Publishing & Sharing Guides with Netlify CODEAZA HOW-TO

A practical guide to turning any document into a live, shareable web link — in under 2 minutes, for free. · Prepared for the Codeaza team
What you'll be able to do after this guide: take an HTML file (a report, a plan, an onboarding doc, a briefing) and publish it as a live web page with its own link — e.g. codeaza-onboarding.netlify.app — that anyone can open in a browser. No servers, no DevOps, no cost.
Contents
1 · What is Netlify (and why we use it)
2 · Create your free account
3 · Method A — Drag & Drop (easiest)
4 · Method B — Netlify CLI (power users)
5 · Method C — Connect a Git repo (auto-deploy)
6 · Sharing the link with the team
7 · Naming & site conventions
8 · Updating a published guide
9 · Limits, do's & don'ts
10 · Troubleshooting
11 · 60-second checklist

1What is Netlify — and why we use it

Netlify is a free hosting service for static websites — pages built from plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript files (exactly what Claude produces when it generates a report, plan, or guide). You hand Netlify a folder of files; it gives you back a public URL with free HTTPS, served fast worldwide.

Why this matters for us: instead of emailing a .docx that everyone has to download and open, you get one link. It always shows the latest version, opens on any phone or laptop, looks professional, and costs nothing. It's how we already share weekly plans and KPI pages.

2Create your free account

  1. Go to app.netlify.com/signup
  2. Sign up with GitHub, GitLab, or email. (GitHub is recommended — it unlocks auto-deploy later.)
  3. That's it. The free "Starter" plan is enough for everything in this guide — no card required.

3Method A — Drag & Drop EASIEST · NO SETUP

Best for a one-off guide. Takes ~60 seconds. No tools to install.

  1. Put your guide file in a folder on its own. The main file must be named index.html — Netlify looks for that name. (Rename your file if needed.)
  2. Open app.netlify.com/drop while logged in.
  3. Drag the folder (not the file) onto the dashed drop zone. Wait a few seconds.
  4. Netlify gives you a live URL like random-name-123.netlify.app. Click it — your guide is live. 🎉
  5. Rename it to something clean: Site configuration → Change site name → e.g. codeaza-q2-report. Final link becomes codeaza-q2-report.netlify.app.
Important: always drag the folder that contains index.html, not the file by itself, and not a zip. If you drop just a file, the site may show "Page not found".

4Method B — Netlify CLI POWER USERS · TERMINAL

Best if you deploy often or want it scripted. Requires Node.js installed.

  1. One-time login: npx netlify-cli login (opens the browser to authorize).
  2. From inside your project folder, deploy to a draft URL to preview: 
    npx netlify-cli deploy --dir .
  3. Happy with it? Push to the live (production) URL: 
    npx netlify-cli deploy --prod --dir .
For automation / agents: generate a token at User settings → Applications → Personal access tokens, then deploy without an interactive login: 
npx netlify-cli deploy --prod --dir . --site YOUR_SITE_NAME --auth $NETLIFY_AUTH_TOKEN
Keep that token private — store it in an .env file, never paste it in chat or commit it.

5Method C — Connect a Git repo AUTO-DEPLOY · BEST FOR LIVING DOCS

Best for guides that change often. Every time you push to GitHub, Netlify rebuilds the site automatically — zero manual steps after setup.

  1. Push your folder to a GitHub repository.
  2. In Netlify: Add new site → Import an existing project → GitHub, then pick the repo.
  3. For a plain HTML site, leave the build command empty and set publish directory to the folder with index.html (often just .). Click Deploy.
  4. Done forever. Edit the file, git push, and the live link updates in ~30 seconds on its own.

6Sharing the link with the team

Once live, the .netlify.app URL is fully shareable — it works for anyone, on any device, no login needed.

One link, always current. Because the link points at the live site, re-deploying updates what everyone sees — no "v2_final_FINAL.html" floating around.

7Naming & site conventions

Keep site names predictable so links are guessable and tidy:

Type of guideSuggested site nameResulting link
Onboarding doccodeaza-onboardingcodeaza-onboarding.netlify.app
Quarterly reportcodeaza-q2-reportcodeaza-q2-report.netlify.app
Project briefingcodeaza-<project>-briefcodeaza-gosmaash-brief.netlify.app
How-to / SOPcodeaza-<topic>-guidecodeaza-netlify-guide.netlify.app
Always prefix with codeaza- so our published pages are recognizable and grouped.

8Updating a published guide

9Limits, do's & don'ts

✅ Do⚠️ Avoid
Name the main file index.htmlDropping a single file instead of its folder
Keep the whole folder under 50 MBIndividual files over 10 MB (deploy stalls)
Use it for guides, reports, plans, dashboardsPublishing anything confidential — these links are public
Give the site a clean, descriptive nameLeaving the random auto-generated name
Privacy note: a .netlify.app link is public to anyone who has it. Never publish salaries, contracts, offboarding, client secrets, or credentials. For sensitive material, keep it in the vault or password-protect it (paid feature).

10Troubleshooting

ProblemFix
"Page not found" after deployThe main file isn't named index.html, or you dropped a file instead of the folder.
Styling looks brokenCSS/JS files weren't in the folder you dropped. Drop the whole folder together.
Deploy stuck / stallsA file is over 10 MB, or total over 50 MB. Compress images or use the CLI.
Changes not showingHard-refresh (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + R) — your browser cached the old version.

1160-second checklist

  1. Main file renamed to index.html, all assets in one folder ✔
  2. Logged in at app.netlify.com/drop ✔
  3. Dragged the folder onto the drop zone ✔
  4. Renamed the site to codeaza-... ✔
  5. Opened the link to confirm it works ✔
  6. Checked it contains nothing confidential ✔
  7. Shared the one link in Slack / email ✔