Temporary Static Hosting vs. Permanent Hosting

Use a temporary Dropley link when you have a finished static page or site that you can share publicly for a short time: a design review, a report, a demo, or a handoff. Use a permanent hosting service instead when the site must stay available, use a custom domain or sign-in, run server-side code, or depend on a database.

Dropley is for the first case. It publishes finished static files to a public URL with a selected availability window, then permanently deletes expired artifacts through scheduled cleanup. It is not a way to run an ongoing application.

Choose the workflow that matches the job

If you need to…	Choose	Why
Let someone open a finished HTML preview, report, or demo for a few days	A temporary Dropley link	It is public, does not require an account, and is available for 1, 3, or 7 days.
Share a multi-file static export for a review	A temporary Dropley link	Upload the complete folder or ZIP so its relative assets can load together.
Keep a site online indefinitely	Permanent hosting	Dropley does not offer a never-expire option.
Use a custom domain, authentication, a server, or a database	A service that provides those capabilities	Dropley serves browser-ready static files only.
Share anything sensitive	Do not use a public Dropley link	The link is public during its selected availability window; do not rely on it after that window ends.

For the underlying lifecycle, see Concepts. For file and expiry limits, see Service limits.

What “temporary” means on Dropley

Every published artifact gets a public URL. After publishing, the manage panel lets you choose its lifetime:

Lifetime	Good fit
1 day	A quick review or a short-lived handoff
3 days	The default for a short demo or feedback round
7 days	The longest available window for a temporary share

The countdown starts when publishing succeeds. Once the selected availability window ends, do not rely on the link remaining available. Dropley permanently deletes expired artifacts and their files through scheduled cleanup, and you cannot extend an expired artifact; upload the finished files again when you need a new link.

That makes a temporary link useful when the recipient only needs a finished static result for a defined window. It is a poor fit for a portfolio, documentation site, customer-facing application, or any link that must remain stable.

Publish a single-file preview

For one self-contained page, save the finished page as index.html. Put its CSS and JavaScript inline, or use dependencies that the browser can load from a public URL.

Open the HTML publishing guide and confirm the page is named index.html.
Upload that file to the Dropley homepage canvas.
Wait for the public URL, then choose 1, 3, or 7 days in the manage panel.
Open the live URL yourself before you send it, then share it with the people who need to review it.

This is a useful shape for a static status update, a finished AI-generated report, or a small prototype that has no local assets.

Publish a multi-file static project

For a site with local CSS, JavaScript, images, or fonts, upload the entire finished folder or ZIP. The archive needs an index.html entry page and the assets it references.

12345678project/
├── index.html
├── styles/
│   └── main.css
├── scripts/
│   └── app.js
└── images/
    └── chart.png

Use relative references such as styles/main.css and images/chart.png, then follow the ZIP static website guide. Once it publishes, open the public URL and visit the important paths before sharing it. This catches missing assets while you still have the original folder.

Missing entry page: rename the intended first page to exactly index.html.
Broken local assets: include every referenced asset in the folder or ZIP and use relative paths. A path such as file:///Users/... works only on your computer.
Server-backed project: export a finished static version only if it can run in a browser without Node.js, PHP, Python, server-side rendering, or a database.
Sensitive material: do not publish it. The URL is public while it is live; read the security guidance before sharing.
A page that is still broken after publishing: use the browser Console and Network panels, then follow the troubleshooting guide.

When permanent hosting is the better answer

Choose permanent hosting when a recipient needs a stable address, when visitors must sign in, or when the project needs a custom domain, server logic, a private API, or persistent data. A temporary public link does not replace those needs.

If the work is a completed static artifact that can be public for a defined window, publish it as a temporary link instead.