How to Launch a Static Headless WordPress Site Using Local WP, Simply Static, S3, and CloudFront

Building and launching a static headless WordPress site offers speed, security, and scalability. This guide walks you through the process of setting up a static headless WordPress site using Local WP for development, Simply Static for static site generation, Amazon S3 for hosting, and CloudFront for content delivery.

Why Choose a Static Headless WordPress Site?

Benefits:

• Speed: Static sites load faster since there are no database queries or PHP processing.
• Security: No live WordPress backend exposed to the public reduces vulnerability.
• Scalability: Amazon S3 and CloudFront handle massive traffic effortlessly.
• Cost-Effective: S3 hosting is affordable, and CloudFront ensures efficient content delivery globally.

Step 1: Set Up Local WordPress Development with Local WP

Why Local WP?

Local WP provides a simple interface to develop WordPress sites on your computer without complicated server configurations.

How to Set Up:

1. Download and Install Local WP
   • Visit Local WP’s website and install the application for your OS.
2. Create a New WordPress Site
   • Open Local WP and click “Create a new site.”
   • Name your site and choose Preferred settings unless you need custom PHP/MySQL versions.
3. Set Up Headless Mode(Optional but recommended)
   • Go to Settings → Reading in WordPress admin.
   • Set the site to private since the live content will be served as static files.
   • Install and activate the WP REST API if you’re using WordPress purely as a content backend.

Step 2: Generate Static Files with Simply Static

Why Simply Static?

Simply Static converts your dynamic WordPress site into static HTML, CSS, and JS files without requiring complex build tools.

Installation & Configuration:

1. Install Simply Static Plugin
   • Go to Plugins → Add New in WordPress.
   • Search for Simply Static, install, and activate it.
2. Configure Simply Static Settings
   • Navigate to Simply Static → Settings:
     • Delivery Method: Select “Save for offline use” or “Upload to Amazon S3” (requires Pro version for direct S3 uploads).
     • URLs: Set the destination URL to match your future CloudFront distribution domain.
     • Excluded URLs: Exclude admin pages and dynamic pages (like login or wp-admin).
3. Generate Static Files
   • Click Generate Static Files in the Simply Static dashboard.
   • Once completed, download the ZIP file containing the static site (if not using direct S3 upload).

Step 3: Host Your Static Site on Amazon S3

Why Use S3?

Amazon S3 is a highly available and durable object storage solution perfect for hosting static websites.

How to Set Up S3 Hosting:

1. Create an S3 Bucket
   • Log into the AWS Management Console → S3.
   • Click Create bucket, name it (e.g., your-static-site), and select a region.
   • Important: Enable Block All Public Access but we’ll grant CloudFront access via permissions.
2. Upload Static Files
   • Upload the Simply Static files to your S3 bucket.
   • Organize files into folders if necessary for clean URLs.
3. Enable Static Website Hosting(Optional if using CloudFront only)
   • Under Properties → Static Website Hosting, enable hosting.
   • Set index.html as the index document.
4. Set Bucket Policy for CloudFront Access
   • Create an Origin Access Control (OAC) for CloudFront (explained in the next step).
   • Update your bucket policy to deny public access but allow CloudFront to fetch files.

Step 4: Deliver Content via Amazon CloudFront

Why Use CloudFront?

CloudFront caches your content globally, ensuring faster load times and added security.

Set Up CloudFront:

1. Create a CloudFront Distribution
   • Navigate to AWS Console → CloudFront → Create Distribution.
   • Origin Domain: Select your S3 bucket.
   • Origin Access: Attach the previously created OAC.
   • Viewer Protocol Policy: Redirect HTTP to HTTPS for security.
   • Default Root Object: Set to index.html.
2. Configure Cache Settings
   • Enable caching for improved speed, but set shorter TTLs during development.
3. Deploy and Test
   • Save and deploy the distribution.
   • Access the site via the CloudFront URL provided.
4. Custom Domain & SSL (Optional)
   • Use Route 53 to point your domain to CloudFront.
   • Attach an SSL certificate from AWS Certificate Manager (ACM) for HTTPS.

Precautions and Best Practices

Things to Watch Out For:

• CORS Issues:
  Ensure S3 has proper CORS configuration to allow CloudFront to fetch assets.
• Cache Invalidation:
  Use CloudFront invalidations after updates to serve the latest content.
• Security Settings:
  • Keep “Block All Public Access” enabled on S3.
  • Use OAC/OAI for secure CloudFront-to-S3 access.
• Error Handling:
  Configure error pages in CloudFront and S3 to handle 404 and 500 errors gracefully.

Benefits of This Workflow

✅ Lightning-Fast Performance:
Static files served from a global CDN result in sub-second load times.

✅ Enhanced Security:
No active WordPress backend exposed to the web.

✅ Cost Efficiency:
S3 + CloudFront is more affordable than traditional hosting solutions.

✅ Scalability:
Easily handle large traffic spikes without downtime.

✅ Easy Maintenance:
Update content in Local WP → Generate static site → Deploy with Simply Static.

Final Thoughts

Using Local WP, Simply Static, Amazon S3, and CloudFront is a powerful combination for launching secure, fast, and scalable static WordPress websites. This workflow ensures that you get the benefits of WordPress’s content management flexibility while delivering static content with maximum efficiency.

Ready to launch your own static site? Follow this guide, and you’ll be live with a high-performance website in no time. If you encounter any issues, feel free to reach out — happy building!