Azure: 10 common mistakes to avoid

Azure is a powerful cloud platform that offers a variety of services and features for developers, businesses, and organizations. However, as with any technology, there are some common mistakes that can lead to suboptimal performance, security issues, or unnecessary costs. In this blog post, we will discuss 10 common mistakes to avoid when deploying to Azure Web App, and how to fix them.

1. Not choosing the right deployment method. Azure Web App supports several deployment methods, such as FTP, Git, GitHub, Azure DevOps, and more. However, not all methods are equally suitable for different scenarios. For example, FTP is a simple and quick way to upload files, but it does not support version control or continuous integration. Git and GitHub are popular choices for source code management and collaboration, but they require additional steps to configure authentication and authorization. Azure DevOps is a comprehensive solution for DevOps practices, but it may be too complex or expensive for some projects. Therefore, you should choose the deployment method that best suits your needs and preferences.
2. Not using app settings and connection strings. App settings and connection strings are key-value pairs that store configuration data for your web app, such as database connection strings, API keys, or feature flags. You can manage them in the Azure portal or through Azure CLI. By using app settings and connection strings, you can avoid hard-coding sensitive or environment-specific information in your code, which can lead to security risks or deployment errors. You can also easily change them without redeploying your web app, which can save time and resources.
3. Not enabling diagnostics logging and monitoring. Diagnostics logging and monitoring are essential tools for troubleshooting and optimizing your web app. You can enable diagnostics logging to capture information about your web app’s activity, such as requests, errors, performance metrics, or custom events. You can view the logs in the Azure portal or stream them to a storage account or an external service. You can also enable monitoring to track the health and performance of your web app, such as CPU usage, memory usage, response time, or availability. You can view the metrics in the Azure portal or set up alerts to notify you when certain conditions are met.
4. Not scaling your web app properly. Scaling your web app is the process of adjusting its resources to meet the demand of your users. Azure Web App offers two types of scaling: vertical and horizontal. Vertical scaling means changing the size of your web app’s plan, which determines the amount of CPU cores, memory, disk space, and other features available for your web app. Horizontal scaling means changing the number of instances of your web app’s plan, which determines how many copies of your web app run simultaneously. You can scale your web app manually or automatically based on predefined rules or metrics. By scaling your web app properly, you can improve its performance and availability, as well as optimize its costs.
5. Not securing your web app adequately. Securing your web app is a crucial aspect of ensuring its reliability and integrity. Azure Web App provides several features and options to help you secure your web app, such as HTTPS enforcement, SSL certificates, authentication and authorization, firewall rules, IP restrictions, CORS settings, and more. By using these features and options correctly, you can protect your web app from unauthorized access, data breaches, malicious attacks, or cross-site scripting.
6. Not optimizing your web app’s performance. Optimizing your web app’s performance is a key factor in providing a fast and smooth user experience. Azure Web App offers several features and options to help you optimize your web app’s performance, such as caching, compression, minification, bundling, CDN integration, and more. By using these features and options effectively, you can reduce the load time and bandwidth consumption of your web app.
7. Not testing your web app thoroughly. Testing your web app thoroughly is a vital step in ensuring its quality and functionality. Azure Web App supports several tools and frameworks to help you test your web app, such as Visual Studio Test Tools, Selenium, Postman, JMeter, and more. By using these tools and frameworks properly, you can detect and fix bugs, errors, or defects in your web app before deploying it to production.
8. Not updating your web app regularly. Updating your web app regularly is an important practice in maintaining its security and stability. Azure Web App allows you to update your web app easily by using deployment slots, which are isolated environments that run different versions of your web app. You can use deployment slots to test new features or updates in a staging slot before swapping it with the production slot. You can also use deployment slots to roll back to a previous version of your web app in case of any issues.
9. Not backing up your web app frequently. Backing up your web app frequently is a good habit in preventing data loss or corruption. Azure Web App enables you to back up your web app and its associated databases to a storage account or a blob container. You can configure the backup frequency, retention period, and encryption settings. You can also restore your web app from a backup in case of any disasters.
10. Not following the best practices and recommendations. Following the best practices and recommendations is a smart way to avoid common pitfalls and improve your web app’s performance, security, and reliability. Azure Web App provides several resources and guides to help you follow the best practices and recommendations, such as the Azure App Service documentation, the Azure Web App Advisor, the Azure Web App Troubleshooter, and the Azure Web App Blog.

By avoiding these 10 common mistakes, you can deploy your web app to Azure Web App with confidence and ease. We hope this blog post has been helpful and informative for you. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below.