Accounts: hosting, database and logins

What to pick

• A simple website (pages, no logins)

  Vercel + GitHub

  No database needed. Vercel hosts it for free to start.

• A booking or business tool with logins and data

  Vercel + Supabase

  Supabase gives you a database, logins and file storage. Vercel hosts the website.

• A phone app that needs logins and data

  Supabase or Firebase

  Pick Supabase if you like tables. Pick Firebase if you want push messages and Google sign-in built in.

• Live updates for many people, or push messages

  Firebase (or Supabase Realtime)

  Both can update a screen live. Firebase is strong at push.

• A game or a single page

  No backend at all

  Host the file on Netlify Drop or Vercel.

• An AI helper

  Vercel + an AI provider key

  Keep the key on the server and set a spending limit.

Vercel (hosting)

vercel.com/signup

1. Create a GitHub account first (github.com), then choose Continue with GitHub on Vercel.
2. Put your project in a GitHub repository.
3. In Vercel press Add New, then Project, pick the repository and press Deploy. You get a live link.
4. Add secret keys in Project, Settings, Environment Variables, then deploy again.
5. Later, add your own domain in Project, Settings, Domains.

Supabase (database, logins, files)

supabase.com/dashboard

1. Sign up and press New project. Pick a name and the region closest to your visitors.
2. Make a strong database password and save it in a password manager. You cannot see it again.
3. Open Project Settings, then API. The public (publishable) key can go in the browser. The secret (service role) key must NEVER go in the browser or on GitHub.
4. Open the SQL Editor to make your tables, or ask your AI for the SQL and paste it.
5. Turn on Row Level Security for every table. Without it anyone with the public key can read the data.
6. Open Authentication to turn on email login and add your first user.

Firebase (Google: database, logins, push)

console.firebase.google.com

1. Sign in with a Google account and press Add project.
2. Add an app (web or mobile) and copy the settings it gives you into your project.
3. Open Authentication and turn on the sign-in methods you want.
4. Open Firestore Database, create it, and write security rules. Never leave the database open to everyone.
5. Some features need the paid Blaze plan, so check the price and set a budget alert.

Sharing a site with a client or a learner

• Best: give them a copy, not your account. Put the project on GitHub and send the link. They deploy it in their own Vercel account.
• Moving a live site: Vercel can move a project to another account. Secret keys and domains do not move for free, so the new owner adds their own keys.
• Never share your own login. Never host someone's site on your account without a written agreement about who owns it, who pays, and what happens if they stop.
• Anything on your account is your responsibility: the cost, the abuse and what the site says.