve a static marketing site without noticing.

Before you move the domain

1. 1. Deploy to the host's own subdomain and open every page from the nav.
2. 2. Visit a URL that does not exist and confirm you get a real 404, not a 200.
3. 3. Submit any form on the site — exported forms post nowhere until you rewire them.
4. 4. Only then move DNS, and keep the Framer plan active for one more cycle as a rollback.

Questions