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  4. Realtime Backend API
  5. Firebase vs GitHub Pages

Firebase vs GitHub Pages

OverviewDecisionsComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Firebase
Firebase
Stacks42.5K
Followers36.0K
Votes2.0K
GitHub Pages
GitHub Pages
Stacks17.7K
Followers13.0K
Votes1.1K

Firebase vs GitHub Pages: What are the differences?

Introduction:

Firebase and GitHub Pages are both popular web hosting platforms that offer different features and functionalities. While Firebase is primarily used for hosting web applications and providing a backend infrastructure, GitHub Pages is focused on hosting static websites and documentation. In this article, we will compare the key differences between Firebase and GitHub Pages.

  1. Deployment Process: Firebase provides a seamless deployment process where developers can deploy their web applications with just a few simple commands. It automatically handles the build process, configuration, and deployment, making it convenient for developers. On the other hand, GitHub Pages requires developers to manually push their code to a specific repository branch for deployment. This manual process can be time-consuming and may require additional configurations.

  2. Backend Functionality: Firebase offers a robust backend infrastructure with features like real-time database, authentication, cloud storage, and cloud functions. These backend functionalities make it easy for developers to build and scale their web applications. In contrast, GitHub Pages only supports static websites and does not provide backend services. Developers need to rely on other services or APIs to handle backend functionality.

  3. Custom Domain Support: Firebase allows users to easily configure and use custom domains for their web applications. It provides clear instructions and automated SSL certificate management, making it straightforward for developers to set up custom domains. On the other hand, GitHub Pages also supports custom domains but requires manual configuration and SSL certificate management, which can be more complex for some users.

  4. Hosting Limitations: Firebase has more flexible hosting capabilities as it allows developers to host web applications, static websites, and even single-page applications (SPAs). It supports multiple frameworks and provides more control over the hosting environment. GitHub Pages, on the other hand, is specifically designed for hosting static websites and has limitations when it comes to hosting other types of web applications or SPAs.

  5. Collaboration and Version Control: GitHub Pages seamlessly integrates with Git, which allows for easy collaboration among developers. It provides version control capabilities and enables developers to easily track changes, collaborate on code, and rollback changes if needed. Firebase, on the other hand, does not offer the same level of version control and collaboration features.

  6. Pricing Model: Firebase offers a flexible pricing model where users are charged based on their usage of specific services like storage, database, and functions. This pay-as-you-go model allows users to scale their applications according to their needs. GitHub Pages, on the other hand, is free for public repositories, but users may need to subscribe to a paid plan for private repositories or for additional features like custom domains.

In Summary, Firebase and GitHub Pages differ in terms of their deployment process, backend functionality, custom domain support, hosting limitations, collaboration and version control features, and pricing model.

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Advice on Firebase, GitHub Pages

Jared
Jared

Contractor at Insight Global

Aug 9, 2019

ReviewonFirebaseFirebase

I started using Firebase over 5 years ago because of the 'real-time' nature. I originally used to use Real Time Database, but now I use Cloud Firestore. I recommend using the Google Firebase PaaS to quickly develop or prototype small to enterprise level web/mobile applications. Since Google purchased Firebase, it has exploded and it growing rapidly. I also find some level of comfort that it is Backed by Google.

272k views272k
Comments
Noam
Noam

Jul 16, 2020

Needs adviceonNode.jsNode.jsExpressJSExpressJSReactReact

We are starting to work on a web-based platform aiming to connect artists (clients) and professional freelancers (service providers). In-app, timeline-based, real-time communication between users (& storing it), file transfers, and push notifications are essential core features. We are considering using Node.js, ExpressJS, React, MongoDB stack with Socket.IO & Apollo, or maybe using Real-Time Database and functionalities of Firebase.

1.15M views1.15M
Comments
Howie
Howie

Full Stack Engineer at Yintrust

Aug 13, 2020

DecidedonNetlifyNetlify

We use Netlify to host static websites.

The reasons for choosing Netlify over GitHub Pages are as follows:

  • Netfily can bind multiple domain names, while GitHub Pages can only bind one domain name
  • With Netfily, the original repository can be private, while GitHub Pages free tier requires the original repository to be public

In addition, in order to use CDN, we use Netlify DNS.

238k views238k
Comments

Detailed Comparison

Firebase
Firebase
GitHub Pages
GitHub Pages

Firebase is a cloud service designed to power real-time, collaborative applications. Simply add the Firebase library to your application to gain access to a shared data structure; any changes you make to that data are automatically synchronized with the Firebase cloud and with other clients within milliseconds.

Public webpages hosted directly from your GitHub repository. Just edit, push, and your changes are live.

