Website deployment setup on Azure (App Service)

Configuring Website Deployment on Azure (App Service)

Azure App Service is a PaaS platform for web applications. Supports Node.js, PHP, Python, .NET, Java. Built-in CI/CD via GitHub Actions, Deployment Slots for staging, autoscaling.

Creating App Service

# Azure CLI
az group create --name myapp-rg --location westeurope

az appservice plan create \
    --name myapp-plan \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --sku B2 \
    --is-linux

az webapp create \
    --name myapp-prod \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --plan myapp-plan \
    --runtime "PHP|8.3"

Configuration via Azure CLI

# Environment variables
az webapp config appsettings set \
    --name myapp-prod \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --settings \
        APP_ENV=production \
        APP_KEY="base64:..." \
        DB_HOST="myserver.postgres.database.azure.com" \
        DB_DATABASE=myapp \
        WEBSITES_PORT=8000

# Connect PostgreSQL
az postgres flexible-server create \
    --name myapp-db \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --location westeurope \
    --sku-name Standard_B1ms \
    --storage-size 32 \
    --admin-user dbadmin \
    --admin-password "$DB_PASSWORD"

Deployment Slots

Deployment Slots are separate environments within one App Service. Perfect for staging:

# Create staging slot
az webapp deployment slot create \
    --name myapp-prod \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --slot staging

# Deploy to staging
az webapp deploy \
    --name myapp-prod \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --slot staging \
    --src-path deployment.zip

# Swap staging → production (instant, zero-downtime)
az webapp deployment slot swap \
    --name myapp-prod \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --slot staging \
    --target-slot production

# Swap Back if something went wrong
az webapp deployment slot swap \
    --name myapp-prod \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --slot production \
    --target-slot staging

GitHub Actions + Azure Web App

# .github/workflows/azure-deploy.yml
name: Deploy to Azure

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup PHP
        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with: { php-version: '8.3' }

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader

      - name: Build frontend
        run: npm ci && npm run build

      - name: Deploy to Azure Web App
        uses: azure/webapps-deploy@v3
        with:
          app-name: myapp-prod
          publish-profile: ${{ secrets.AZURE_WEBAPP_PUBLISH_PROFILE }}
          package: .

Docker Deployment

# Create Azure Container Registry
az acr create \
    --name myappcr \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --sku Basic

# Build and push
az acr build \
    --registry myappcr \
    --image myapp:$GITHUB_SHA \
    .

# Update App Service
az webapp config container set \
    --name myapp-prod \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --container-image-name myappcr.azurecr.io/myapp:$GITHUB_SHA

Autoscaling

az monitor autoscale create \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --resource myapp-plan \
    --resource-type Microsoft.Web/serverfarms \
    --name autoscale-rule \
    --min-count 2 \
    --max-count 10 \
    --count 2

az monitor autoscale rule create \
    --autoscale-name autoscale-rule \
    --resource-group myapp-rg \
    --scale out 2 \
    --condition "Percentage CPU > 75 avg 5m"

Implementation Timeline

• Basic App Service deployment + GitHub Actions: 1–2 days
• Deployment Slots + swap: +1 day
• Terraform for full infrastructure: 3–4 days