Host PR branches somewhere publicly accessible

[IceSentry]

We want to be able to host a dev version of the website to make collaboration easier. The main issue stopping us is that github pages can only host a single branch.

Here are the some of the possible options:

• Vercel https://vercel.com
  - https://vercel.com/pricing
  - The main issue with vercel is that they ask too many github permissions when setting it up
• Cloudflare pages https://pages.cloudflare.com
• Netlify https://www.netlify.com
  - https://www.netlify.com/pricing/
  - Asks for a reasonable amount of permissions and I believe we can stay on the free tier
• Self-host
  - Needs a server, needs to maintain it, needs something to autodeploy and generate url for deployed PR
  - Not free

[mockersf]

I'm not sure hosting the website in dev is a good idea, or that it brings enough value to offset the complications from keeping it up and redirecting people to the right version

[CooCooCaCha]

A few notes from testing the vercel <-> github integration on my fork.

• Vercel will automatically detect branch updates and deploy that branch to a unique (and ugly) url.
• Vercel will automatically comment on PRs with the generated url. I believe Vercel can be configured to not submit this comment.
• If a PR is updated, Vercel will redeploy and edit the original comment if needed.
• These urls will not be indexed by search engines. This is done by using the x-robots-tag: noindex HTTP header (https://vercel.com/support/articles/are-vercel-preview-deployment-indexed-by-search-engines#x-robots-tag-header).
• In order for news articles to work, it's important to update the default build command to zola build --base-url https://${VERCEL_URL}

Here's a screenshot of what the above looks like:

[alice-i-cecile]

Cart and I have been chatting with Vercel's sales team: they'd be open to offering us the equivalent of their pro plan if we're willing to credit them for their hosting. The guidelines are here, but we're discussing to see if we can compromise on something more consistent with the other sponsorships.

[alice-i-cecile]

So, for acknowledgement, we need:

1. A Infrastructure Sponsors section of our Sponsors section, with Vercel listed there.
2. A link in the footer with the Vercel logo and OSS link (as described above), with the phrase "Website powered by Vercel".
3. A section in the README of the bevy-website repo for sponsors (with all of our Bronze+ tier sponsors).

This is ready for a test PR enabling Vercel integration + the acknowledgements, which we can then send to their sales team for approval.

[cart]

2. A link in the footer with the Vercel logo and OSS link (as described above), with the phrase "Website powered by Vercel".

I think we should try pushing back on this, given that the website isn't really "powered" by it. We're using it as a dev tool to improve our PR efficiency, not as a technology stack for the website (or as a host for the production website).

[alice-i-cecile]

I think we should try pushing back on this, given that the website isn't really "powered" by it. We're using it as a dev tool to improve our PR efficiency, not as a technology stack for the website (or as a host for the production website).

Yeah, fair 🤔 We could enable it only for the vercel deployed branches I guess?

[cart]

That sits better with me, but thats a context that accomplishes goals different from what I think they're trying to accomplish. For simplicity, I'd prefer to push back wholesale first.

[cart]

Just sent them an email pushing back. We'll see how it plays out!

[alice-i-cecile]

Sure, I get where you're coming from. It'll take longer to approve this since it doesn't conform to our sponsorship requirements, but if you send over a preview that has an infrastructure sponsors section added I can see if it's possible to get that approved.

Alright! Let's put something together. We just need a draft PR with:

• Vercel support enabled
• a Infrastructures Sponsor section with the Vercel logo and the corresponding link 🎉

[alice-i-cecile]

Still no word on the permissions requirements. We should start talking to competitors IMO.