---
title: "Dashboard Quick Start"
description: "From new account to a live, globally delivered site in about ten minutes — all from your browser. No terminal, no CLI, no config files."
url: https://edge.network/academy/dashboard-quick-start/
---

# Dashboard Quick Start

[Back to Academy](https://edge.network/academy)
Getting Started
10 minutes

# Dashboard Quick Start

From new account to a live, globally delivered site in about ten minutes — all from
your browser. No terminal, no config files.

STEP 1

## Create your account

[Sign up here](https://edge.network/account/access/new) —
it takes about two minutes. Verify your email and you land in the dashboard with the
free tier already active: CDN delivery, object storage, DNS hosting, and Shield bot
protection, all usable immediately.

Nothing in this guide costs money. The free tiers are hard-capped by design — if you
ever reach a limit, things pause rather than start billing. Paid usage only happens
when you explicitly opt in.

STEP 2

## Get your bearings

Everything lives in the left sidebar. The five you'll use most:

- **CDN**: put any site or origin behind global delivery
- **Compute**: launch virtual machines in a few clicks
- **DNS**: host domains with fast, geo-routed resolution
- **Storage**: S3-compatible buckets for files and static sites
- **Shield**: bot protection for forms and pages

**Billing** shows your balance and usage at any time, and
**Support** is a real human — no ticket-bot maze.

STEP 3

## Put a site live

The fastest first win: host a static site — a portfolio, a landing page, any folder of
HTML — served worldwide over HTTPS.

- **Create a bucket.** Go to **Storage**, click **Create Bucket**, give it a name.
- **Upload your files.** Open the bucket and drag your site files in — make sure there's an `index.html` at the top level.
- **Connect it to the CDN.** Go to **CDN**, open your deployment, and in the **Domains** tab click **Add Domain**. Choose **Storage Bucket** as the origin type and select your bucket.
- **Use a test domain.** No domain handy? Pick a free `test.network` subdomain during setup — it works instantly, no DNS changes needed.

SSL is provisioned automatically within a minute. Open your new URL — your site is
being served from the nearest of 2,200+ edge locations.

**Sharing a work-in-progress?** Click the lock icon
on the domain to require a username and password — a private preview URL you can
share safely. [More on password protection](https://edge.network/academy/password-protected-cdn-domains).

STEP 4

## Point a real domain (optional)

When you're ready to use your own domain, add it in the same **Domains** tab.
The dashboard shows you exactly one DNS record to create — a CNAME pointing at
`cdn.edge.network` —
and verifies it for you.

If your domain's DNS is hosted on Edge, there's an **Add to Edge DNS** button
that creates the record in one click. Hosting DNS here is free —
add your domain under **DNS** and point your registrar at our nameservers.

STEP 5

## Protect a form with Shield (optional)

Got a contact or signup form getting bot spam? Go to **Shield**, create a
widget, and copy the two-line snippet into your page. Shield verifies visitors are human
with a privacy-first check — free, forever, on any site.

[Full Shield walkthrough →](https://edge.network/academy/bot-protection-shield)

## Where to go from here

Everything you just did in the dashboard can also be done from the command line, the REST
API, or by an AI agent — same platform, pick your interface.

[CLI Quick Start — the same tour, from the terminal](https://edge.network/academy/quick-start) [Video: CDN Setup](https://edge.network/academy/video-cdn-setup) [First Deployment — launch a virtual machine](https://edge.network/academy/first-deployment)

Coming soon

### Edge Accreditation

Become a certified Edge practitioner. A structured programme covering the whole
platform, with a verifiable certificate at the end. Sign up now for updates.

[Learn more about accreditation](https://edge.network/accreditation)