AWS Migration Guide - Nov 10, 2025

Time Required: 4-8 hours Cost: ~$1-5/month for AWS services Result: joshuamichaelhall.com hosted on AWS infrastructure

Prerequisites Checklist

Before starting, ensure you have:

  • AWS account created and payment method added
  • AWS CLI installed (brew install awscli or download from AWS)
  • AWS CLI configured (aws configure with access keys)
  • Jekyll site builds successfully locally
  • Domain currently pointing to GitHub Pages (we’ll migrate DNS)

Phase 1: Build Static Site (15 minutes)

Step 1.1: Build Jekyll Site Locally

cd /Users/jmh/repos/joshuamichaelhall.github.io

# Install dependencies (if needed)
bundle install

# Build the site
bundle exec jekyll build

# Verify _site/ directory was created
ls -la _site/

Checkpoint: You should see HTML files in _site/ directory

Step 1.2: Test Build Locally (Optional)

# Serve locally to verify everything works
bundle exec jekyll serve

# Open http://localhost:4000 in browser
# Ctrl+C to stop when verified

Phase 2: S3 Setup (30-45 minutes)

Step 2.1: Create S3 Bucket

  1. Go to AWS Console → S3
  2. Create bucket:
    • Bucket name: joshuamichaelhall.com (must match your domain)
    • Region: us-east-1 (recommended for CloudFront)
    • Uncheck “Block all public access” (we need public read)
    • Acknowledge the warning
    • Create bucket

Step 2.2: Enable Static Website Hosting

  1. Click on bucket joshuamichaelhall.com
  2. Go to Properties tab
  3. Scroll to Static website hosting
  4. Click Edit
  5. Enable static website hosting
  6. Index document: index.html
  7. Error document: 404.html
  8. Save changes
  9. Copy the bucket website endpoint URL (you’ll need this later)

Step 2.3: Upload Site Files

Option A: AWS Console (Easy)

  1. Go to Objects tab in your S3 bucket
  2. Click Upload
  3. Click Add folder
  4. Navigate to /Users/jmh/repos/joshuamichaelhall.github.io/_site/
  5. Select all files and folders inside _site/
  6. Click Upload
  7. Wait for upload to complete

Option B: AWS CLI (Faster)

cd /Users/jmh/repos/joshuamichaelhall.github.io

# Sync _site/ to S3 bucket
aws s3 sync _site/ s3://joshuamichaelhall.com --delete

# Set proper content types
aws s3 sync _site/ s3://joshuamichaelhall.com \
  --content-type "text/html" \
  --exclude "*" \
  --include "*.html" \
  --delete

aws s3 sync _site/ s3://joshuamichaelhall.com \
  --content-type "text/css" \
  --exclude "*" \
  --include "*.css" \
  --delete

aws s3 sync _site/ s3://joshuamichaelhall.com \
  --content-type "application/javascript" \
  --exclude "*" \
  --include "*.js" \
  --delete

Step 2.4: Configure Bucket Policy for Public Read

  1. Go to Permissions tab
  2. Scroll to Bucket policy
  3. Click Edit
  4. Paste this policy (replace bucket name if different):
{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Sid": "PublicReadGetObject",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Principal": "*",
      "Action": "s3:GetObject",
      "Resource": "arn:aws:s3:::joshuamichaelhall.com/*"
    }
  ]
}
  1. Save changes

Step 2.5: Test S3 Static Website

  1. Go back to Properties tab
  2. Scroll to Static website hosting
  3. Click the Bucket website endpoint URL
  4. Your site should load (without HTTPS or custom domain yet)

Checkpoint: Site loads at S3 endpoint (e.g., http://joshuamichaelhall.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com)

Phase 3: CloudFront Distribution (30-45 minutes)

