LOCAL_PREVIEW.md

Local Preview Guide

How to Preview Your Built Site Locally

Since the site is configured with basePath: '/advisor-calculator' for GitHub Pages, you need to handle this for local preview.

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Option 1: Use Python HTTP Server (Simplest)

This serves the files and lets you access at the correct path:

# From the project root
cd out
python3 -m http.server 8000

Then open in your browser:

http://localhost:8000/en.html

Or directly access any language:

• English: http://localhost:8000/en.html
• Chinese: http://localhost:8000/zh.html
• Japanese: http://localhost:8000/ja.html
• Spanish: http://localhost:8000/es.html
• French: http://localhost:8000/fr.html

To stop: Press Ctrl+C in the terminal

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Option 2: Use npx serve with Base Path Simulation

# Serve with simulated subdirectory structure
npx serve out

Then open:

http://localhost:3000/en.html

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Option 3: Temporarily Remove basePath for Testing

If you want to test at root path (http://localhost:3000/):

1. Edit next.config.js:

const nextConfig = {
  output: 'export',
  // basePath: '/advisor-calculator', // Comment this out temporarily
  trailingSlash: false,
  images: {
    unoptimized: true,
  },
  // ...
};

2. Rebuild:

npm run build

3. Serve:

npx serve out

4. Open:

http://localhost:3000/

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Don't forget to uncomment basePath before deploying to GitHub Pages!

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Quick Command Summary

Fastest way (recommended):

cd out
python3 -m http.server 8000

Then visit: http://localhost:8000/en.html

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Why basePath is needed for GitHub Pages

GitHub Pages serves your site at:

https://username.github.io/repo-name/

The basePath: '/advisor-calculator' tells Next.js to generate all links/assets with this prefix, so:

• CSS: /advisor-calculator/_next/static/...
• JS: /advisor-calculator/_next/static/...
• Links: /advisor-calculator/en.html

Without it, GitHub Pages would look for files at the root and get 404 errors.