Direct Deployment

Approach 1 - Vercel (Recommended)

Vercel has a very generous free plan, so you will be able to host this app for free unless you get millions of users.

1. Create a Github account if you don't have one already.

2. Create a free Vercel account at https://vercel.com/signup and connect your github account with it.

3. Click on the Deploy button above.

   1. Vercel will ask you to Create Git Repository, enter any suitable name click on Create.

   2. (Optional) You can deselect the Create private Git Repository option if you want your fork to be visible to others.

   3. Now under the Configure Project section enter the following environment variables:

      1. MONGODB_URI - The MongoDB connection string created previously.

      2. CONTACT_WEBHOOK - The Discord webhook URL for the contact form created previously.

      3. URL_REPORT_WEBHOOK - The Discord webhook URL for the URL report form created previously.

   4. Click on Deploy and wait for the deployment to finish.

   5. Once the deployment is finished, you will get a URL where your app is deployed, it should look something like https://<random-words>.vercel.app.

   6. Congratulations 🎉 your app have successfully been deployed. You can also connect a custom domain for free on vercel.

Approach 2 - Railway

Railway offers you $5 of credit once you verify your account, which is enough to run the app for around 5-7 months.

1. Login to your Railway account if you have one, otherwise create one here.

   1. If you are signing up, then verify your account by clicking the link in the email Railway sends you.

   2. If you created your account with an email, then to verify your account further, go to your account, then plans and verify your account with a GitHub account.

2. Click on the Deploy on Railway button above.

3. If a Configure button is displayed, click on it and allow Railway to access your GitHub account.

4. Now Render will ask you to fill Environment Variables. Enter the following environment variables:

   1. MONGODB_URI - The MongoDB connection string created previously.

   2. CONTACT_WEBHOOK - The Discord webhook URL for the contact form created previously.

   3. URL_REPORT_WEBHOOK - The Discord webhook URL for the URL report form created previously.

5. The Deploy button at the bottom of the template should be active, click on it.

6. Once the deployment is finished, copy the URL from the Deployments tab, it should look something like https://<random-words>.up.railway.app.

7. Upon visiting the URL given by Railway, you may encounter a 502 Error. This issue typically resolves itself within a few minutes.

8. Congratulations 🎉 your app have successfully been deployed. You can also connect a custom domain for free in the Settings tab.

Approach 3 - Render

Just like vercel, Render also offers a generous free plan, so you will be able to host this app for free unless you get millions of users.

1. Create a Render account if you don't have one already.

2. Click on the Deploy to Render button above.

3. Render will ask you to enter a Blueprint Name, enter any suitable name.

4. Now under the Environment Variables section enter the following environment variables:

   1. MONGODB_URI - The MongoDB connection string created previously.

   2. CONTACT_WEBHOOK - The Discord webhook URL for the contact form created previously.

   3. URL_REPORT_WEBHOOK - The Discord webhook URL for the URL report form created previously.

5. Click on Apply and wait for the deployment to finish.

6. Once the deployment is finished, you will get a URL where your app is deployed, it should look something like https://<random-words>.onrender.com.

7. Congratulations 🎉 your app have successfully been deployed. You can also connect a custom domain for free on Render under the Settings/Custom Domains section of your deployment.

Approach 4 - Koyeb

Just like Vercel Koyeb is also a good hosting platform which offers one free deployment. Although you might need to upgrade to a paid plan to connect a custom domain.

1. Create a Koyeb account if you don't have one already.

2. Click on the Deploy to Koyeb button above.

3. Scroll to the Environment Variables section and fill it out carefully as mentioned in the previous approaches.

4. Click on Deploy and wait for the deployment to finish.

5. Once the deployment is finished, you will get a URL where your app is deployed, it should look something like https://<random-words>.koyeb.app.

6. Congratulations 🎉 your app have successfully been deployed. You can also connect a custom domain for your koyeb deployment here.

Limitations of using this method

1. It is not possible to edit the application in any possible way.

2. It is not possible to add custom SEO to your deployment.

3. It may not provide full control over the server and its configuration.