Hosting & Deployment

How fast and friction-free is the initial setup? Can you connect a repository and have a working deployment in under 10 minutes without reading documentation?

How cleanly does the platform integrate with Git-based deployment workflows? Auto-deploy on push, branch deploys, pull request previews, are these first-class features?

How capable and ergonomic is the platform's CLI? Can you deploy, manage environment variables, and inspect logs entirely from the terminal without touching a dashboard?

How clear and usable is the platform dashboard for day-to-day operations? Can a developer find what they need (logs, deployments, environment variables, domains) without hunting?

How well does the platform handle static site deployments? Instant cache invalidation, global CDN, custom headers, redirect rules, without extra configuration.

Does the platform automatically create unique preview URLs for every branch or pull request? Are these reliable enough to share directly with clients or stakeholders?

How well does the platform handle frontend build pipelines in practice? Build caching, configurable build commands, environment-specific builds, build time performance.

How well does the platform support modern frontend frameworks out of the box? Next.js, Astro, Nuxt, Remix, are there zero-config presets or does each require manual tuning?

Does the platform support serverless functions in a way that feels native and practical? Cold start performance, function size limits, runtime options, execution time limits.

Can the platform host long-running backend services such as Laravel APIs, Node.js servers, or background workers? Or is it limited to short-lived serverless invocations only?

Does the platform support Docker-based deployments? For projects that need custom runtimes, non-standard dependencies, or full backend control.

Does the platform provide a practical path for running background workers, queue processors, or scheduled cron jobs? Without requiring a separate infrastructure layer.

How globally distributed and effective is the platform's content delivery network? For serving static assets and cached responses, does it cover the regions your clients' users are actually in?

Does the platform support running logic at the edge, close to the user? For use cases like A/B testing, geolocation redirects, authentication checks, or personalisation.

How well does the platform manage cold start latency for serverless or edge functions? Are cold starts fast enough that end users don't notice them in production?

How consistently fast are API and page response times for end users across different global regions? Based on real production deployments, not just benchmarks.

Does the platform offer managed database hosting as a native add-on? PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, or does every project require a separate external database provider?

Does the platform provide object or file storage for uploads, assets, and user-generated content? Or does this always require a third-party service like S3 or Cloudflare R2?

How practical is it to keep compute and database geographically co-located? When using the platform's compute alongside an external or managed database, to avoid latency.

How well does the platform manage environment variables across multiple environments? Production, preview, development, are secrets handled securely and easy to audit?

How capable and expressive is the platform's redirect and rewrite rule system? Complex routing, trailing slashes, locale prefixes, legacy URL patterns, without application-level code.

Can you set custom HTTP response headers at the platform level? Cache control, security headers, CORS, without requiring application code changes.

Does the platform support a clean multi-environment workflow? Staging, production, feature branches, with isolated environment variables, separate domains, and independent deployments.

How transparent and predictable is the pricing model? Can you accurately forecast your monthly bill before deploying, or does the pricing depend on usage variables that are hard to estimate upfront?

How well does the platform protect against unexpected overage charges? Is there a risk of a large surprise bill if a site gets a traffic spike or a function runs more than expected?

How strong is the value relative to cost at a typical client project scale? Considering what the platform actually provides, compute, CDN, storage, bandwidth, build minutes.

How genuinely useful is the free tier for real development work? Not just toy projects, can you run a client staging environment or a low-traffic production site without paying?

How reliable has the platform been in production across real projects? Are incidents rare, short-lived, and well-communicated, or have outages caused client-facing problems?

How quickly and safely can you roll back a bad deployment? Is rollback a one-click operation on a previous build, or does it require manual intervention?

How accessible and practical are production logs? Can you diagnose a live issue in real time without setting up external logging infrastructure?

Does the platform provide meaningful built-in observability? Request rates, error rates, performance metrics, or does useful monitoring always require a third-party integration?

How much does the platform encourage or require proprietary features that would make migrating difficult? Custom runtimes, platform-specific APIs, storage formats.

How straightforward is it to migrate a project away from this platform if needed? Could your team move to a different provider in a week without rewriting application logic?

Does the platform use open, widely-supported standards rather than proprietary abstractions? Docker, standard Node.js runtime, Git, standard HTTP, not abstractions that only work within its own ecosystem.

How well-suited is this platform for hosting high-performance marketing sites? Astro, Next.js, where performance, SEO, and editorial preview deployments matter most.

How well-suited is this platform for hosting full-stack web applications? SaaS products, client portals, API backends, where persistent compute, database access, and backend reliability are required.

How practical is this platform for an agency managing multiple client projects simultaneously? Project isolation, team access controls, cost per project, ease of client handoff.