S3 Website Overview

Now let’s talk about how Amazon S3 can be used to create aesthetic websites.

Hosting Static Websites on S3

• S3 can host static websites and make them accessible on the internet.
• The website URL depends on the AWS Region where the bucket is created.

• The URL format will look like one of these:

  • One format uses a dash (-)
  • The other uses a dot (.)

• Both formats are very similar.

  • You don’t need to memorize them.
  • Just know that both exist.

Website Content in Buckets

• You will create an extra bucket.

• This bucket will contain files such as:

  • HTML files
  • Images
• Then, you enable the bucket for static website hosting.
• Once enabled, it will have a corresponding website URL.
• The user accesses your S3 bucket content through this URL.

Access Issue: 403 Forbidden

• This setup will not work if public reads are not enabled on your S3 bucket.
• That’s why, in the previous lecture, we learned about S3 bucket policies.

❗ If you get a 403 Forbidden error after enabling static website hosting, it means:

• The bucket is not public.

• To fix this:

  • You must attach an S3 bucket policy that allows public access.