Azure App Service is a fully managed PaaS platform for hosting web apps, REST APIs, and mobile backends. Bring your own code (Node.js, Python, .NET, Java) or container. App Service Plan defines the underlying VM (F1 free → P3v3 premium). Deployment slots (staging/production) enable zero-downtime swap deployments. Custom domains, TLS cert management, auto-scaling, built-in load balancing. VNet integration for private backend access.
Choosing the right Azure compute for your workload.
Deploy to staging, run smoke tests, swap to production. The swap is atomic — all traffic instantly routes to new version. Previous version stays in staging for instant rollback. No downtime, no risk.
App Settings are accessible via the Azure portal by anyone with Reader role. Use Key Vault references instead: App Settings value = @Microsoft.KeyVault(SecretUri=https://kv.vault.azure.net/secrets/db-password). Resolved at runtime by managed identity.
App Service Plan pricing: Standard S2 ($150/month, 2 vCPU) vs Premium P2v3 ($120/month, 2 vCPU, faster CPU, 8GB RAM). P-series is often cheaper AND faster. Always start with P1v3 minimum for production.
Sign in to share your feedback and join the discussion.