Dynamic
Site with login, forms, or a CMS
Last reviewed:
Get started
How to get started
Baseline
Time: Half a day to a day for a working auth or CMS baseline
Accounts before step 1: GitHub, Cursor, Supabase or Sanity, Vercel
Start a project in GitHub
Create a repo and scaffold Next.js or Astro locally — or generate a starter in Cursor and commit it.
Add Supabase or Sanity
Use Supabase when you need auth, forms, or a database. Use Sanity when the job is editorial — writers need a structured CMS, not wp-admin.
Drive changes from your editor
Use Cursor or OpenAI Codex to wire pages to your data layer. Keep schema and queries in the repo so you can migrate later.
Deploy from the repo
Connect GitHub to Vercel (or Cloudflare Pages if the stack fits). Environment variables for Supabase or Sanity live in the host dashboard.
Ownership
What you keep
You keep: Git repository plus database or CMS you can export or self-host
Cost shape: Free tiers available on agents, databases, and hosts; paid tiers as usage grows.
Named tools
Tools this path uses
- GitHub
- Cursor
- Next.js
- Astro
- Supabase
- Sanity
- Vercel
Not this one?
When to switch
Brochure
Brochure site you own
For landing pages and marketing sites — often just a Next.js app in v0 or Cursor, deployed from GitHub, with no CMS until the client must edit copy themselves.
Prototype
Visual preview first, then the repo
For people who want a visual preview first but refuse to rent the project forever — start in a hosted builder, then move to GitHub and Cursor.
WordPress
Stay on WordPress with EtchWP
For lifetime deal holders who still need WordPress — or teams not ready to leave PHP entirely. EtchWP on your host, Cursor via the Connector, data in core WordPress.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
- When should I not start here?
- If the site is a brochure or landing page with no login, forms, or editorial CMS, use the Brochure path instead. Adding Supabase or Sanity early is overhead you do not need.
- Supabase or Sanity?
- Supabase for auth, member areas, and app data. Sanity for editorial teams who need structured content and previews. Both export or self-host — check current docs before you commit.
- Do I still own the project?
- Yes. The repo is yours. The database or CMS is a service you can export from or self-host — unlike a hosted canvas where editing stays in the vendor app.