Deploying Next.js to cPanel

Deploying Next.js to cPanel isn’t straightforward. Most guides assume Vercel or a VPS, but shared hosting is still very common, and yes, it can work.

Here’s what I learned doing it the hard way.

Check Node.js Support

Before anything else, make sure your cPanel has “Setup Node.js App”.

If Node.js isn’t enabled, Next.js will not run.
No workaround. No magic.

This single check saves hours.

How I Made It Work

The key idea is simple:

• Next.js must run as a server, not static files

• cPanel needs a standalone Node.js build

• Deployment must copy only production ready files

Once I treated Next.js like a normal Node app instead of a frontend project, things started to make sense.

The Biggest Gotchas

These were the issues that blocked me the longest:

• Default index.html files can silently block your app

• cPanel expects a custom server entry point

• You must deploy only what the server needs not the entire repo

None of these errors are obvious, and most tutorials skip them.