title: “ADR-001 — Start S3 + CloudFront Personal Site on the Default CloudFront URL” created: 2026-10-23 updated: 2026-10-28 type: adr status: accepted tags:

aws
certification
architecture
adr
cloudfront
s3

ADR-001 — Start S3 + CloudFront Personal Site on the Default CloudFront URL

Status

accepted — and the deferred migration path was later executed.

Update (2026-10-28): the custom domain was added as planned (the “purely additive” migration below). Domain mimifasol.com registered in Route 53 (not an external registrar — the original note preferred external to avoid the hosted-zone fee, but Route 53 was chosen deliberately as part of the AWS certification learning), apex mimifasol.com + docs.mimifasol.com wired to the existing distribution via ACM + Alias records. The original decision (start on the default URL) stands as recorded; see [[deploy-custom-domain-route53-acm-cloudfront]] for what was actually done.

The mdBook static site generated in bhu-docs/public/book/ (AWS certification notes) needs hosting on AWS as S3 + CloudFront for personal use. Traffic is very low (a few visitors per day) and the primary objective is minimal cost. A decision is needed on whether to use a custom domain (e.g. docs.example.com) or the default CloudFront URL (e.g. d1234xyz.cloudfront.net) for the first deployment. No domain is owned yet.

See [[cloudfront-custom-domain-vs-default-url]] for the full concept explanation.

Decision

Use the default CloudFront URL for the first deployment. Defer the custom domain until a concrete need for a memorable URL arises. If/when a domain is added, prefer a subdomain (docs.) on an external registrar to avoid Route 53’s hosted-zone fee.

Options Considered

Option A — Default CloudFront URL

Pros: $0 cost; zero DNS/TLS setup; HTTPS works immediately via AWS-managed cert; lets us focus on the real work (private bucket + OAC, cache invalidation, build pipeline).
Cons: URL is ugly and not memorable; not “ours”; changes if the distribution is recreated.

Option B — Custom Domain Now

Pros: clean, memorable, stable URL from day one.
Cons: requires buying a domain (~$10–15/year) if none exists; ACM cert in us-east-1; DNS wiring (alias/CNAME); $0.50/month if DNS is on Route 53. Extra effort for no functional gain at this stage.

Consequences

Positive: near-zero recurring cost; fastest path to a working, HTTPS-served site; no vendor lock-in — the migration to a custom domain is purely additive.
Negative: the URL must be bookmarked rather than typed from memory; sharing the link is less elegant.
Migration path: adding a custom domain later requires no rebuild — request an ACM cert in us-east-1, add the domain under Alternate domain names + attach the cert, and create the DNS record. S3 bucket, distribution, content, and pipeline stay identical, and the *.cloudfront.net URL keeps working in parallel.

AWS Certification Notes