Can I host an HTML file on Google Drive?
No, Google Drive stopped serving websites on August 31, 2016, so a shared .html file no longer opens as a working webpage. To turn that same file into a live link in seconds, drop your .html file (up to 10 MB), folder or .zip (up to 25 MB and 100 files) onto ship.page for free with no signup, no account and no credit card.
A file. A folder. A fresh start.
Your static site, one link away.
Uploading publishes your file. The link is public but unlisted, not password-protected, so leave out secrets and confidential content.
- Date Google shut down googledrive.com/host
- Aug 31, 2016
- Max single HTML file size on every plan
- 10 MB
- Max ZIP upload on the free plan (100 MB unpacked)
- 25 MB
- Free forever plan with no signup and no credit card
- $0
How to publish an HTML file from Google Drive to a live link
Download your file or folder from Google Drive
Right-click your .html file or project folder in Google Drive and download it to your computer. If your page uses CSS, JavaScript or images, make sure the main file is named index.html inside your folder or .zip.
Drop the file, folder or ZIP onto ship.page
Open ship.page in your browser and drag in your .html file (up to 10 MB), a folder (roughly 7 MB of files), or a .zip archive (up to 25 MB and 100 files on the free plan). You can also paste raw HTML directly, with no account and no credit card.
Share your live HTTPS link or QR code
Your page is live in seconds on its own subdomain over HTTPS. Copy the URL or download the PNG QR code from the success screen to share your HTML file with anyone.
Cloud storage links vs. static HTML hosting
| Service | Opens HTML as a page | Account | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ship.page | Yes, live in seconds | No signup required | Free forever plan, up to 10 MB HTML or 25 MB ZIP (100 files) |
| Google Drive | No (shut down Aug 31, 2016) | Google account required | googledrive.com/host was deprecated Aug 31, 2015 |
| Dropbox | No (downloads file instead) | Dropbox account required | Stopped rendering HTML Oct 3, 2016; Public folders ended 2017 |
Why does my HTML file show raw code in Google Drive?
Google Drive used to let anyone publish a folder as a website using a googledrive.com/host address. Google deprecated that feature on August 31, 2015 and shut it down completely on August 31, 2016.
Today, when you share an .html file from Google Drive, visitors only see the raw source code inside a file previewer or get prompted to download the file. If you want someone to open an HTML file as a real webpage in their browser, you have to move it off Drive.
What about Dropbox for hosting an HTML file?
Dropbox also shut down browser rendering for shared HTML files. On October 3, 2016, Dropbox stopped rendering HTML in shared links for free accounts, so shared .html links download the file to the visitor's computer instead of opening it as a webpage.
Dropbox Public folder links stopped working for Basic users on March 15, 2017 and for all users on September 1, 2017. Neither Google Drive nor Dropbox works as a way to convert HTML to a link anymore.
How to host your HTML file for free on ship.page
Instead of sharing a cloud drive link that shows raw code, you can upload your HTML file to ship.page. Publish without an account, or claim the page with a free account (sign in with Google or an email link, no card) to manage it from a dashboard.
The free forever plan has no trial, no ads, unlimited uploads and no bandwidth limits. A single .html file can be up to 10 MB, and a .zip archive can be up to 25 MB (100 MB unpacked) with up to 100 files per upload.
- Static files work out of the box: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, fonts, audio, video, WebAssembly and JSON.
- A ZIP with a single top folder is unwrapped automatically, and index.html becomes your homepage.
- Every upload is served over HTTPS with a noindex header, so search engines leave it out and only people with your link can open it.
- Need to update the same link later or add a password: Pro is $4 a month (cancel anytime) and pages don't expire while you're on Pro.
Tip: A lone PDF, image or video file is not accepted by itself; put it in a folder or ZIP alongside an index.html file.
When to use Pro or another tool
Free pages on ship.page cannot be updated in place; uploading a new version creates a new link, and free pages show a small closeable badge. Upgrading to Pro for $4 a month lets you re-upload or edit a page and keep the same link, removes the badge, adds password protection, raises limits to 100 MB ZIPs (400 MB unpacked) and 10,000 files, and gives you up to 5 custom subdomains like yourname.ship.place.
If your project requires server-side code like PHP, Node.js, Python, a database or WordPress, or if you need your own custom domain name, ship.page is not the right fit. No ship.page plan runs server code or offers custom domains, so use a full web host or cloud server for those projects.
Questions
Can I host an HTML file on Google Drive?
No. Google deprecated googledrive.com/host on August 31, 2015 and shut it down on August 31, 2016, so shared HTML files in Google Drive no longer open as working websites.
Why does Google Drive download my HTML file or show the source code?
Because Google Drive stopped serving web pages in 2016, it treats .html files like plain text documents. To let people view the rendered webpage, upload the file to a static host like ship.page.
Can I use Dropbox to open an HTML file as a website instead?
No. Dropbox stopped rendering HTML in shared links for free accounts on October 3, 2016, and shut down Public folder links for all users by September 1, 2017. Shared .html links on Dropbox download the file instead of opening it.
How do I turn an HTML file from Google Drive into a working link for free?
Download the .html file or project folder from Google Drive and drag it onto ship.page. You get a live HTTPS link and QR code in seconds for free, with no signup and no credit card.
Can I upload a folder with CSS, JavaScript and images?
Yes. Put your index.html file and assets in a folder (up to roughly 7 MB of files) or a .zip archive (up to 25 MB and 100 files on the free plan, or 100 MB and 10,000 files on the $4 a month Pro plan) and drop it onto ship.page.
Do I need an account to publish an HTML file on ship.page?
No. You can publish without an account, and if you want to manage the upload from a dashboard, you can claim the page with a free account using Google or an email link with no credit card.
Keep reading
Turn your HTML file into a link
Drop your .html file, folder or ZIP onto ship.page for a free live URL in seconds with no signup.