Shaper makes deploying your application incredibly simple – so simple that even non-developers can put a live site on the internet with a click. In fact, Shaper supports one-click deploy to platforms like Vercel (and possibly Netlify), meaning your design can go live without leaving the app.

Here’s how to take your Shaper project from the canvas to a live URL:

  • Built-in Deploy Option: In your Shaper project, look for a “Deploy” or “Publish” button. This might be at the top of the editor or in the Project Settings under a Deployments section. Shaper likely integrates with Vercel’s API for instant deployment.
  • Connect a Deployment Platform: The first time you deploy, Shaper will ask you to connect a platform. Choose Vercel (which is ideal for Next.js projects). You’ll be prompted to log into your Vercel account and authorize Shaper to create and manage deployments. (Similarly, if Netlify is offered, the flow would be logging into Netlify).
  • Configure Project (if needed): Shaper may auto-configure the deployment. For Vercel, it might create a new project linked to your GitHub repo, or it might directly push a deployment from its own build process. In many cases, one-click means Shaper abstracts this – you just authorize and it handles the rest. If given options, select the GitHub repo and branch to deploy (often main).
  • Trigger Deploy: After setup, initiate the deploy. Shaper will either show you build logs or simply indicate that the site is being published. Within a few moments (depending on project size), you’ll get a live URL. On Vercel, this could be something like myproject-shaper.vercel.app (or a custom domain if configured). Shaper might display the URL once ready.
  • Instant Preview and Updates: Every time you hit deploy, Shaper will push the latest code and trigger a new deployment. Because your project is a Next.js app, Vercel can build and serve it quickly. This means you can share that link with stakeholders or team members as a “staging” site. If you find an issue, go back to Shaper, fix the design, and deploy again – within seconds the changes are live on that URL.
  • Netlify Deploy (if applicable): If Shaper supports Netlify similarly, the process is analogous. Authorize Netlify, allow Shaper to set up the site, then deploy. Netlify might give a URL like shaper-project.netlify.app. Both Vercel and Netlify also allow custom domain names – for a custom domain, you’d typically go into those platforms’ settings and configure DNS. (This might be beyond Shaper’s UI – but developers can take over that part.)
  • Continuous Deployment via Git: Another approach: since you have the code on GitHub, you can set up Vercel or Netlify directly with the repo for automatic continuous deployment. For example, go to Vercel’s dashboard, import the GitHub repo, and every push to main will auto-deploy. If you do this, you can still trigger deploys by pushing changes (which Shaper does when you make design edits). The one-click deploy in Shaper may essentially be doing this behind the scenes for you. Choose whichever method you’re comfortable with – the end result is the same code running on the web.
  • Monitoring & Logs: After deployment, if something isn’t appearing correctly on the live site (maybe data isn’t loading or a layout looks off), check the deployment logs. Shaper might surface build errors in the UI if the build fails. Otherwise, you can visit your Vercel/Netlify dashboard to see logs and errors. Common issues could be missing environment variables (set them in Vercel’s settings if your app needs them) or differences in environment (the live site is production mode Next.js, which might catch different issues than the dev mode preview).
  • One-Click Rollback: Because each deploy is tied to a commit (if using Vercel with Git), you can rollback by redeploying an earlier commit if needed. In Vercel’s UI you’d find the previous deployment and mark it production. With Shaper’s one-click UI, they might allow deploying a previous version easily as well – but if not, the Git history is your friend.

Deploying directly from Shaper underscores the “design is the new deploy” philosophy – you as a designer or product person can ship real features without writing deployment scripts or bothering a dev to set up hosting. Just design, and deploy. ⚡️

Note: If your project requires backend logic beyond what Next.js can do with serverless functions, you might still need a developer to set up those pieces. But for most front-end applications and static sites, one-click deploy covers the entire pipeline from design to live product.

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Designer–Developer Collaboration Example

To cement how all these integration pieces come together, let’s walk through an example of a designer and a developer collaborating in Shaper using a shared Git repository and common design system.

Scenario: You’re a designer at a startup, working with a front-end developer. You decide to build your new product interface in Shaper for a seamless workflow. Here’s how you might collaborate:

