diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index c8a49cc..b372724 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ jobs:
 
   release:
     name: release
-    needs: [check, e2e]
+    needs: [check, site, e2e]
     # Off until launch: the repository variable RELEASE_ENABLED is set to true once v0.0.0 is tagged and staging exists.
     # Without the tag, semantic-release counts every commit and picks 1.0.0.
     if: github.event_name == 'push' && vars.RELEASE_ENABLED == 'true'
@@ -177,3 +177,20 @@ jobs:
           git checkout -B staging origin/staging
           git merge --no-ff origin/main -m "chore(release): merge main into staging [skip ci]"
           git push origin staging
+
+  deploy-site:
+    name: deploy site
+    needs: release
+    # Only main is production; Vercel no longer deploys it on push (site/vercel.json), so this is the one production deploy,
+    # made after the release job has pushed its version commit.
+    if: github.ref_name == 'main'
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    timeout-minutes: 5
+    steps:
+      # The hook builds main's tip, so an older commit can never replace a newer one in production.
+      - name: Trigger the production deploy
+        env:
+          HOOK: ${{ secrets.VERCEL_DEPLOY_HOOK_MAIN }}
+        run: |
+          if [ -z "$HOOK" ]; then echo "::error::VERCEL_DEPLOY_HOOK_MAIN is not set"; exit 1; fi
+          curl --fail-with-body -sS -X POST "$HOOK"
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 99bb0db..42b4bab 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -101,3 +101,7 @@ workflow's `release` job runs them after the checks pass.
   the bot commits `chore(release): x.y.z [skip ci]` to `main`, and then merges `main` back into `staging`.
   Release candidates only change the published package, so the repo keeps the last release's version between
   releases. Never edit these pins by hand.
+- **The website** deploys to production from CI, not from Vercel's push hook: after the `release` job, the
+  `deploy-site` job calls a Vercel Deploy Hook (the `VERCEL_DEPLOY_HOOK_MAIN` secret), which builds `main`'s tip.
+  That way the release commit, not the merge before it, is what goes live. Pull requests and `staging` still get
+  Vercel previews on push.
diff --git a/site/scripts/ignore-build.sh b/site/scripts/ignore-build.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8eb992
--- /dev/null
+++ b/site/scripts/ignore-build.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Vercel's ignoreCommand (run from site/): exit 0 skips the build, 1 builds. Lives here because vercel.json caps the
+# command at 256 characters. Builds when there's no last deploy to compare with, or its commit is missing from the
+# shallow clone, or anything the site reads changed since it.
+if [ -n "$VERCEL_GIT_PREVIOUS_SHA" ] &&
+  git cat-file -e "$VERCEL_GIT_PREVIOUS_SHA^{commit}" 2>/dev/null &&
+  git diff --quiet "$VERCEL_GIT_PREVIOUS_SHA" HEAD -- . ../packages ../skill ../package.json ../tsconfig.base.json ../bun.lock; then
+  exit 0
+fi
+exit 1
diff --git a/site/vercel.json b/site/vercel.json
index cc02795..9813c11 100644
--- a/site/vercel.json
+++ b/site/vercel.json
@@ -3,5 +3,6 @@
   "framework": "nextjs",
   "installCommand": "cd .. && bun install --frozen-lockfile",
   "buildCommand": "cd .. && bun run --filter @stackmap/viewer build && cd site && bun run build",
-  "ignoreCommand": "if [ -n \"$VERCEL_GIT_PREVIOUS_SHA\" ] && git cat-file -e \"$VERCEL_GIT_PREVIOUS_SHA^{commit}\" 2>/dev/null && git diff --quiet \"$VERCEL_GIT_PREVIOUS_SHA\" HEAD -- . ../packages ../package.json ../tsconfig.base.json ../bun.lock; then exit 0; else exit 1; fi"
+  "git": { "deploymentEnabled": { "main": false } },
+  "ignoreCommand": "sh scripts/ignore-build.sh"
 }