GitLab Pages Preview is a feature provided by GitLab that allows you to view and test your website or web application before deploying it to production. It enables you to see how your changes will look and function in a realistic environment without affecting your live website.
The Preview functionality in GitLab Pages is typically used in combination with CI/CD pipelines. When you push changes to your GitLab repository, the CI/CD pipeline automatically builds and deploys your website to a temporary URL, giving you a preview of the changes.
This preview URL allows you to share the preview version with stakeholders, gather feedback, and ensure everything is working as expected before merging the changes and deploying them to the live website.
GitLab Pages Preview provides several benefits:
- Early feedback: It allows you to collect feedback from team members, clients, or users before deploying changes to the production environment. This helps identify and fix issues or make improvements early in the development process.
- Testing functionality: Previewing your website or web application allows you to test interactive features, user interactions, and any dynamic behavior to ensure they are working correctly.
- Design validation: By previewing your changes, you can assess the visual appearance, layout, and overall design of your website or web application in a realistic environment. This helps in validating the design choices and making any necessary adjustments.
- Quality assurance: Previewing your changes allows you to perform quality assurance testing, checking for any bugs, errors, or compatibility issues across different devices and browsers.
- Iterative development: GitLab Pages Preview supports an iterative development approach by allowing you to make changes, review them in the preview environment, and iterate until you achieve the desired outcome.
By leveraging GitLab Pages Preview, you can streamline your development workflow, ensure better collaboration, and deliver high-quality websites or web applications.
Configure GitLab Pages to get the Preview: Steps
To configure GitLab Pages and achieve the desired preview, you’ll need to follow these steps:
- Create a GitLab project: Make sure you have a GitLab project set up where you want to host your website.
- Enable GitLab Pages: Go to your project’s settings and navigate to the “Pages” section. Enable GitLab Pages by selecting a source branch (e.g.,
mainormaster) and specify the folder containing your static website files (e.g.,publicordist). - Set up a CI/CD configuration: GitLab Pages use CI/CD pipelines to build and deploy your website. You’ll need to create a
.gitlab-ci.ymlfile in your project’s root directory to define the build and deployment process. Here’s an example:
image: node:latest
before_script:
- npm install
build:
stage: build
script:
- npm run build # Replace with your build command
artifacts:
paths:
- public # Replace with the folder containing your built files
pages:
stage: deploy
script:
- mv public/ public_html/ # Rename the folder to match your GitLab Pages configuration
artifacts:
paths:
- public_html # Replace with the renamed folder
This example assumes you’re using Node.js for your project and have a build command defined in your package.json file.
- Commit and push your changes: Commit the
.gitlab-ci.ymlfile to your repository and push it to trigger the CI/CD pipeline. - Verify the preview: Once the pipeline completes successfully, go to your project’s “Settings” > “Pages” section. You should see a preview link. Click on it to access your website’s preview.
- Customize the domain: By default, GitLab Pages use a subdomain of
gitlab.iofor hosting. If you want a custom domain (e.g.,www.example.com), you’ll need to configure DNS settings. Consult your domain registrar or DNS provider for detailed instructions. - Configure custom domain in GitLab: After setting up DNS, go to your project’s “Settings” > “Pages” section. In the “Domains” section, add your custom domain and configure TLS/SSL settings if necessary.
That’s it! You’ve configured GitLab Pages to host your website and achieved the desired preview.
Conclusion
In conclusion, GitLab Pages provides a convenient way to preview your website or web application before deploying it to production. By leveraging GitLab’s CI/CD pipelines, you can automatically build and deploy your changes to a temporary preview URL. This allows you and your teammates to review, test, and gather feedback on the changes before making them live.
To preview GitLab Pages and share the preview URL with teammates:
- Push your changes to the GitLab repository.
- Trigger the CI/CD pipeline, which will build and deploy your website.
- Access the preview URL provided in the pipeline details.
- Share the preview URL with your teammates for their review and feedback.
GitLab Pages Preview streamlines the development workflow, facilitates collaboration, and enables early bug identification and design validation. By leveraging this feature, you can ensure the quality and functionality of your website or web application before deploying it to the live environment.
