Entry Point
Definition
An entry point is wherever loading begins. For a published site that is an HTML document, almost always index.html, because the browser has to parse markup before it knows which stylesheets, scripts and images to request. The word is also used one level down, for JavaScript: a bundler is given an entry file such as src/main.js and follows its imports to decide what belongs in the bundle. Both senses share the same idea — one named starting file, and a graph of dependencies discovered from it. Naming the wrong entry point does not produce a partial site; it produces nothing, because nothing after it is ever reached.
Why It Matters
A site with no reachable entry point is invisible, no matter how complete the rest of the upload is. This is the single most common reason a freshly published folder returns 404 while every individual file in it loads fine when named directly. On the build side, pointing a bundler at the wrong entry file gives you output that is valid but missing half the application. Both failures look alarming and take about a minute to fix once you know the term for what is wrong.
How It Works
A request for the site root arrives with no filename, so the server applies its directory-index rule and returns index.html. The browser parses that document top to bottom, and each link, script and img element it meets triggers another request; those files may pull in more, and the page is finished when the graph runs out. A single-page application takes this furthest: index.html is the only HTML file on the host, and the script it loads draws every route in the browser. A bundler's entry point works the same way at build time, reading imports rather than tags to decide what to include.
Real-World Example
A developer uploads a compiled app to 99helpers and lands on a blank page at beta-console.99helpers.site. The build had been configured to output app.html, so the folder has no index.html and the root request never reaches anything. Renaming that one file gives the app its entry point back and the console loads normally — the JavaScript and CSS had been sitting there, correct and untouched, the whole time.
Common Mistakes
- ✕Confusing the entry point with the home page design — it is a filename rule, and a beautiful page under the wrong name is still unreachable
- ✕Assuming a folder with a single HTML file will be served regardless of its name — servers look for index.html specifically, not for whatever HTML happens to be there
- ✕Forgetting that every sub-folder needs its own entry point if visitors are ever meant to open the folder path itself
Related Terms
index.html
index.html is the file a web server returns when a visitor asks for a folder rather than a named file. It is the default document for the site root and for every directory inside it.
Static Site
A static site is a website made of finished files — HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images — that are sent to the browser exactly as they are stored. Nothing is assembled on the server when a visitor arrives.
Single-Page Application
A single-page application loads one HTML file and then rewrites the page in the browser as you navigate, instead of fetching a new document for every link. The address bar still changes; the page never fully reloads.
Build Artifact
A build artifact is the set of files a build produces — the finished HTML, CSS, JavaScript and images that actually get served. It is what you publish, not the source you edit.
Public URL
An address that serves its content to anyone who requests it, with no sign-in, token or password. Having the address is the only requirement.
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