Deploy from a template
To start your project quickly and reliably, deploy from a pre-made Netlify template project, which is preconfigured for Netlify and optimized for different use cases. Next, you can make customize your project, then publish your project to the web with a custom domain.
# Prerequisites
- A Netlify account
- A Git hosting provider account, we recommend GitHub since our templates are stored there but you can technically use many other Git hosting providers
- Recommended: A code editor or another way to edit changes in your project’s files
# Step 1: Deploy a preview of your template project
If you haven’t already, sign up for a Netlify account.
Go to your Netlify team account dashboard and select Add new project, then choose Start from a template.
Select a template to use for your project.
Choose a Git provider where you want to clone your project. You will need an account with the Git provider you select.
Give your project a name. This name will appear on your Netlify dashboard and will be in the default Netlify URL for your project at
https://YOURPROJECTNAME.netlify.app.Select Deploy project.
Checkpoint
You should now have a successfully built project deployment at https://YOURPROJECTNAME.netlify.app, which is the default automated Netlify domain for your project.
If this is not true for you, get help from the following:
# Step 2: Customize your project
To customize your project, you can edit your project files directly in a text editor or code editor, such as Windsurf, Cursor, or VSCode.
To clone your project repository to your local computer:
From your Netlify dashboard, go to your project overview dashboard and under your project name URL, select Deploys from GitHub. You’ll be directed to your template repository on GitHub.
In the top right of your project repository on GitHub, select Code, then choose a way to clone your project repository to your local computer and copy the related URL. If you choose HTTPS, you can use the following command with the URL you copied.
git clone https://github.com/YOUR-USERNAME/YOUR-REPOSITORYFor help using Git clone, check out GitHub’s docs for new Git users or for cloning a repository.
# Step 3: Add a custom domain
By default, your project is available on the web at the default Netlify URL https://YOURPROJECTNAME.netlify.app.
To make your project available on the web at a custom domain, you need to add a custom domain to your project.
You can add a custom domain you already own or buy a new custom domain directly through Netlify.
To add a new custom domain to your project:
In the left sidebar, go to
.Next, choose Add a domain, then select Buy a new domain and follow the setup prompts. If you already bought and registered a custom domain you want to add to your project, then choose Add a domain you already own and check out our docs on Bring a domain to Netlify.
- Follow the setup prompts.
Checkpoint
If you bought a new domain through Netlify, you should be able to find your project at the custom domain you set up after a few minutes. This is the fastest route to set up a domain for your project.
If your project is not working as expected at the new custom domain you bought, get help in these ways:
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