How do I securely connect CloudFront to a private Amazon S3 bucket for a serverless website?

Configure CloudFront Origin Access Control (OAC) and add an S3 bucket policy that permits only the CloudFront distribution to read the site objects.

What AWS services are used to build a serverless web app with a custom HTTPS domain and view counter?

The project uses S3 for static hosting, CloudFront for delivery and HTTPS, Route 53 for DNS, Lambda for backend logic, and DynamoDB to store view counts.

What permissions does AWS Lambda need to update a DynamoDB view-count table?

Attach an IAM execution role that grants the Lambda function DynamoDB permissions such as GetItem and UpdateItem on the specific table.

Free Course Image Serverless Web Application on AWS

Free online course Serverless Web Application on AWS

Duration of the online course: 1 hours and 1 minutes

New

Build a serverless AWS web app from scratch in this free course—static site, HTTPS custom domain, CRUD backend, DynamoDB views, and real deployment practice.

In this free course, learn about

How to design a fully serverless AWS web app architecture for static hosting + CRUD + view counts
Hosting a static site on S3 and configuring the correct first setup steps
Configuring CloudFront in front of S3 for global delivery and HTTPS
Securing private S3 content with CloudFront using Origin Access Control/Identity
Setting up custom domains and DNS in Route 53 for CloudFront distributions
Troubleshooting why a CloudFront distribution may not show as a Route 53 alias target
Creating and using DynamoDB tables for serverless app data storage
Why and how to create an IAM role for Lambda to access DynamoDB securely
Configuring Lambda permissions/policies to read and update DynamoDB items
End-to-end testing of the deployed serverless website and its integrations
Choosing the correct backend endpoint for JavaScript fetch to show a view counter

About the free online course

Learn how to design, build, and deploy a fully serverless web application on AWS with an architecture that mirrors how modern production projects are shipped. This course guides you through the end-to-end journey of turning a simple idea into a fast, secure, and scalable website that runs without managing servers—while still covering the real decisions that separate a demo from a reliable solution.

You will start by understanding which AWS services fit a serverless web application and why. From there, you will build a static front end hosted on S3 and delivered globally through CloudFront for performance, caching, and HTTPS support on a custom domain. Along the way, you will work through common setup pitfalls that affect domain routing and distribution configuration, helping you gain confidence in diagnosing issues instead of guessing.

To power the application behind the scenes, you will add a backend that can handle CRUD-style interactions and a view-count feature using DynamoDB for storage and AWS Lambda for compute. You will also focus on the security foundations that make serverless viable in real environments, including the role of IAM permissions, least-privilege access, and how services are allowed to talk to each other safely.

By the end, you will have a working serverless website with a functional data layer, tested integrations, and a deployment approach you can reuse for personal projects, portfolios, and cloud engineering work. If you want hands-on practice with core AWS building blocks—S3, CloudFront, Route 53, DynamoDB, and Lambda—this course provides a practical path to shipping a complete solution.

Course content

Video class: Project Announcement: Serverless Web Application on AWS 00m
Exercise: Which architecture best fits a fully serverless web application on AWS?
Video class: AWS Projects: Serverless Web Application on AWS | Complete Hands-on Project on AWS | AWS Demo 07m
Exercise: Which architecture best fits a fully serverless web application with static hosting, HTTPS on a custom domain, and a backend for CRUD and view counts?

Video class: Step1 Serverless Web Application on AWS | Setup AWS S3 | Complete Hands-on Project on AWS | AWS Demo 06m
Exercise: What is the correct first step when building the serverless web application on AWS?
Video class: Step2 Serverless Web Application on AWS | Setup AWS CloudFront | Complete Hands-on Project on AWS 09m
Exercise: How do you securely allow CloudFront to serve objects from a private S3 origin?
Video class: Step3 Serverless Web Application on AWS | Setup AWS Route53 15m
Exercise: Why might a CloudFront distribution not appear as an alias target in Route 53 when creating an A alias record for a subdomain

Video class: Step4 Serverless Web Application on AWS | Setup AWS DynamoDB | Complete Hands-on Project on AWS 05m
Exercise: Why create an IAM role for the Lambda function in a serverless app that uses DynamoDB?
Video class: Step5 Serverless Web Application on AWS | Setup AWS Lambda | Complete Hands-on Project on AWS Demo 10m
Exercise: What must be configured so a Lambda function can read and update a DynamoDB table

Video class: Step6 Serverless Web Application on AWS | Complete Hands-on Project on AWS | Testing Final Website 05m
Exercise: Which endpoint should the JavaScript fetch to display the view counter in the serverless web app?

Learn aboutAWS

Explore free online AWS courses with certificates and build practical cloud computing skills at your own pace. Learn Amazon Web Services fundamentals, cloud architecture, storage, security, networking, DevOps, and deployment through flexible training designed for beginners and professionals seeking career-ready AWS expertise.

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Explore free online Serverless courses designed to help you master cloud-native development, serverless architecture, AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, APIs, and scalable applications. Learn at your own pace, build practical skills, and earn a certificate with every course to strengthen your resume and advance your cloud computing career.