Websites generated with Website Studio in Search Atlas are built on a modern static-site toolchain (HTML plus compiled JS/CSS assets), not a traditional WordPress theme. Search Atlas can host your Website Studio site directly and publish it to several destinations for you, including WordPress, HubSpot, Webflow, GoHighLevel, Shopify, and Cloudflare Pages. This article instead covers the self-hosted path: exporting your site and deploying the compiled files yourself, for teams that want full control over their own infrastructure.
This article explains what a Website Studio export contains, how to test it locally, and what type of hosting environment is required if you choose to self-host instead of using Search Atlas's built-in publishing options.
🧱 Understanding How Website Studio Exports Work
When you export a site from Website Studio, you get a static bundle — an index.html file plus compiled assets, css, js, and images folders. This export is meant for teams that want to self-host on their own infrastructure — VPS servers, containers, cloud hosting environments, or static hosting platforms — rather than using Search Atlas's built-in publishing (which does support direct WordPress publishing, among other destinations). If you're not comfortable deploying web applications yourself, using Search Atlas's built-in publishing to WordPress or another connected platform is simpler, or you may need help from a developer or DevOps engineer for the self-hosted path.
📥 Step 1 — Download the Website Files
After generating a site in Website Studio, download the project files. You'll receive a compressed archive containing the full website export. Once extracted, the folder contains the application structure — an index.html file plus assets, css, js, and images folders.
💻 Step 2 — Open the Project in a Code Editor
To test the exported website locally, open the project folder in a code editor such as Visual Studio Code, WebStorm, Sublime Text, or Atom. In Visual Studio Code, click File → Open Folder and select the folder containing your website files.
🖥 Step 3 — Start a Local Server
Website Studio exports must run on a web server, even for local testing. The fastest way is Python's built-in HTTP server. With Python 3 installed, open a terminal inside the project folder and run python3 -m http.server 4173. Your terminal should show that it's serving HTTP on port 4173, meaning the website is now running locally on your machine.
🌐 Step 4 — Open the Website in Your Browser
Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:4173. Your Website Studio export should load, letting you test the layout, verify functionality, inspect the files, and prepare the project for deployment.
🚀 Step 5 — Deploy the Website
Once the export is tested locally, deploy it to a hosting environment of your choice. Common options include VPS hosting (for example, DigitalOcean, AWS EC2, Linode, or Vultr), container deployment (Docker or Kubernetes), static hosting (Netlify, Vercel, Cloudflare Pages, or GitHub Pages), or traditional web servers (Nginx or Apache). A developer may configure the deployment depending on your infrastructure. If you'd rather not self-host, remember Search Atlas can publish the same site directly to WordPress or another connected platform without this manual export process.
⚠️ Self-Hosted Exports vs. Built-In Publishing
A Website Studio export is a static bundle, not a WordPress theme or plugin — you can't upload or paste the exported files directly into a WordPress install. If you want the site on WordPress, use Search Atlas's built-in WordPress publishing instead of the manual export/self-host path described in this article.
🌐 Deploying Without Being a Developer
If you're not a developer and want to self-host anyway rather than using Search Atlas's built-in publishing, you can still deploy your Website Studio export using common hosting services. Most traditional hosting providers, such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, Hostinger, Bluehost, SiteGround, and DreamHost, let you upload a website using File Manager or FTP, which works well with Website Studio exports.
To do this: export and extract your Website Studio project on your computer, log into your hosting account, open File Manager, and navigate to your website's root directory (usually called public_html or www). Upload all files from your Website Studio folder into that directory, making sure index.html is in the root folder, then visit your domain to confirm the site is live.
Do not upload the ZIP file itself — extract it first, make sure index.html is in the root directory, and upload the entire folder structure, not just the HTML file. If you want the easiest self-hosted deployment experience, we recommend Netlify, Vercel, or Cloudflare Pages, which let you drag and drop your site files and publish instantly.
🛠 Troubleshooting
The site doesn't load on localhost — check that Python 3 is installed, that the command was run inside the correct folder, and that the port matches the URL (http://localhost:4173).
Port 4173 is already in use — use another port, for example python3 -m http.server 5000, then open http://localhost:5000.
The site loads but styles are missing — this usually happens when the site is opened without a server; make sure it's running via python3 -m http.server 4173 and accessed through http://localhost:4173.
The browser shows a blank page — possible causes include JavaScript errors, a missing assets folder, or an incorrect deployment path. Check the browser console for errors (right-click → Inspect → Console).
Python command not found — your system may not have Python installed; check with python3 --version, and if needed, download it from python.org.
I don't know how to deploy a web application — you may need help from a developer, a DevOps engineer, or your hosting provider, or you can skip self-hosting entirely and use Search Atlas's built-in publishing to WordPress or another connected platform instead.
🧩 When Should You Use the Self-Hosted Export?
The self-hosted export path is ideal when your team wants full control over infrastructure — for example, running on your own cloud environment, a custom CDN setup, or alongside an existing DevOps pipeline. If you just want your Website Studio site live quickly without managing hosting yourself, use Search Atlas's built-in publishing (including WordPress) instead.
To self-host: download the project files, open the project folder in a code editor, run a local server using Python, open the site via localhost, and deploy it to your server or hosting platform.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.