Distinguish storage from delivery
S3 stores objects, while the public website experience also needs correct routing, content types, TLS delivery and caching. A bucket containing index.html is only part of that system. Choose the intended hosting architecture before changing permissions. AWS offers several approaches, and a private bucket behind an appropriate delivery service has different requirements from an S3 website endpoint.
Choose an appropriate public path
S3 website endpoints have capabilities and limitations that differ from REST endpoints used as an origin behind CloudFront. In particular, HTTPS delivery and private-origin access require deliberate architecture choices. Consult the current AWS guidance rather than following a tutorial that begins by making all content public. The required access should follow the chosen delivery path, not precede it.
Map a static-export example
Imagine an export containing index.html, tools/index.html and tools/json-formatter/index.html. Uploading these objects preserves the file hierarchy, but the delivery layer still needs to resolve /tools/json-formatter/ as intended. Check directory-style paths, a direct asset URL and a missing path. A custom error response should not disguise every missing article as a successful homepage response.
Set object metadata deliberately
Content-Type influences how browsers interpret the response, while Cache-Control influences reuse. JavaScript, SVG, PNG and HTML need appropriate values. A filename extension alone does not guarantee that an upload command assigned the metadata you expect. Keep document cache policies distinct from versioned assets, and verify the final response through the public delivery domain rather than looking only at the object console.
Keep deployments traceable
Upload a complete, identified artifact and coordinate which document version references which assets. Do not remove previous fingerprinted files before older HTML and open sessions can finish using them. Prefer reproducible automation over an undocumented manual selection of files. Review required IAM permissions for the publishing task without granting broader bucket or account access simply to avoid a configuration error.
Verify the full delivery chain
Open the public HTTPS URL, inspect deep links and downloads, and check status codes and headers. Compare the deployed release marker with the intended artifact. If content is stale, distinguish the object at origin from the cached representation at the edge. A successful upload establishes storage; final browser checks establish whether the website’s actual delivery path works as intended.
Further reading
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