Cloud & DevOps
AWS
The broad cloud platform we reach for when a project needs heavier infrastructure.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is the world's largest cloud platform, offering on-demand computing, storage, databases and hundreds of other services. HDC uses AWS when a project needs heavier infrastructure than a static site requires, large-scale file storage, managed databases, background processing or custom back-end services, provisioning only what the project genuinely needs so it stays reliable and cost-controlled.
Where it shines
- The broadest, most mature cloud platform, a service for almost any requirement
- Scales smoothly from a tiny project to enterprise traffic without re-architecting
- Reliable managed databases, storage and compute reduce the maintenance burden
- S3 gives durable, cheap, effectively unlimited file and media storage
- Global regions let infrastructure sit close to where it's needed
- Pay only for what you use, with fine-grained control over resources
Trade-offs to weigh
- Genuinely complex, the sheer breadth of services has a steep learning curve
- Costs can creep without careful monitoring, budgets and right-sizing
- Overkill for a simple marketing site that edge hosting handles better and cheaper
- Security and configuration are powerful but easy to get wrong without expertise
What AWS is
AWS (Amazon Web Services) is the world’s largest and most established cloud computing platform, launched by Amazon in 2006. Rather than a single product, it’s a vast catalogue of on-demand services, hundreds of them, that let businesses rent computing power, storage, databases and specialised tools instead of buying and running their own servers.
The pieces most relevant to the work we do include S3 (durable, effectively unlimited file and media storage), managed databases like RDS (which can run PostgreSQL and others), compute services for running applications and background jobs, and networking and security tooling around them. AWS’s defining quality is breadth and scale: it can support a tiny side project or a global application, and you pay only for what you use.
How HDC uses AWS
AWS is not where we host a simple marketing site, that’s a job for edge hosting. We reach for AWS when a project needs genuine back-end infrastructure that a static site can’t provide. In practice:
- We use S3 for durable, low-cost storage of large volumes of files, images or media that don’t belong in a code repository.
- We run managed databases (such as PostgreSQL on RDS) when a project needs to store and query real application data reliably.
- We host back-end services, often Node.js APIs, sometimes packaged with Docker, for the custom logic an application needs.
- We run background processing (scheduled jobs, syncs, queues) for work that shouldn’t happen in the browser.
- We deploy from GitHub pipelines and keep Cloudflare in front for delivery and security.
Why we apply it
Some businesses genuinely outgrow a simple website. When a client needs customer logins, large media libraries, a real database, or work that runs in the background, that infrastructure has to live somewhere robust and scalable, and it has to keep working as the business grows. AWS is the most mature, reliable platform for exactly that, with the depth to handle whatever a project throws at it.
We’re equally clear that AWS is the wrong tool for a simple site. Used where it isn’t needed, it adds cost and complexity for no benefit. The value is in applying it precisely: only the services a project requires, right-sized and monitored, so clients get reliable infrastructure without an unpredictable bill.
How AWS fits our stack
AWS is the heavy-lifting back end on the projects that need one. A fast front end, typically an Astro site, stays where it belongs, with Cloudflare providing delivery and security in front. Behind that, AWS handles the parts a static site can’t: S3 for storage, PostgreSQL for data, Node.js services (often containerised with Docker) for custom logic, and background jobs for scheduled work. Source code and deployment pipelines run from GitHub. It’s the layer we add only when a build genuinely requires real infrastructure, sitting cleanly behind the faster, lighter front-end stack.
When AWS isn’t the right tool
For most of our clients, trades and local businesses needing a fast, well-ranking marketing site, AWS is overkill. A static Astro build on Cloudflare Pages is faster, cheaper and simpler, with nothing extra to maintain or secure. We only bring in AWS when a project clearly outgrows that: real application data, large-scale storage, custom back-end services or background processing. If a simpler, cheaper setup will do the job well, we’ll always recommend that instead.
Worked example
A growing local business that outgrew a simple site
Picture a regional supplier whose website started as a simple brochure but now needs to handle customer logins, store thousands of product images and run nightly stock updates. A static site alone can't do that. We keep the fast front end where it belongs and add an AWS back end behind it: durable image storage on S3, a managed PostgreSQL database, and a small service that runs the overnight syncs. Cloudflare still sits in front for speed and security. The business scales without re-platforming, paying only for the infrastructure it actually uses. (Illustrative, every build is scoped to your goals.)
Better together
How AWS fits with the rest of our stack
AWS: your questions answered
What is AWS used for?
AWS is a cloud platform that provides computing power, storage, databases and hundreds of other building blocks on demand. Businesses use it to run applications, store files and data, process work in the background and scale up without buying their own servers. We use it for the heavier infrastructure behind a project.
Does a small business website need AWS?
Usually not. A typical marketing or brochure site is faster and cheaper on edge hosting like Cloudflare Pages. AWS earns its place when a project needs real back-end infrastructure, logins, large file storage, a managed database or background processing, that a static site can't provide.
Is AWS expensive?
It's pay-as-you-go, so a small workload can cost very little, but bills can creep without discipline. We provision only what a project genuinely needs, right-size the resources, and set budgets and monitoring so costs stay predictable rather than running away.
Why does HDC use AWS?
Because some projects outgrow a static site and need proper infrastructure, durable storage, managed databases, custom back-end services or background jobs. AWS is the broadest, most reliable platform for that, and we use it selectively, only for the parts of a build that genuinely require it.
How is AWS different from Cloudflare?
They overlap but play different roles for us. Cloudflare is our delivery and security layer, edge hosting, CDN, SSL and spam protection. AWS is the heavier back-end platform for storage, databases and custom services. On larger projects they work together: AWS behind, Cloudflare in front.
Can you move my existing infrastructure to AWS?
Often, yes, but only if it's the right move. We assess what you actually need first. If a simpler, cheaper setup will do the job, we'll say so. When a project genuinely warrants AWS, we plan the migration carefully so it's reliable and cost-controlled.
Want AWS working for your business?
Tell us what you're trying to achieve, we'll show you, honestly, whether it's the right tool and how we'd apply it.
Enquire now