  1. Project Setup: The designer creates a new project in Shaper (perhaps starting from a template or an AI-generated layout). In the project settings, she connects the project to the company’s GitHub (maybe under the org’s repo) via Shaper’s Git integration. Shaper creates a repo acme/marketing-site and pushes the initial commit with the base code.
  2. Designing in Shaper: The designer uses Shaper’s visual tools to craft the homepage UI – adding hero sections, images, and CTA buttons – all using the design system tokens and components she’s defined. As she works, Shaper commits each change. Within an hour, she’s built out a multi-section page and it looks great in Shaper’s preview.
  3. Developer Pulls Code: The developer gets a notification (or a message from the designer) that the initial design is done and available in Git. The developer clones the acme/marketing-site repository to his local machine. He opens it in VS Code and runs npm install && npm run dev. Boom – the same page the designer built appears on localhost, because it’s real Next.js React code. He’s impressed that the code quality is neat and uses their tech stack (Tailwind classes, etc.).
  4. Developer Enhances Code: The developer’s task is to add a dynamic testimonial slider to the page and integrate an analytics script. He creates a new branch feat/testimonials (since he prefers to work on a branch). He codes a new component TestimonialSlider.tsx in his IDE, uses some dummy data for now, and styles it with Tailwind. He also adds the Google Analytics snippet to the _app.tsx. He commits these changes to the branch and pushes to GitHub.
  5. Designer Syncs Updates: Back in Shaper, the designer sees there are new commits (if not automatically, she clicks “Pull Latest” in Git settings). Shaper pulls in the developer’s changes. A new component TestimonialSlider now appears in the Shaper components panel or page outline. She drags this new component into the homepage design where appropriate. It might render with the developer’s dummy data, which is fine. She notices it’s slightly misaligned, so she adjusts the padding around it visually in Shaper. This actually updates the code (Tailwind classes or styles) for that component, which Shaper commits. The developer can later pull that to see the padding fix.
  6. Real Data Integration: The team gets actual testimonials from the CMS. The developer now updates TestimonialSlider to fetch real data. Since Shaper can handle code, he could even do this from Shaper’s code editor (collaborating live). Alternatively, he does it locally: integrating the CMS API, testing it, then pushing to Git. The designer pulls again. Now the slider in Shaper shows real testimonials. Perhaps the text is longer than before, breaking the design slightly. The designer notices this in Shaper’s preview and adjusts the design – maybe increasing the width of the slider or the font size for readability. This change is again committed.
  7. Continuous Collaboration: Over the next days, they continue this dance. The designer adds a new page for “About Us” in Shaper, laying out the structure. The developer pulls it and fills in some interactive elements in code, adds a form validation on the Contact form, etc. They both work in parallel – sometimes the designer even opens the Shaper integrated code editor to tweak small bits of code (she’s not a developer, but maybe she knows enough HTML/CSS to adjust a class name). The developer, on the other hand, occasionally uses Shaper’s visual editor to quickly rearrange a component order, finding it faster than writing code for layout changes.
  8. Version Control & Review: All this while, every change from both sides is tracked in Git. They use pull requests for bigger changes: for instance, the developer opened a PR for the testimonial feature branch. The designer could even open that PR on GitHub to review the visual changes (or check the deployment preview on Vercel) – and merge it once satisfied. Because Shaper commits meaningful chunks, the PR diffs show both code and design changes clearly (like “+Tailwind class px-4” which corresponded to her adding padding).
  9. Deployment: When ready, they deploy the site via Shaper’s one-click deploy to a staging URL. The product manager takes a look and requests a small copy change. The designer opens Shaper, edits the text directly on the canvas, which commits to Git, and redeploys within minutes. No traditional ticketing, no waiting for the next dev cycle – the change is live.
  10. Launch & Beyond: The site goes live. Going forward, minor updates (like changing an image or tweaking styles) can be done by the designer alone in Shaper (with Git tracking it). Larger features or integration (like adding a new page with backend data) will involve the developer, but they’ll collaborate just as seamlessly. Shaper has fostered a shared ownership of the product UI – a truly handoff-free workflow.

This example shows how every change lives in Git and is visible to the whole team, yet people with different skill sets can contribute in the way most natural to them. Designers stay close to the code without writing much code, and developers stay in control of the code quality and app logic without reimplementing designs from scratch. It’s a win-win that leads to faster iteration and a tighter feedback loop.

Collaboration Tips:

  • Use Shaper’s Live Collaboration features when possible. Shaper supports multi-user editing and even Live Share in the code editor. Sometimes it’s helpful to jump on a call with your dev, both of you open the project in Shaper, and watch changes in real-time as you discuss them.
  • Decide on a workflow for merging changes. For instance, maybe the main branch is always stable. The designer works on design-playground branch for big redesigns, which the dev reviews before merging to main. You can use Git branching strategies even while primarily using Shaper – just coordinate on who and how branches are created/merged (a developer might handle the Git operations if the designer isn’t comfortable with branch management in Shaper’s UI).
  • Leverage the community: Share your collaboration experiences or any hiccups on Shaper’s community forums. There may be tips from other teams on how they best use the tool together (for example, how they handle code reviews or conflicts). As Shaper evolves, these workflows will get smoother, and being part of the community means you’ll learn the latest best practices.