Bluehost Web App Deployment Skill

Deploy static web applications (React, Vite, vanilla JS) to Bluehost shared hosting with custom domains.

Prerequisites

• SSH key configured for Bluehost: ~/.ssh/bluehost_wasibbiz
• SSH command: ssh -i ~/.ssh/bluehost_wasibbiz wasibbiz@162.241.217.198
• Domain purchased from registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.)

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Phase 1: Domain Configuration

1.1 Point Domain to Bluehost Nameservers

At your domain registrar (e.g., GoDaddy):

1. Go to Domain Settings → DNS → Nameservers
2. Select "Enter my own nameservers" (or "Custom")
3. REPLACE (not add) with:

   ns1.bluehost.com
   ns2.bluehost.com

4. Save changes

Critical: Remove ALL other nameservers. Having both registrar and Bluehost nameservers causes conflicts.

1.2 Disconnect Registrar Services

If the registrar has any connected services (WordPress, Website Builder, Email Hosting):

• Go to Products/Services
• Find services connected to this domain
• Cancel/Disconnect them

These services can intercept traffic even when nameservers point elsewhere.

1.3 Add Addon Domain in Bluehost

Via SSH:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/bluehost_wasibbiz wasibbiz@162.241.217.198

# Add the addon domain (creates ~/DOMAIN/ directory)
cpapi2 AddonDomain addaddondomain dir=DOMAIN.TLD newdomain=DOMAIN.TLD subdomain=DOMAIN

Example:

cpapi2 AddonDomain addaddondomain dir=ilm.kids newdomain=ilm.kids subdomain=ilm

Verify:

ls -la ~/DOMAIN.TLD/

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Phase 2: Build the Application

2.1 Prepare Build Environment

Important: Don't build in Google Drive synced folders - node_modules causes sync issues.

# Copy project to /tmp for building
cp -r /path/to/project /tmp/project-build
cd /tmp/project-build

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build for production
npm run build

2.2 Common Build Issues

Issue	Solution
Invalid package name (special chars)	Edit package.json, use alphanumeric + hyphens only
npm install hangs	Build in /tmp, not synced folders
Missing dependencies	Check package.json, run npm install again

2.3 Security Audit Before Deploy

Before deploying, check for exposed secrets:

# Search for API keys, secrets, tokens
grep -r "API_KEY\|SECRET\|TOKEN\|PASSWORD" dist/
grep -r "sk-\|pk_\|GEMINI\|OPENAI" dist/

# Check for .env files (should NOT be in dist)
ls -la dist/.env*

Remove/disable:

• API key imports and usage in source code
• SDK imports that aren't needed client-side
• .env files from deployment

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Phase 3: Deploy to Bluehost

3.1 Upload Built Files

# Upload dist/ contents to domain folder
scp -i ~/.ssh/bluehost_wasibbiz -r /tmp/project-build/dist/* wasibbiz@162.241.217.198:~/DOMAIN.TLD/

3.2 Create .htaccess for Security & Caching

ssh -i ~/.ssh/bluehost_wasibbiz wasibbiz@162.241.217.198

cat > ~/DOMAIN.TLD/.htaccess << 'EOF'
# Cache control for static assets
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
    # Force revalidation for HTML
    <FilesMatch "\.(html)$">
        Header set Cache-Control "no-cache, must-revalidate"
    </FilesMatch>

    # Cache JS/CSS with long expiry (files have hash in name)
    <FilesMatch "\.(js|css)$">
        Header set Cache-Control "public, max-age=31536000, immutable"
    </FilesMatch>
</IfModule>

# Security headers
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
    Header set X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"
    Header set X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN"
    Header set Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin"
</IfModule>

# Enable CORS for fonts
<FilesMatch "\.(ttf|otf|eot|woff|woff2)$">
    <IfModule mod_headers.c>
        Header set Access-Control-Allow-Origin "*"
    </IfModule>
</FilesMatch>

# SPA routing fallback (for React Router, Vue Router, etc.)
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteBase /
    RewriteRule ^index\.html$ - [L]
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
    RewriteRule . /index.html [L]
</IfModule>
EOF

3.3 Verify Deployment

# Check files are in place
ls -la ~/DOMAIN.TLD/

# Test from server
curl -s http://DOMAIN.TLD/ | head -20

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Phase 4: DNS Propagation & Troubleshooting

4.1 DNS Propagation Timeline

• Nameserver changes: 24-48 hours (often faster)
• A record changes: 1-4 hours typical
• TTL: Check current TTL; can't speed up until it expires

4.2 Diagnostic Commands

# Check DNS resolution
ping DOMAIN.TLD

# Check what IP the domain resolves to
nslookup DOMAIN.TLD

# Check nameservers
dig NS DOMAIN.TLD

# Test what Bluehost actually serves (bypasses browser cache)
curl -s http://DOMAIN.TLD/

# Check with specific DNS server
nslookup DOMAIN.TLD 8.8.8.8

4.3 Common Issues & Solutions

Symptom	Cause	Solution
Old page shows in browser	Browser cache	Hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R
Registrar parking page	Connected services	Disconnect WordPress/Website Builder at registrar
Ping shows wrong IP	DNS not propagated	Wait; check nameservers are correct
Ping correct but wrong page	Browser/ISP cache	Try different browser, clear cache, wait
404 errors	Wrong directory	Verify files in ~/DOMAIN.TLD/
Blank page	Build error	Check browser console, verify index.html

4.4 Force Browser Cache Clear

Tell users to:

1. Hard refresh: Ctrl + Shift + R (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Shift + R (Mac)
2. Clear browser cache completely
3. Try incognito/private window
4. Try different browser

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Quick Reference Commands

# SSH to Bluehost
ssh -i ~/.ssh/bluehost_wasibbiz wasibbiz@162.241.217.198

# Add addon domain
cpapi2 AddonDomain addaddondomain dir=DOMAIN newdomain=DOMAIN subdomain=SUBDOMAIN

# List addon domains
cpapi2 AddonDomain listaddondomains

# Upload files
scp -i ~/.ssh/bluehost_wasibbiz -r /tmp/build/dist/* wasibbiz@162.241.217.198:~/DOMAIN/

# Test site from server
curl -s http://DOMAIN/ | head -20

# Check disk usage
du -sh ~/DOMAIN/

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Checklist for New Deployments

• Domain purchased
• Nameservers changed to ns1/ns2.bluehost.com
• Registrar services (WordPress, etc.) disconnected
• Addon domain created on Bluehost
• Project copied to /tmp for building
• npm install completed
• Security audit: no API keys in build
• npm run build completed
• Files uploaded to ~/DOMAIN/
• .htaccess created with security headers
• curl test shows correct content
• Browser test (with cache clear) works