# Deployment Overview

GrackerAI portals can be deployed several ways. Pick based on your existing infrastructure.

## Decision Tree

| If you use... | Recommended deployment |
|---|---|
| Cloudflare for DNS or CDN | [Cloudflare Integration](/docs/cloudflare) |
| AWS (Route53, CloudFront) | [Route53 & CloudFront](/docs/route53-cloudfront) |
| Vercel for hosting | [Vercel](/docs/vercel) |
| Other DNS/hosting | [Custom Domain](/docs/custom-domain) |
| Nginx reverse proxy | [Nginx Integration](/docs/nginx) |

## What Each Path Provides

All paths give you:
- SSL via Let's Encrypt (auto-renewed)
- HTTP/2 and gzip/Brotli compression
- Edge caching where supported
- Sub-second TTFB at most locations

The differences are operational:

- **Cloudflare**. Fastest setup; great if you already use Cloudflare for DNS
- **Route53/CloudFront**. Best if you're AWS-native; full IAM integration
- **Vercel**. Fastest if your main site is Vercel-hosted
- **Custom Domain**. Most flexible; works with any DNS provider
- **Nginx**. Best for self-hosted setups requiring reverse proxy

## Pre-Deployment Checklist

Before deploying:

- [ ] Portal generated and reviewed
- [ ] Custom domain configured in **Portal Settings → Domains**
- [ ] SEO settings verified
- [ ] Analytics integrated
- [ ] Theme/branding final
- [ ] Schema markup validated (use Google Rich Results Test)
- [ ] `robots.txt` and `llms.txt` accessible

## Post-Deployment Checklist

After deploying:

- [ ] Visit homepage and verify it loads <2 seconds
- [ ] Test on mobile, tablet, desktop
- [ ] Submit sitemap to Google Search Console
- [ ] Submit sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools
- [ ] Verify schema with Rich Results Test on 3 sample pages
- [ ] Confirm `llms.txt` resolves at `yourportal.com/llms.txt`
- [ ] Set up the corresponding GrackerAI monitor to track citations from the new portal