Building and deploying web apps with Azure App Service

Posted on by Panther

Web applications are ubiquitous today, and numerous platforms provide developers with easy ways to build and deploy web apps. Azure App Service is an all-in-one platform on the cloud that allows developers to build scalable, secure, and robust web applications. It supports various development frameworks, languages, and platforms. In this tutorial, you will learn how to leverage Azure App Service to deploy and manage web applications.

Prerequisites

  • Azure Subscription
  • Basic knowledge of web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
  • .NET core SDK
  • Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code (optional)

Create an App Service

The first step is to create an App Service in Azure. An App Service is a fully managed platform that hosts web apps and services. Follow the steps below to create an App Service:

  1. Login to the Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com/).
  2. Click on the “+” button on the left pane.
  3. Select “Web App” under the “Web + Mobile” category.
  4. Provide a unique name for the new app service.
  5. Select your subscription, resource group, and operating system.
  6. Choose a runtime stack. You can choose the platform and framework depending on your development needs.
  7. Click “Create” to create the app service.

Once the App Service is created, you will see the overview page with several configuration options. You can configure custom domains, SSL certificates, scaling options, and more.

Deploy a Web App

After creating the App Service, it’s time to deploy a web app. You can deploy a web app using different methods, including Git, FTP, Azure DevOps, and Visual Studio. In this tutorial, we will deploy a .NET Core web app using Git.

Create a .NET Core Web App

First, create a new web app using .NET Core. You can use Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code to create a new project. The following steps show how to create a .NET Core web app in Visual Studio:

  1. Open Visual Studio.
  2. Click on “Create a new project”.
  3. Select “ASP.NET Core Web Application” under the “Web” category.
  4. Provide a name for the project and click “Create”.
  5. Choose the template for your web app project (e.g., Empty, Razor Pages, MVC).
  6. Click “Create”.

Visual Studio creates a new .NET Core web app project with a default template. You can modify the project as per your requirements.

Deploy the Web App Using Git

Now that you have created a web app, you can deploy it to Azure using Git. Follow the steps below to deploy the web app:

  1. Open the web app in the Azure portal.
  2. Click on the “Deployment Center” option.
  3. Choose the “Git” option under the “Source Control” section.
  4. Specify the repository source and credentials.
  5. Choose the branch to deploy (e.g., master).
  6. Click “Save”.

Azure sets up the deployment by cloning the Git repository and deploying the web app. After the deployment is complete, you can access the web app by clicking on the URL under the “Overview” section.

Configure Custom Domains and SSL Certificates

You can also configure custom domains and SSL certificates for your App Service. Follow the steps below to configure a custom domain:

  1. Open the web app in the Azure portal.
  2. Click on the “Custom domains” option.
  3. Click on the “+ Add custom domain” button.
  4. Enter the domain name you want to configure (e.g., www.example.com).
  5. Update the DNS settings for the domain to point to the App Service.
  6. Click “Add”.

Azure configures the domain name to route traffic to the App Service automatically.

To configure SSL, you need to create an SSL certificate and upload it to Azure. You can also use Azure’s managed SSL certificates, but those come with a cost. Follow the steps below to upload an SSL certificate:

  1. Open the web app in the Azure portal.
  2. Click on the “TLS/SSL settings” option.
  3. Click on the “+ Add TLS/SSL certificate” button.
  4. Upload the certificate file (in .pfx format).
  5. Enter the password for the certificate.
  6. Click “Add”.

Azure configures the SSL certificate to use with the App Service automatically.

Scale the App Service

Azure App Service provides multiple scaling options to scale up or down the web app. Follow the steps below to scale the App Service:

  1. Open the web app in the Azure portal.
  2. Click on the “Scale up (App Service plan)” option.
  3. Select the pricing tier for the App Service plan.
  4. Click “Apply”.

Azure scales the App Service plan accordingly, based on the pricing plan you choose.

Conclusion

Azure App Service provides an easy-to-use platform to build, deploy, and manage web applications with ease. You can use various development platforms, frameworks, and languages to build scalable, secure, and robust web applications. This tutorial covered the basics of deploying a web app using Git, configuring custom domains and SSL certificates, and scaling the App Service. With Azure App Service, you can focus on building your web app without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.

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