AWS Architecture Projects

A collection of AWS architecture projects and cloud engineering case studies, covering infrastructure design, migrations, security and serverless architectures using services such as Amazon EC2, VPC, S3, CloudFront, Route 53 and Lightsail. Explore individual AWS architecture case studies to see how these systems are designed and built in practice.

All Projects

Server-Based to Serverless Website Hosting on AWS

AWS architecture diagram showing migration from an EC2-based website to serverless hosting with Amazon S3 and CloudFront

A case study comparing highly available EC2 hosting with a serverless architecture, covering multi-AZ infrastructure, load balancing, Auto Scaling, microservice integration and migration to Amazon S3 and CloudFront.

Designing an Event-Driven Website Monitoring System

AWS event-driven website monitoring architecture using CloudFront, private S3, EventBridge Scheduler, Lambda and SNS

A serverless AWS project combining a secure static website architecture with automated availability checks, scheduled Lambda execution and email notifications through Amazon SNS.

Static Website with CI/CD (S3 + CloudFront)

AWS architecture diagram showing S3 static website hosting with CloudFront and Route 53

A production-ready static website on AWS with CI/CD using S3, CloudFront, Route 53, ACM and GitHub Actions, delivering secure HTTPS and global content distribution.

WordPress Migration to AWS Lightsail

AWS Lightsail WordPress hosting architecture with DNS, SSL, static IP and backup recovery design

A real-world WordPress on AWS Lightsail case study covering migration, backup redesign, incident recovery and a ~96% reduction in hosting cost.

Designing a Secure AWS Infrastructure

Secure AWS infrastructure with private EC2, bastion host, Gateway VPC Endpoints and least-privilege IAM

A security-focused AWS architecture project designed from requirements, featuring private networking, Gateway VPC Endpoints, least-privilege IAM and validation without internet access.

Secure Virtual Private Cloud with Bastion Host

AWS VPC architecture with bastion host, private subnet, NAT Gateway and route tables

A secure AWS networking project using public and private subnets, a bastion host, NAT Gateway and route tables to isolate private EC2 instances while maintaining controlled administrative and outbound internet access.

About

Cliff Smith cloud engineering portfolio headshot

I’m transitioning into cloud architecture, focused on designing and building real-world systems on AWS.

Through hands-on projects, I explore how cloud services fit together in practice from networking and DNS to scalable, production-ready architectures.

This site documents that journey, with a focus on clarity, structure, and implementation.

Background in music and education (BMus Hons). AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate, and AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner.