Yes, it can be easier
The difference between knowing and not knowing is immense... That's how I felt when I found out I can just make changes to my code and then have my static site auto-deploy.
This must be nails on a chalkboard to any experienced coder, but I initially started by managing all of my html files on my local desktop. No version control... Manual deployment to AWS S3... Yes, it was an absolute nightmare.
Continuous delivery
Here's the term that's often used by DevOps folks to describle what I'm talking about. A way to release software (or in this case a webpage) quickly, frequently, and reliably - all with as little manual steps as possible.
And for a static website, this is very very easy, and it will save you the headache of having to manage your code or having to deploy it on S3. Let the tools do the work~
Create a CodePipeline and automate away
Here's the documentation from AWS that helped me do this. If you already have a static website set-up, it's just a matter of getting your source (Github or CodeCommit) connected and setting up CodePipeline to do the rest.