Static site hosting is a crucial aspect of developing solutions for Microsoft Azure. Whether you are building a simple website or a complex web application, hosting your static content efficiently and securely is essential for optimal performance and user experience. In this article, we will explore how you can implement static site hosting using Azure services.

Step 1: Create an Azure Storage account

To begin, create an Azure Storage account by navigating to the Azure portal. Click on “Create a resource” and search for “Storage account.” Click on “Storage account – blob, file, table, queue” and then click the “Create” button.

Enter a unique name for your storage account and choose the appropriate subscription, resource group, and location. Ensure that the “Account kind” is set to “StorageV2 (general purpose v2).” Leave the other settings as default, and click the “Review + create” button. Finally, click “Create” to create the storage account.

Step 2: Enable static website hosting

After the storage account is created, navigate to the account in the Azure portal. In the left-hand menu, under the “Settings” section, click on “Static website (Preview).” Toggle the option to enable static website hosting.

Provide the name of the index page, for example, “index.html,” and if desired, provide the name for the 404 error page. These pages will be used as the entry point for your website and the error page when a resource is not found. Click the “Save” button to save the changes.

Step 3: Upload your static files

Now, you need to upload your static files to the Azure Storage account. In the storage account overview page, navigate to the “Containers” section and click on the “+ Container” button to create a new container.

Enter a unique name for your container, choose the “Blob” access type, and set the public access level to “Blob (anonymous read access for blobs only).” Click the “Create” button to create the container.

Once the container is created, click on it to navigate inside. Click the “Upload” button to upload your static files, or you can use the Azure Storage Explorer or Azure CLI for bulk uploading. Ensure that your index page (e.g., index.html) and other required files are present in the container.

Step 4: Test your static website

After uploading the static files, navigate back to the “Static website (preview)” section in the storage account settings. There, you will find the primary and secondary endpoints for your static website.

Click on the primary endpoint link to view your static website. Azure Storage automatically provisions a globally unique subdomain for your website, allowing you to access it directly over the internet. Ensure that you see your website correctly rendered in the browser.

Step 5: Custom domain and SSL certificate (optional)

By default, your static website is accessible through the Azure Storage account’s endpoint. However, you might want to use a custom domain for branding purposes. Azure offers the ability to map a custom domain to your static website.

To configure a custom domain, navigate to the storage account settings and click on the “Static website (Preview)” section. In the custom domain panel, enter your custom domain name and follow the instructions provided to configure the DNS settings for your domain.

Additionally, you can enable HTTPS for your custom domain by associating an SSL certificate. Azure Front Door or Azure CDN can be used to achieve this. Refer to the Azure documentation for detailed instructions on configuring a custom domain and SSL certificate.

In conclusion, Azure Storage provides an easy and effective way to host your static websites in Microsoft Azure. By leveraging the static website feature, you can quickly deploy and scale your static content without the need for managing servers. Whether it’s a simple personal website or a complex web application, static site hosting on Azure Storage is a reliable solution.

Remember, this article demonstrated the basic steps involved in implementing static site hosting using Azure Storage. Depending on your requirements, you can explore additional features and services offered by Azure to enhance your static site hosting experience. Happy coding!