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Last Reviewed: March 23, 2023

Create a Front-End Site

Create and configure a Front-End Site.


This section provides information to help you create your Front-End Site.

Before You Begin

Confirm the following prerequisites before you create your site:

  • The Front-End-Sites tab is enabled in your dashboard after onboarding.

  • Your site repository is in GitHub.

  • Composer is installed globally.

    • Composer is required for the CMS backends.
  • You have a domain to use for the Front-End Site.

  • You will use Next.js or Gatsby as the frontend framework.

    Info:
    Note

    You can use any JavaScript-based runtime, or any static site generator that outputs HTML/CSS/JS, but Pantheon only fully supports Next.js and Gatsby.

  • (Optional). You are using the latest version of Drupal, or WordPress for the CMS.

  • (Optional). If using a pre-configured starter kit template, you will use one of the following combinations:

Optional Components

  1. Install Terminus version 3.0.0 or higher.

    • You can also install the following plugins to improve your experience:
      • terminus self:plugin:install terminus-build-tools-plugin
      • terminus self:plugin:install terminus-secrets-plugin
      • Reload the terminus plugins: terminus self:plugin:reload
      • Clear cache for composer: composer clear-cache
      • Validate that the required plugins are installed: terminus self:plugin:list
  2. Create a Machine Token.

  3. Create GitHub Personal Access Tokens.

  4. Create CircleCI Personal API Tokens.

Create a Front-End Site

You must decide how you want to create your Front-End Site before you can begin your journey with decoupled site architecture. There are several methods you can use. Select the method below that meets your configuration requirements and follow the instructions carefully.

Site Creation OptionDescriptionCMS RequiredStarter Kit
Import RepositoryConnect your Git provider and select an existing repository. The CMS is optional. Limited support is provided for this configuration.Optional
Create Your Site without a Starter Kit and/or CMSYou are not required to have a CMS when using this method. This option is does not use a pre-configured starter kit, and must be configured manually.Optional
Create Your Site with a Non-official Frontend FrameworkPantheon Front-End Sites Early Access (EA) program currently supports Gatsby and Next.js as frontend frameworks. The process for non-officially supported frontend frameworks requires manual configuration.Optional
WordPress and Gatsby FrontendCreate a Front-End Site using a base Gatsby.js frontend template with WordPress as the backend CMS.
Drupal and Next.js FrontendCreate a Front-End Site using a base Next.js frontend template with Drupal as the backend CMS.
WordPress and Next.js FrontendCreate a Front-End Site using a base Next.js frontend template with WordPress as the backend CMS.
Drupal BackendUse the Drupal backend starter kit to streamline the creation of your Front-End Site on Pantheon. This option is pre-configured.
WordPress BackendUse the WordPress backend starter kit to streamline the creation of your Front-End Site on Pantheon. This option is pre-configured.