In this blog, we will explain the Azure App Service overview. Azure Program Service is the best way to publish online apps (website, mobile) written in any language, such as Python, Java, Node.js, PHP, or .NET, to the cloud without having to manage any type of server.
Azure App Service is, at its core, a fully managed platform for developing, deploying, and scaling web applications. Azure managed the infrastructure, patching, scalability, and monitoring while you focused on the application.
Let us show each level with a real-world example.
Step 1: Understand What Azure App Service Offers.
Before we start talking deeply, let’s analyze the various features of Azure App Service and why developers should use it.
The features are described as follows:
- Fully Managed: Everything is totally managed resources such as operating systems and servers, which are required for any application to run. Handling servers and operating systems is not necessary for you. All types of infrastructure are managed by the Azure cloud.
- Support Frameworks: Azure supports several frameworks, including Java, Node.js, Python, Ruby, .NET, and PHP. So, you can easily integrate your application with Azure.
- Inbuilt CI/CD: For automated deployments, it integrates directly with Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, or GitHub.
- SSL and Custom Domains: Easily map your domain and secure it with SSL.
- Auto Scaling: Automatic scaling increases or decreases in response to traffic. You do not need to worry about the extra cost because Azure offers pay-as-you-go services. You will pay according to how many resources you are using and easily scale to auto scaling based on resource requirements.
- Global Reach: Today, Azure is very popular due to increase the app’s usability by using Azure’s global data centers.
Step 2: Requirements or Conditions.
Before getting started, make sure you have:
- A free Azure account is a good place to begin.
- Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code version that has been installed.
- a small online program that is ready for deployment, such as an ASP.NET Core application.
Step 3: Use Visual Studio to construct a basic web application.
Let’s use .NET Core to create a little web application that we can subsequently host on Azure.
- After Visual Studio has launched, choose File > New Project.
- You can choose ASP.NET Core Web App (Model-View-Controller). To continue, click Next.
- MyAzureDemoApp (your choice) should be the name of your project.
- Select .NET 8.0 (or your installed version) → Choose “Create.”
- Run the project locally (Ctrl + F5) — ensure it works.
You’ll see the default ASP.NET Core welcome page.
Step 4: Add the Web App to Azure App Service.
Now, let us deploy your application to the Azure cloud.
You should follow the below –
- Open the Visual Studio tool and right-click on the selected project, and then select the Publish option.
- Select Azure, followed by Azure App Service (Windows), and then click Next.
- If prompted, sign in to your Microsoft Azure account.
- Finally, click on the Create New App Service button.
- Configure:
- For example, I am giving the app name of app service name: “myazuredemoapp“.
- App name: myazuredemoapp.
- Subscription: Your Azure subscription
- Resource Group: Create a new Resource Group, for example, DemoGroup.
- Hosting plan: Choose the Free F1 hosting plan for testing.
- Click Create to let Visual Studio launch your app.
- After deployment, you’ll see a public URL such as https://myazuredemoapp.azurewebsites.net.
Step 5: Learn about the Azure Portal
Go to https://portal.azure.com to access the Azure Portal.
To find it, type in your app’s name (myazuredemoapp). You will notice that:
- On the overview tab, it displays the current status, URL, and region.
- The configuration tab is where you can find connection strings and app options.
- Scaling up and out involves two options: cost and performance control.
- Keep an eye on the CPU, RAM, and request counts while you monitor.
As a result, you can update, pause, and restart your program at any time.
Step 6: Continuous Deployment(Optional)
Further deployments to be automated:
- Enter the portal and navigate to your App Service.
- Head to the Deployment Center.
- Connect with your GitHub repository or Azure DevOps account.
- Azure will deploy every new commit to your live site right away.
This is called CI/CD integration — no more manual publishing!
Step 7: Make your app wider.
Scaling is possible as your user base grows.
- Vertical Scale-up: A higher tier should be selected (more RAM and CPU).
- Horizontally (Scale Out): Scale out (increase the number of instances horizontally) to handle more requests.
To increase performance, for example, if your app begins to receive more than 10,000 requests per day while on the B1 Basic Plan, upgrade to the S1 Standard Plan.
Step 8: Make Your App Secure
Even though security is already in place, there is still a need for improvement:
- SSL certificates can be added under App Service → TLS/SSL Settings.
- Activate authentication for Azure AD, Facebook, and Google.
- Use Managed Identity to provide secure database connections.
Step 9: Keep an eye on things and fix any issues
You can easily monitor your application with the help of Azure features. Azure offers a wide range of monitoring-related functionality:
- App Insights features→ for performance, faults, and real-time telemetry.
- Logs => You can easily examine your app and server logs and identify where any issues occurred in production or other environments.
- Metrics: In Azure, you can also analyze the traffic and performance of your application by watching CPU, memory, and response time graphs.
This helps you diagnose performance issues easily.
Step 10: Learn about the prices.
There are several Azure App Service plans available:
| Plan | Description | Ideal For |
|---|---|---|
| Free Plan (F1) | Testing is ideal when you have minimal resources. | Beginners and demonstrations |
| Basic (B1, B2) | Dedicated resources | small-scale industrial applications |
| Standard (S1, S2, S3) | Backups on a daily basis and scaling automatically | Medium-sized production |
| Premium (P1V2, P2V2) | Better performance and manufacturing offers increased efficiency and a solitary setting. | Enterprise apps |
Don’t pay for more than you need; start free and scale up as your needs grow.
Finally, what is the benefit of using Azure App Service?
Azure App Service allows modern web applications to be hosted in the cloud quickly and easily.
It includes all of the features that developers require for a successful launch, including security, scalability, and CI/CD.
Briefly:
- Deploy within a few minutes
- There is no server administration
- Scalability and security are built-in features.
- Affordable cloud computing
If you’re developing a web application and don’t want to worry about infrastructure, start with Azure App Service.
