# WCH Overview

> Canonical source: [WCH Overview](https://docs.hellowes.com/overview/)

WCH (Webflow Custom Hosting) turns your Webflow site into a static website and delivers it to hosting you control, such as AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage, Aliyun OSS, SFTP, or GitHub.

## What is WCH?

WCH lets you keep designing and editing in Webflow while serving your live site from your own infrastructure. WCH reads your published Webflow site, rebuilds it as a self-contained static site, and sends the files to the destinations you set up.

Use it when your site must live on hosting your team owns, for example for security, compliance, or company infrastructure rules.

## How does WCH work?

Every project moves through three stages. The project Dashboard shows them left to right.

1. **Sources**: your Webflow site. This is where the content comes from.
2. **Rendering**: WCH fetches every page, rewrites pages and assets into a static site, and hosts the result at your staging URL. It also writes sitemap.xml and robots.txt.
3. **Deployment**: WCH packages the staging build and sends it to your destinations. This is where your live site is served from.

Nothing reaches your live site until you send it there. See [Steps to Publishing in WCH](/steps-to-publishing-in-wch/) for the full walkthrough.

## Where can WCH deploy my site?

WCH supports these destination types:

- **AWS S3**: receives the site as a single zip archive. See [AWS Production Deployment](/aws/) and [AWS S3 Authentication](/aws-s3-authentication/).
- **Azure Blob Storage**: receives a single zip archive. See [Azure: Basic Implementation](/azure-basic-implementation/).
- **Aliyun OSS** and **SFTP**: receive individual files in the folder you choose.
- **GitHub**: receives individual files as one commit and tag per publish. See [GitHub: Basic Implementation](/github-basic-implementation/).

You can add a pre-production and a production destination of the same type. Production destinations get a **Promote** button that sends the exact archive you already reviewed, without rebuilding it.

## Can WCH publish automatically?

Yes. Publishing webhooks start a WCH build when you publish in Webflow. CMS webhooks publish a single collection item when it is created, edited, published, or deleted. See [Webhooks](/webhooks/).

## How does WCH find my pages?

The publishing mode decides this. **Sitemap** is the default and works for most sites. **API** reads pages and CMS items from the Webflow API. **Url Rewrite** lets you publish regular pages and CMS pages separately. See [Publishing modes](/publishing-modes/).

## What changes when my site is no longer hosted by Webflow?

Some features depend on Webflow hosting and stop working on a static site. Plan for these before launch:

- **Site search**: replace it. See [Search](/search/).
- **CMS pagination, filtering, and Load more**: replace them. See [Pagination](/pagination/).
- **Redirects**: WCH does not apply them. Export them and configure them at your host. See [301 Redirects](/301-redirects/).
- **Removed pages**: no destination deletes old files. See [Removing Dead Files During an S3 Publish](/removing-dead-files-during-an-s3-publish/).
- **Substitutions**: see [Substitutions](/substitutions/) for rewriting values during a publish.

## How do I get started?

1. Publish your site in Webflow.
2. In WCH, click **Publish all pages** and review the staging build.
3. Add your destinations under **Extensions**, then **Deployments**.
4. Publish to pre-production, check it, then promote to production.
5. Work through the [WCH Go-Live Checklist](/wch-go-live-checklist/) before you change DNS.

## FAQ

### Does WCH change my Webflow site?

No. WCH reads your published Webflow site and builds a copy. Your Webflow project stays the source of truth.

### Can I roll back a release?

Yes. WCH keeps the 10 most recent archives per project. Open **Archives** and click **Promote to Production** on an earlier build. GitHub destinations also get a tag for each publish.

### Who can see my staging site?

You choose in **Settings** under **Staging visibility**: Public, Private (WCH login required), or Off.