Technology
Vercel
Vercel is how every change gets a URL you can click. We use it so sign-off happens in the browser, and so production is the same app you already used.
What it is
Vercel is the cloud that grew up around Next.js: git push, preview URL, production on a domain you own. It is front-end hosting, serverless functions, edge, and a dashboard that makes preview-as-sign-off a habit. ChatGPT's web app, nvidia.com, and The Washington Post have all shipped here.
It is not a general cloud in the AWS sense. It is a place to host the interface and the small functions next to it. Databases, warehouses, and long workers usually live elsewhere. That split is the point.
What it does
Teams use Vercel so every pull request gets a URL a founder can click. Marketing and product share the same Next.js app. Environment variables and the domain sit in the project.
We connect a project you own. DNS and secrets are not rented through us. Production is the preview you approved, promoted.
Why we use it
Hosting and previews for Next.js products.
Company sites and SaaS on the App Router. Edge and server rendering without a second ops team. A stakeholder who has never opened git can still refuse a URL. DNS was yours. The certificate followed.
If production is a different app from the preview, we have failed the launch.
Built on it
OpenAI
ChatGPT on the web has been served from Vercel.
NVIDIA
nvidia.com is a widely cited Vercel customer.
The Washington Post
Has used Next.js on Vercel for high-traffic news surfaces.
Twitch
Has shipped web properties on Vercel next to the main product.
HashiCorp
Marketing and docs properties have run on Vercel.
Tell us what needs to ship.
You use a working prototype before the production build goes ahead.