From HTTP to HTTPS: Secure Your S3 Website with CloudFront + ACM + Route 53🚀

Hosting a static website on Amazon S3 is simple and cost-effective, but one major limitation is that S3 doesn’t support HTTPS out of the box. This article walks you through how to enable SSL (HTTPS) using Amazon CloudFront and AWS Certificate Manager, ensuring your site is secure, globally distributed, and blazing fast.

I’ve already documented the steps to host a static site on S3 in my previous post. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out here: 👉 How I Launched a Static Website Using AWS

Now, let’s take it a step further and add HTTPS support.

✅ Step 1: Request an SSL Certificate via AWS Certificate Manager (ACM)

1. Navigate to ACM (Certificate Manager) in the N. Virginia (us-east-1) region. CloudFront requires certificates to be issued from this region.
2. Click “Request a certificate” → Choose “Request a public certificate”.
3. Enter your domain names:

1. Select DNS Validation (especially easy if you're using Route 53).
2. ACM will provide CNAME records for DNS validation.

1. Go to your domain registrar’s DNS settings and add the CNAME records.
2. Wait a few minutes — once validated, your certificate status will show as “Issued”.

✅ Step 2: Set Up a CloudFront Distribution

CloudFront acts as a secure CDN layer in front of your S3 website and handles HTTPS termination.

1. Head over to CloudFront > Create Distribution
2. Configure the following:

1. Save and deploy your distribution. This might take 5–10 minutes.

✅ Step 3: Update DNS Settings in Route 53

Once CloudFront is deployed:

1. Copy the CloudFront domain name, e.g. d123abcxyz.cloudfront.net
2. Go to Route 53 > Hosted Zones > saurabhbatra.net.in
3. Create or edit the A record for your root domain:

✅ Step 4: Test Your Website

After DNS propagation:

🔗 Visit: https://saurabhbatra.net.in

You should now see your S3 static site loading securely over HTTPS in the address bar.

💡 Why This Setup is Powerful

• ✅ Free SSL via ACM
• ✅ Global CDN with CloudFront
• ✅ Improved SEO thanks to HTTPS
• ✅ Blazing fast static delivery with edge caching

🔚 Final Thoughts

This approach lets you host a fully secure, fast, and scalable static website using nothing but S3 + CloudFront + ACM.

If you found this useful, feel free to like, comment, or share with someone who’s building their portfolio site, blog, or landing page with AWS.

💬 Have questions or need help? Let’s connect!