What file should my HTML5 game start with?

index.html, at the top level of the folder or zip you upload. Hosts and itch.io expect it there.

Do I need a game engine to make an HTML5 game?

No. Plain JavaScript with a canvas works. Engines such as Phaser, Godot and Unity add tools for scenes, physics and exports.

Can I embed my game on another site?

Yes, with an iframe. Add allow="fullscreen" to the iframe if the game uses fullscreen, and check that your host doesn't block embedding.

Why do some players see the old version after I update?

Their browser kept the old files. Use file names that change with each build, and keep index.html on a short cache time.

How do I share an HTML5 game and get players?

An HTML5 game is a folder of web files, so it needs a host with a public https address. Use relative file paths, match the capital letters in file names exactly, and start sound after the first tap. Then list the link on Foundplay and on itch.io, and test on a phone.

Updated October 10, 2026. Written by Foundplay, a game discovery platform for free browser games. Foundplay also sells Boost, a paid promotion for games, and this guide says where it fits. The advice before that part works without it. All guides

Put it on a host

Any static host works: GitHub Pages, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, your own domain, or a zip on itch.io. Use https. Some browser features, such as service workers and many device sensors, only work on secure pages, and a plain http link looks untrustworthy. Make sure index.html is at the top of what you upload.

File paths that break on a host

Capital letters. Your computer may treat Player.PNG and player.png as the same file. Most servers don't, and the image 404s only after you deploy.
Absolute paths. /images/hero.png works at the root of a site, not in a sub-folder. Use ./images/hero.png.
Spaces and unusual characters in file names. Stick to lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens.
Files outside the folder you upload. Anything your project reads from elsewhere on your disk won't be on the host.

Sound and fullscreen need a tap

Browsers block audio until the player has tapped, clicked or pressed a key, and the fullscreen API also needs a user action. Put a start button on the first screen and begin sound there. Fullscreen isn't available everywhere, notably on iPhones, so lay the game out to fit the visible area instead of relying on it.

Fit the screen

Add a viewport tag so phones don't shrink the page.
Use 100dvh, not 100vh, for full-height layouts: phone browsers change the visible height when the address bar moves.
Scale the canvas for devicePixelRatio so it stays sharp on dense screens.
Set touch-action and overscroll-behavior so swipes and taps don't scroll the page, zoom it or trigger pull-to-refresh.

Let updates reach players

A player who is still running last week's files after you fix a bug will report the bug again. Give built files names that change when they change, which bundlers do by default, and keep index.html on a short cache time. If you use a service worker, test the update path: open the old version, deploy, reload and see which one loads.

Saves

localStorage keeps data per address. If you change the domain, saves don't follow, and private windows may clear them. Keep the address stable, and offer a way to export a save if the game is long.

How Foundplay can help

Foundplay is a game discovery platform for free browser games. It doesn't host games: every listing sends players to the creator's own site.

The free listing

Listing a game is free. Paste the link where people play it at /submit, check the details and publish. The game goes live right away, and Play sends players to your own site.

Foundplay fills in the title, description and cover from your page's tags, so set them first. Play opens the game on your own host.

Boost, the paid option

Foundplay sells Boost, so it has a reason to want you to buy it. The free listing works without it.

Starter is a cheap way to see whether strangers press Play on your cover. Deploy your fixes before it starts, since plays go to what the link shows.

The Starter plan costs $5 for 50 plays in 3 days, which works out to 10¢ a play. Where it shows: its genre pages and search results.

A play is a counted click on Play from a sponsored spot, the same way public play counts work: once per game per network a day. Every sponsored spot is labelled Sponsored, and the share of plays not delivered by the end of the plan's days is refunded automatically. Foundplay can't see what players do after the click. Fan games and copies of commercial games can't be boosted. A game has to be listed before it can be boosted. List it first, or start a Boost and add your play link there, and Foundplay lists the game for free as part of the same flow.

For scale, Foundplay's own visit counter shows an average of 4,500+ visitors a day over the last three full days, and 600+ games are listed. It updates every few minutes.

List your game for free Boost with Starter See all Boost plans

More free ways to find players are in the full guide.

Questions

What file should my HTML5 game start with?: index.html, at the top level of the folder or zip you upload. Hosts and itch.io expect it there.
Do I need a game engine to make an HTML5 game?: No. Plain JavaScript with a canvas works. Engines such as Phaser, Godot and Unity add tools for scenes, physics and exports.
Can I embed my game on another site?: Yes, with an iframe. Add allow="fullscreen" to the iframe if the game uses fullscreen, and check that your host doesn't block embedding.
Why do some players see the old version after I update?: Their browser kept the old files. Use file names that change with each build, and keep index.html on a short cache time.