Step 3.1: Request SSL Certificate in ACM

IMPORTANT: Must be done in us-east-1 region for CloudFront

  1. AWS Console → Certificate Manager (ACM)
  2. Switch region to us-east-1 (top right, even if your S3 is elsewhere)
  3. Click Request certificate
  4. Choose Request a public certificate
  5. Domain names:
    • Add joshuamichaelhall.com
    • Add www.joshuamichaelhall.com (click “Add another name”)
  6. Validation method: DNS validation (recommended)
  7. Click Request

Step 3.2: Validate Certificate via DNS

  1. Click on the certificate you just created
  2. Under Domains, you’ll see CNAME records to add
  3. Click Create records in Route 53 (if your domain is in Route 53)
    • OR manually add CNAME records to your DNS provider
  4. Wait for validation (usually 5-30 minutes)
  5. Certificate status should change to Issued

Checkpoint: Certificate status = “Issued” in ACM

Step 3.3: Create CloudFront Distribution

  1. AWS Console → CloudFront
  2. Click Create distribution
  3. Origin domain:
    • DO NOT select S3 bucket from dropdown
    • Instead, paste your S3 website endpoint (from Step 2.2)
    • Example: joshuamichaelhall.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com
  4. Protocol: HTTP only (S3 static website endpoints don’t support HTTPS)
  5. Name: joshuamichaelhall-s3-origin

Default cache behavior:

  1. Viewer protocol policy: Redirect HTTP to HTTPS
  2. Allowed HTTP methods: GET, HEAD
  3. Cache policy: CachingOptimized
  4. Leave other defaults

Settings:

  1. Alternate domain names (CNAMEs):
    • Add joshuamichaelhall.com
    • Add www.joshuamichaelhall.com
  2. Custom SSL certificate: Select the certificate you created in ACM
  3. Default root object: index.html

  4. Standard logging: Off (or enable if you want logs)

  5. Click Create distribution

Wait for deployment (15-30 minutes) - Status will change from “Deploying” to “Enabled”

Checkpoint: CloudFront distribution status = “Enabled”

Step 3.4: Test CloudFront Distribution

  1. Copy the Distribution domain name (e.g., d123456abcdef.cloudfront.net)
  2. Open it in browser
  3. Site should load with HTTPS

Checkpoint: Site loads at CloudFront URL with HTTPS

Phase 4: Route 53 DNS Configuration (30 minutes + propagation time)

Step 4.1: Check Current DNS Setup

Your domain joshuamichaelhall.com is currently pointing to GitHub Pages. We need to:

  1. Move DNS to Route 53 (if not already there)
  2. Update DNS records to point to CloudFront

Step 4.2: Create Route 53 Hosted Zone (if needed)

If domain is already in Route 53, skip to Step 4.3

  1. AWS Console → Route 53
  2. Click Hosted zones
  3. Click Create hosted zone
  4. Domain name: joshuamichaelhall.com
  5. Type: Public hosted zone
  6. Click Create hosted zone
  7. Note the 4 nameservers (you’ll need these)

Step 4.3: Update Domain Nameservers (if needed)

If your domain registrar is NOT AWS Route 53:

  1. Go to your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.)
  2. Find DNS/Nameserver settings
  3. Change nameservers to the 4 Route 53 nameservers from Step 4.2
  4. Save changes
  5. Wait 1-24 hours for propagation (usually faster)

If your domain is already registered in Route 53, skip this step

Step 4.4: Create DNS Records

  1. Go to Route 53 → Hosted zones → joshuamichaelhall.com
  2. Click Create record

Record 1: Root domain (joshuamichaelhall.com)

  • Record name: (leave blank)
  • Record type: A
  • Alias: Yes (toggle on)
  • Route traffic to: Alias to CloudFront distribution
  • Choose your CloudFront distribution from dropdown
  • Click Create records

Record 2: www subdomain (www.joshuamichaelhall.com)

  • Click Create record again
  • Record name: www
  • Record type: A
  • Alias: Yes (toggle on)
  • Route traffic to: Alias to CloudFront distribution
  • Choose your CloudFront distribution from dropdown
  • Click Create records

Step 4.5: Remove GitHub Pages DNS (Optional - do this last)

Once everything works on AWS:

  1. Go to your GitHub repo settings
  2. Remove custom domain from GitHub Pages
  3. (Optional) Delete CNAME file from repo

Checkpoint: Wait 5-60 minutes for DNS propagation

Phase 5: Verification & Testing (30 minutes)

Step 5.1: Test All URLs

Open these URLs in browser (private/incognito mode to avoid cache):

  • http://joshuamichaelhall.com → Should redirect to HTTPS
  • https://joshuamichaelhall.com → Should load site
  • http://www.joshuamichaelhall.com → Should redirect to HTTPS
  • https://www.joshuamichaelhall.com → Should load site

Step 5.2: Test SSL Certificate

  1. Click padlock icon in browser
  2. View certificate
  3. Issued by: Amazon
  4. Valid for: joshuamichaelhall.com, www.joshuamichaelhall.com

Step 5.3: Test All Pages

Navigate through your site:

  • Homepage
  • Portfolio page
  • Blog posts
  • About page
  • Contact page
  • 404 page (type invalid URL)

Step 5.4: Test QR Code

  1. Open QR code scanner on phone
  2. Scan the QR code from your business card
  3. Should open https://joshuamichaelhall.com
  4. Site should load on mobile

Step 5.5: Performance Check

  1. Run Google PageSpeed Insights: https://pagespeed.web.dev/
  2. Enter https://joshuamichaelhall.com
  3. Should see good performance scores (CloudFront is fast)

Phase 6: Update GitHub Workflow (Optional - 30 minutes)

Option A: Keep GitHub Pages, Manual AWS Sync

When you update site:

# 1. Build locally
bundle exec jekyll build

# 2. Sync to S3
aws s3 sync _site/ s3://joshuamichaelhall.com --delete

# 3. Invalidate CloudFront cache (so changes appear immediately)
aws cloudfront create-invalidation \
  --distribution-id YOUR_DISTRIBUTION_ID \
  --paths "/*"

Option B: Automated Deployment via GitHub Actions (Better - do this later)

Create .github/workflows/deploy-to-aws.yml:

name: Deploy to AWS

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2

      - name: Setup Ruby
        uses: ruby/setup-ruby@v1
        with:
          ruby-version: 3.1
          bundler-cache: true

      - name: Build Jekyll site
        run: bundle exec jekyll build

      - name: Configure AWS credentials
        uses: aws-actions/configure-aws-credentials@v1
        with:
          aws-access-key-id: $
          aws-secret-access-key: $
          aws-region: us-east-1

      - name: Sync to S3
        run: aws s3 sync _site/ s3://joshuamichaelhall.com --delete

      - name: Invalidate CloudFront
        run: |
          aws cloudfront create-invalidation \
            --distribution-id $ \
            --paths "/*"

Setup GitHub Secrets:

  1. GitHub repo → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions
  2. Add secrets:
    • AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID
    • AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
    • CLOUDFRONT_DISTRIBUTION_ID

This is a Cloud Resume Challenge component - add this after Re:Invent

Cost Breakdown

Monthly AWS costs (estimated):

  • S3 storage: $0.02-0.10 (for ~100MB of files)
  • CloudFront: $0.10-1.00 (first 1TB transfer is cheap)
  • Route 53 hosted zone: $0.50/month
  • Total: ~$1-5/month

First year includes:

  • CloudFront: 1 TB data transfer out free (12 months)
  • Route 53: First hosted zone free (12 months)

Troubleshooting

Problem: Certificate validation stuck

Solution:

  • Check Route 53 CNAME records were created correctly
  • Wait up to 30 minutes
  • If using external DNS provider, manually add CNAME records

Problem: Site loads but no HTTPS

Solution:

  • Verify CloudFront distribution has correct certificate attached
  • Check certificate is in us-east-1 region
  • Wait for CloudFront deployment to complete

Problem: 403 Forbidden error

Solution:

  • Check S3 bucket policy allows public read
  • Verify files were uploaded to bucket
  • Check CloudFront origin points to S3 website endpoint, not bucket directly

Problem: DNS not resolving

Solution:

  • Wait for DNS propagation (up to 24 hours)
  • Check nameservers are correctly set
  • Use dig joshuamichaelhall.com to check DNS records
  • Clear browser cache / use incognito mode

Problem: Old GitHub Pages site still showing

Solution:

  • Clear browser cache
  • Wait for DNS propagation
  • Remove custom domain from GitHub Pages settings
  • Delete CNAME file from repo

After Migration Success

Update your resume/LinkedIn:

  • “Built and deployed portfolio website using Jekyll, AWS S3, CloudFront, Route 53, and ACM”
  • “Implemented secure HTTPS delivery using AWS Certificate Manager”
  • “Configured CloudFront CDN for global content delivery”

Update your Re:Invent pitch:

“I deployed my portfolio site on AWS infrastructure - S3 for static hosting, CloudFront for CDN, Route 53 for DNS, and ACM for SSL certificates. After Re:Invent, I’m planning to enhance it with serverless backend - Lambda, DynamoDB, and API Gateway.”

Post-Re:Invent enhancements (Dec 7-21):

  • Add visitor counter (DynamoDB + Lambda + API Gateway)
  • Set up CI/CD with GitHub Actions (automated deployment)
  • Add monitoring with CloudWatch
  • Write blog post documenting architecture
  • Add infrastructure-as-code (Terraform or CloudFormation)

Success Criteria - You’re Done When:

  • Site loads at https://joshuamichaelhall.com
  • SSL certificate shows valid (padlock icon)
  • All pages work (portfolio, blog, about, contact)
  • QR code on business cards opens your site
  • Site loads on mobile
  • No GitHub Pages references (fully migrated to AWS)
  • You can explain the architecture to someone at Re:Invent

Architecture Diagram (for your understanding)

User Browser
    ↓
Route 53 DNS (joshuamichaelhall.com)
    ↓
CloudFront CDN (HTTPS, global edge locations)
    ↓
S3 Bucket (static website hosting)
    ↓
Your Jekyll site files (HTML, CSS, JS)

ACM Certificate (SSL/TLS) ← CloudFront uses this

Key AWS Services Used (Know this for Re:Invent)

  1. Amazon S3: Object storage for static website files
  2. Amazon CloudFront: CDN for fast global content delivery
  3. Amazon Route 53: DNS service for domain management
  4. AWS Certificate Manager (ACM): Free SSL/TLS certificates
  5. (Future) AWS Lambda: Serverless compute for backend logic
  6. (Future) Amazon DynamoDB: NoSQL database for visitor counter
  7. (Future) Amazon API Gateway: RESTful API for frontend/backend communication

Timeline for Nov 10

  • 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM: Phase 1 - Build Jekyll site
  • 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM: Phase 2 - S3 setup and upload
  • 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM: Phase 3 - ACM certificate + CloudFront (includes wait time)
  • 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM: Lunch break (while CloudFront deploys)
  • 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: Phase 4 - Route 53 DNS configuration
  • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Phase 5 - Testing and verification
  • 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Buffer time for troubleshooting
  • 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Document what you did, prepare Re:Invent talking points

Total: 6-8 hours including wait times

Your Business Cards Are Now Valid

✅ AWS Solutions Architect Associate - Passing Nov 9 ✅ Security+ - Passing Nov 29 ✅ Cloud Resume Demo - Live at joshuamichaelhall.com (AWS-hosted)

All claims are legitimate and defensible.

Good luck with the migration! Focus on AWS SAA studying until Nov 9, then execute this on Nov 10.