A new dawn. Microsoft has announced that it is now possible to host static websites using Azure Storage, the preview of the facility has been available since earlier this year.
With this launch, Microsoft is now able to compete with existing static site hosting solutions from competitors like Google Cloud Platform and Firebase.
The Redmond based technology firm has now deployed this service to all Azure public cloud regions, allowing developers a new way to get static sites online — which as you can imagine is made up of files that remain unchanged – think HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
As opposed to dynamic sites that run on servers that generate the content of a page at every visit.
This is great for users that want to use Azure Storage as a way to get their frontend-only web app online, which are simpler to host as all you need is a place to put your files and making them visible on the web.
To do this, all you need is the Azure Blob Storage container.
There is a new static website section within the Azure Portal now that can get you up and running with a single toggle button to enable the static site hosting on your cloud account. Once turned on, you can upload your website using existing Azure storage management app.
If you use Visual Studio Code, you can upload directly from that program, which will automatically detect your new Azure container.
Since this is service designed for relatively light workflows, you don’t get too many customization options, though there is the ability to set the default 404 error handler as well as the default document name. The Azure CDN service can also be used for more advanced routing for your website.
As for pricing, you only need to pay regular Azure Storage charges, which can be as low as $0.50 a month if all you want to do is store 1GB of files and 10GB of data.
Smaller websites can be hosted for even less.
