Introducing WebSocket Support on Tilda

Raees Iqbal
Founder

We're excited to announce full WebSocket support for all applications deployed on Tilda! This powerful capability enables bidirectional, real-time communication between clients and servers, unlocking a new level of interactivity for your web applications.

Why WebSockets Matter

While HTTP excels at request-response patterns, modern applications increasingly demand real-time, persistent connections. WebSockets provide exactly that—a protocol designed for low-latency, bidirectional communication channels over a single TCP connection.

Unlike traditional HTTP where each client-server interaction requires a new connection, WebSockets maintain an open connection that allows data to flow in both directions at any time. This means lower latency, reduced overhead, and true real-time capabilities.

Breaking the PaaS Limitation

One significant challenge developers face with many Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) providers is the lack of WebSocket support. Popular platforms like Vercel and Netlify don't currently support WebSocket connections for deployed applications, forcing developers to rely on external services or less efficient polling mechanisms.

At Tilda, we believe your platform shouldn't limit your architectural choices. That's why we've built WebSocket support directly into our infrastructure, allowing you to deploy WebSocket-enabled applications without compromising on your vision or user experience.

Powerful Use Cases

WebSockets open up possibilities for numerous real-time applications:

  • AI Chatbots: WebSockets provide the ideal foundation for AI-powered chat experiences, enabling instantaneous responses without the overhead of establishing new connections.
  • Voice and Video AI Assistants: For advanced AI applications that process audio or video streams, WebSockets offer the low-latency, bidirectional communication necessary for natural interactions.
  • Collaborative Applications: Build applications where multiple users can work together with changes reflected instantly across all connected clients.
  • Real-time Dashboards: Push updates to monitoring interfaces the moment new data is available.
  • Interactive Gaming: Create multiplayer experiences with minimal latency.

AI Assistants: Beyond Traditional Chat

The AI assistant landscape is rapidly evolving beyond text-based interactions. WebSockets are particularly valuable for next-generation AI applications that involve:

  • Voice Processing: Stream audio data in real-time for immediate transcription and response.
  • Video Analysis: Process video streams for gesture recognition, emotion detection, or visual assistance.
  • Multi-modal Interactions: Combine text, voice, and visual elements in a single, cohesive AI experience.

These applications benefit tremendously from the continuous data flow that WebSockets provide, creating more natural and responsive user experiences than what's possible with traditional HTTP requests.

Getting Started with WebSockets on Tilda

To help you get started with WebSockets on our platform, we've created a comprehensive example repository: WebSocket-Example.

This repository includes:

  • A complete Express.js server with WebSocket implementation
  • An interactive client interface for testing WebSocket communication
  • Auto-reconnection handling for resilient connections
  • Deployment configuration for Tilda

You can try the working demo at demo-websocket-main.tilda.build, which showcases a simple echo server built with WebSockets.

Deployment

Deploying your WebSocket application to Tilda is as straightforward as any other application:

Commands
Bash
# Install Tilda CLI if you haven't already
npm install -g @tildacloud/cli

# Build your application
npm run build

# Deploy to Tilda
tilda deploy --project myproject --site mysite

Once deployed, your WebSocket server will be available at your Tilda subdomain or custom domain.

Key Considerations

As you integrate WebSockets into your Tilda applications, here are some important points to keep in mind:

Implementation Flexibility

It's important to understand that while you can use our example repository to get started, Tilda doesn't require any proprietary WebSocket server implementation. You can use any Node.js-based WebSocket server that you prefer, such as ws, socket.io, websocket, or any other compatible library.

Connection Timeouts

Free plan customers will have a 50-second idle-timeout on WebSocket connections. This means that if no messages are exchanged for 50 seconds, the connection will be closed automatically. However, this doesn't mean your application stops working:

  • The connection can be reestablished immediately without issues
  • Any message exchange within the 50-second window resets the idle timer, extending it for another 50 seconds
  • Well-designed client implementations can handle reconnection automatically and transparently to users

Paid customers have additional flexibility and can adjust this timeout period in the Tilda dashboard to suit their application needs.

Dynamic Scaling and Connection Distribution

Tilda scales the instances of deployed applications dynamically based on traffic. This means that not all clients are necessarily connected to the same application instance. When designing WebSocket applications, keep in mind:

  • If your application requires shared state between client connections, you'll need to implement a shared storage solution (like Redis)
  • User sessions connected to different instances won't directly share memory
  • This architecture enables better scalability but requires appropriate design considerations for multi-instance scenarios

Best Practices

To ensure optimal performance with WebSockets on Tilda:

  • Implement client-side reconnection logic for resilience
  • Consider implementing a heartbeat mechanism to keep connections alive if needed
  • Be mindful of connection limits and resource usage, especially for applications expecting high traffic

Next Steps

We're excited to see what you'll build with WebSocket support on Tilda! Whether you're creating advanced AI applications, collaborative tools, or any real-time experience, Tilda provides the infrastructure you need.

To learn more: