Deploying a Next.js app to Vercel is the simplest path from code to production in 2026. Here's the complete walkthrough — from Git push to live URL with a custom domain.
Prerequisites
- A Next.js project (exported from InBuild or built from scratch)
- A GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket account with the project pushed
- A Vercel account (free to create)
Step 1: Import the project
Go to vercel.com → New Project → Import your Git repository. Vercel auto-detects the Next.js framework and configures build settings.
Step 2: Set environment variables
In the project settings, add your environment variables before the first deploy. Common ones:
DATABASE_URL— your Postgres connection stringNEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL— your production domain (e.g.https://yourdomain.com)JWT_SECRET— for authenticationANTHROPIC_API_KEY— if using Claude for AI features
Step 3: Deploy
Click Deploy. Vercel runs next build, creates serverless functions for dynamic routes, and deploys static assets to its global CDN. First deploy takes 30–60 seconds.
Step 4: Custom domain
Project → Settings → Domains → Add. Enter your domain. Vercel shows the DNS records to configure at your registrar (usually a CNAME to cname.vercel-dns.com). SSL is provisioned automatically within minutes.
Step 5: Production checklist
- Verify
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URLmatches your production domain - Test sitemap.xml at
yourdomain.com/sitemap.xml - Test robots.txt at
yourdomain.com/robots.txt - Submit sitemap to Google Search Console
- Test OG images with Facebook Debugger
- Run PageSpeed Insights on mobile
- Verify all forms submit correctly with production API keys
Ongoing: auto-deploys
Every push to main triggers a production deploy. Every push to a branch creates a preview deployment with its own URL. This is the Vercel workflow — ship fast, preview everything, merge when ready.