Below is a complete beginner-friendly guide to deploy a React (UI) + Java (backend) app on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and point your GoDaddy domain (mywebsite.com) so that when someone visits your site, it loads from GCP.
Goal (what we’re building)
You already bought mywebsite.com on GoDaddy. You want:
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React UI hosted on GCP
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Java backend API hosted on GCP
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Domain routing:
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https://mywebsite.com→ React UI -
https://api.mywebsite.com→ Java backend (recommended)
-
-
Secure HTTPS with Google-managed certificates
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Production-ready and beginner-friendly
This guide uses Cloud Run (easiest modern way). It runs containers, scales automatically, and works great for Java.
What you need before starting
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A GCP account + billing enabled
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Your project created in GCP
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GoDaddy access (DNS settings)
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Installed tools on your machine:
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Google Cloud SDK (
gcloud) -
Docker
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Node.js (for React build)
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Java + Maven/Gradle (for backend build)
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Architecture options (choose one)
Option A (recommended): Cloud Run for backend + Cloud Storage/CDN for UI
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UI is static (fast + cheap)
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Backend is on Cloud Run
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Best performance and standard setup
Option B: Cloud Run for both UI and backend
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Simplest to understand (both are containers)
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Slightly less optimized for static UI
I’ll explain Option A fully (best practice), and at the end I’ll include Option B quickly.
Part 1 — GCP project setup
1) Create/select a GCP project
In GCP Console:
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Go to IAM & Admin → Manage resources
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Create a project like:
mywebsite-prod
2) Enable required APIs
Go to APIs & Services → Library and enable:
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Cloud Run API
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Artifact Registry API
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Cloud Build API
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Certificate Manager API (or “Cloud Managed Certificates” depending on UI)
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Cloud DNS API (optional, not required if using GoDaddy DNS)
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Cloud Storage API
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(Optional but recommended) Cloud CDN, Load Balancing APIs
Part 2 — Deploy Java backend to Cloud Run
Cloud Run deploys containers, so we’ll containerize your Java backend.
3) Containerize your Java backend
In your Java backend project root, create a Dockerfile.
If you’re using Spring Boot (common)
# Build stage
FROM maven:3.9-eclipse-temurin-17 AS build
WORKDIR /app
COPY . .
RUN mvn -DskipTests package
# Run stage
FROM eclipse-temurin:17-jre
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=build /app/target/*.jar app.jar
EXPOSE 8080
ENTRYPOINT ["java","-jar","app.jar"]
Important: Cloud Run expects your app to listen on PORT (usually 8080), so in Spring Boot make sure it runs on 8080 (default is fine).
4) Create an Artifact Registry repo (once)
In Cloud Console:
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Artifact Registry → Repositories → Create
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Format: Docker
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Name:
mywebsite-repo -
Region: pick one (ex:
asia-south1/us-central1)
5) Build and push image (easy way: Cloud Build)
Open terminal and run:
gcloud config set project YOUR_PROJECT_ID
gcloud auth login
gcloud auth configure-docker
Build + push using Cloud Build:
gcloud builds submit --tag REGION-docker.pkg.dev/YOUR_PROJECT_ID/mywebsite-repo/mybackend:1.0 .
Example:
us-central1-docker.pkg.dev/mywebsite-prod/mywebsite-repo/mybackend:1.0
6) Deploy backend to Cloud Run
gcloud run deploy mybackend \
--image REGION-docker.pkg.dev/YOUR_PROJECT_ID/mywebsite-repo/mybackend:1.0 \
--region REGION \
--platform managed \
--allow-unauthenticated
After deploy, Cloud Run gives you a URL like:
https://mybackend-xxxxx-uc.a.run.app
Test:
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Open it in browser
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Or call a health endpoint like
/actuator/health
7) Configure CORS (important for React calling backend)
If your UI will be mywebsite.com and API will be api.mywebsite.com, allow that origin.
Spring example (conceptually):
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Allow origin:
https://mywebsite.com -
Allow methods: GET/POST/PUT/DELETE/OPTIONS
This step depends on your Java framework. Do it now so browser requests don’t fail.
Part 3 — Deploy React UI (static hosting on GCP)
React is best hosted as static files.
8) Build your React app
Inside your React project:
npm install
npm run build
This produces a build/ folder.
9) Create a Cloud Storage bucket for website hosting
Go to Cloud Storage → Buckets → Create
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Name:
mywebsite-ui-bucket(must be globally unique) -
Location: same region or multi-region
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Public access: we will handle properly via LB/CDN (recommended), but for simplest beginner approach you can make it public.
Simple beginner approach (public bucket hosting)
In the bucket:
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Upload contents of
build/(not the folder itself—upload files inside it) -
Configure website:
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index.html
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404.html (or index.html for SPA routing)
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SPA routing tip: React apps need unknown routes to return index.html (so /about works). We’ll handle that better with Load Balancer later.
Part 4 — Connect domain in GoDaddy (DNS) to GCP
You want mywebsite.com to go to GCP.
To support HTTPS and clean routing, best practice is:
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Put a Global HTTPS Load Balancer in front
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Attach:
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UI backend (Cloud Storage bucket)
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API backend (Cloud Run service)
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Then map your domain to the Load Balancer IP
This sounds scary, but it’s the most “real production” setup.
10) Create a Load Balancer (UI + API under one domain)
What we want the load balancer to do
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Requests to
mywebsite.com/*→ Cloud Storage (React UI) -
Requests to
api.mywebsite.com/*→ Cloud Run (Java backend) -
Google-managed SSL certificates for both
Steps (high-level)
In GCP Console:
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Go to Network Services → Load balancing
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Create HTTP(S) Load Balancer
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Create Frontend
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HTTPS
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Add domains:
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mywebsite.com -
www.mywebsite.com -
api.mywebsite.com
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Request Google-managed certificate
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Create Backend
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Backend 1: Cloud Storage bucket (UI)
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Backend 2: Cloud Run service (API) using “Serverless NEG”
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URL Maps / Routing:
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Host rule
mywebsite.com→ UI backend -
Host rule
www.mywebsite.com→ UI backend -
Host rule
api.mywebsite.com→ API backend
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Reserve a static external IP for the LB (recommended)
After creation, GCP gives you an IP like: 34.xxx.xxx.xxx
11) Update GoDaddy DNS
Now go to GoDaddy → Domain → DNS
Add/Update records:
Root domain (mywebsite.com)
GoDaddy often supports an A record:
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Type:
A -
Name:
@ -
Value:
<Load Balancer IP> -
TTL: default
www subdomain (www.mywebsite.com)
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Type:
CNAME -
Name:
www -
Value:
mywebsite.com
API subdomain (api.mywebsite.com)
If using same LB IP (recommended with host-based routing):
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Type:
A -
Name:
api -
Value:
<Load Balancer IP>
12) Wait for DNS + SSL to become active
DNS can take minutes to hours to propagate.
SSL certificate provisioning may take some time too (commonly 15–60 minutes, sometimes longer).
Once active:
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https://mywebsite.comloads React -
https://api.mywebsite.comhits your backend
Part 5 — Connect React UI to Java API
13) Use environment variables in React
In React, create .env.production:
REACT_APP_API_BASE_URL=https://api.mywebsite.com
Then in code:
const API = process.env.REACT_APP_API_BASE_URL;
fetch(`${API}/your-endpoint`)
Rebuild:
npm run build
Re-upload build files to the bucket.
Part 6 — Recommended production improvements
14) Enable Cloud CDN for UI
If you front the bucket with Load Balancer, you can enable Cloud CDN for fast global caching.
15) Add backend environment config securely
Use Cloud Run environment variables:
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DB connection string
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secrets (prefer Secret Manager)
16) Logging + monitoring
Cloud Run logs automatically appear in:
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Cloud Logging
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Cloud Monitoring
Common beginner mistakes (and fixes)
1) React routes return 404
Fix: configure LB / bucket website to serve index.html for unknown paths (SPA fallback). The Load Balancer URL map can do this cleanly.
2) CORS errors
Fix: allow origin https://mywebsite.com in Java backend.
3) Backend works by URL but not by custom domain
Fix: ensure:
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api.mywebsite.comDNS points to LB IP -
LB host rule routes
api.mywebsite.comto Cloud Run backend -
SSL cert includes
api.mywebsite.com
4) SSL stuck in “Provisioning”
Fix checklist:
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DNS must already point correctly to LB IP
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No conflicting records
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Wait a bit; if still stuck, re-check domain ownership / DNS
Option B (simpler): Host both React and Java on Cloud Run
If you don’t want load balancers/buckets yet:
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Make a single backend that serves React build too (Java serves static files)
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Or deploy React separately as a container on Cloud Run
But: mapping a custom domain directly to Cloud Run is possible; however routing mywebsite.com and api.mywebsite.com becomes slightly less flexible than the LB approach.
