My AWS Learning Journey

I embarked on an AWS project to host a static website using S3, CodePipeline, and CodeBuild. It was a journey full of trial and error, learning, and ultimately, success.

The YAML Template Struggle

Initially, I used a YAML template to set up the pipeline. However, it kept failing because the Deploy stage to S3 was missing. I went back and forth trying to resolve the errors, reading docs, and testing configurations. Finally, I managed to add the proper deploy stage, and the pipeline ran successfully.

The HTML Loading Issue

After deployment, the website wouldn’t open correctly. The HTML file would download instead of displaying. I checked the permissions, unblocked public access, and eventually discovered that the Content-Type metadata was incorrect. I deleted the file and re-uploaded it with the correct text/html content type. Finally, the page rendered perfectly.

Manual Hosting and Learning

To solidify my understanding, I also hosted the site manually on AWS using S3, CloudFront, Route 53, and ACM. This allowed me to apply everything I learned about static hosting, secure certificates, and CDN configuration.

Reflection

This project was a true learning experience. I gained hands-on skills with:

• CI/CD using CodePipeline and CodeBuild
• S3 static hosting and metadata handling
• Debugging pipeline and deployment errors
• Manual vs automated Infrastructure-as-Code deployment

Overall, it was a challenging but extremely rewarding project.