Add the Firebase library to your app and get access to a shared data structure. Any changes made to that data are automatically synchronized with the Firebase cloud and with other clients within milliseconds.;Firebase apps can be written entirely with client-side code, update in real-time out-of-the-box, interoperate well with existing services, scale automatically, and provide strong data security.;Data Accessibility- Data is stored as JSON in Firebase. Every piece of data has its own URL which can be used in Firebase's client libraries and as a REST endpoint. These URLs can also be entered into a browser to view the data and watch it update in real-time.;Real-time Synchronization- Firebase takes a new approach to the way data is moved around an app. Rather than using a traditional request & response model, it works by synchronizing data between devices. Whenever your data changes, all clients are immediately notified within milliseconds. The synchronized data is also persisted, allowing new clients to be immediately updated.;First-class Data Security- Traditional applications intermix security code with application code, whereas Firebase treats security as a first-class feature. You define your security policies in one place using a flexible rules language, and Firebase ensures that they are consistently enforced across all parts of your application. Having all your security logic in one place allows for easy auditing and helps you avoid security mistakes. The safety and security of your data is our top priority.;Automatic Scaling- The Firebase API is built from the ground up for performance and scale. Whenever your data changes, Firebase calculates the minimum set of updates required to keep all your clients in sync. In addition, all Firebase API functions are designed to scale linearly with the size of the data being synchronized. More importantly, Firebase handles all of the scaling and operations for you. Your app will scale from its first user to its first million without any code changes.;Servers are Optional- Firebase can provide all of the data storage, control, and transmission needs of most apps. In many cases, Firebase can completely replace your server and server-side code. This means you no longer need to build complicated backend software and can instead focus on your application logic and your customers.
Blogging with Jekyll; Custom URLs; Automatic Page Generator
Statistics
Stacks
42.5K
Stacks
17.7K
Followers
36.0K
Followers
13.0K
Votes
2.0K
Votes
1.1K
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 371
    Realtime backend made easy
  • 270
    Fast and responsive
  • 242
    Easy setup
  • 215
    Real-time
  • 191
    JSON
Cons
  • 31
    Can become expensive
  • 16
    No open source, you depend on external company
  • 15
    Scalability is not infinite
  • 9
    Not Flexible Enough
  • 7
    Cant filter queries
Pros
  • 290
    Free
  • 217
    Right out of github
  • 185
    Quick to set up
  • 108
    Instant
  • 107
    Easy to learn
Cons
  • 4
    Not possible to perform HTTP redirects
  • 3
    Limited Jekyll plugins
  • 3
    Supports only Jekyll
  • 1
    Jekyll is bloated
Integrations
Trigger.io
Trigger.io
Famo.us
Famo.us
Backbone.js
Backbone.js
Ember.js
Ember.js
AngularJS
AngularJS
React
React
GitHub
GitHub

What are some alternatives to Firebase, GitHub Pages?

Socket.IO

Socket.IO

It enables real-time bidirectional event-based communication. It works on every platform, browser or device, focusing equally on reliability and speed.

PubNub

PubNub

PubNub makes it easy for you to add real-time capabilities to your apps, without worrying about the infrastructure. Build apps that allow your users to engage in real-time across mobile, browser, desktop and server.

DomainRacer

DomainRacer

It is a blazing fast hosting solution that provides Customer Satisfaction driven Web Hosting services since 2016.

Pusher

Pusher

Pusher is the category leader in delightful APIs for app developers building communication and collaboration features.

Netlify

Netlify

Netlify is smart enough to process your site and make sure all assets gets optimized and served with perfect caching-headers from a cookie-less domain. We make sure your HTML is served straight from our CDN edge nodes without any round-trip to our backend servers and are the only ones to give you instant cache invalidation when you push a new deploy. Netlify is also the only static hosting service with integrated continuous deployment.

SignalR

SignalR

SignalR allows bi-directional communication between server and client. Servers can now push content to connected clients instantly as it becomes available. SignalR supports Web Sockets, and falls back to other compatible techniques for older browsers. SignalR includes APIs for connection management (for instance, connect and disconnect events), grouping connections, and authorization.

Ably

Ably

Ably offers WebSockets, stream resume, history, presence, and managed third-party integrations to make it simple to build, extend, and deliver digital realtime experiences at scale.

Vercel

Vercel

A cloud platform for serverless deployment. It enables developers to host websites and web services that deploy instantly, scale automatically, and require no supervision, all with minimal configuration.

Syncano

Syncano

Syncano is a backend platform to build powerful real-time apps more efficiently. Integrate with any API, minimize boilerplate code and control your data - all from one place.

NATS

NATS

Unlike traditional enterprise messaging systems, NATS has an always-on dial tone that does whatever it takes to remain available. This forms a great base for building modern, reliable, and scalable cloud and distributed systems.

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