We are thrilled to announce that WordPress on Azure App Service, which was running on Public Preview since 15 February 2022, has been made Generally Available on 8 August 2022. To read the Public Preview Announcement read the blog post on The new and better ‘WordPress on App Service’ - Microsoft Tech Community.
You can start creating your next WordPress website directly from the Azure Portal at Create WordPress on App Service - Microsoft Azure or go to QuickStart: Create a WordPress site - Azure App Service | Microsoft Docs for a guide on how to get started.
During the public preview, we had numerous interactions with WordPress developers who contacted us via email and public forums. We have made significant improvements and changes based on their feedback.
So, what has changed?
- Performance
With great performance, comes great user experience! We have continued to work on improving performance so that you can connect and engage with your audience better.
With up-to-date versions of PHP, Nginx, and WordPress, and features like image compression, in built caching, high performant infrastructure, CDN integration, external storage in Azure BLOB storage, and MySQL flexible servers, we have reached optimum performance levels.
- Linux as the default option
When it comes to WordPress hosting, Linux is the preferred OS by developers. We have set the default OS to Linux. PHP on Windows will not be officially supported on App Service Platform after November 25, 2022. You can go through the details here.
While you can still create a Windows server, but we recommend you use Linux to avoid migrating your app in the future. The Windows option will be deprecated and no longer be available by November 25, 2022.
- CDN
While creating a new WordPress on App Service Instance, you have the option to opt for CDN in the advanced tab. If you opt for the CDN option, your WordPress website will be automatically configured with Azure CDN. The benefits include:
- Higher Performance: Azure CDN helps in achieving higher performance by delivering content to users faster and by decreasing load on the server.
- Higher availability and scalability: Azure CDN improves availability and scalability by replicating content across a large number of servers around the world.
- Higher security: Azure CDN provides additional security through features like customized domain HTTPS and DDoS mitigation.
We highly recommend that you opt for CDN while creating your WordPress on Azure App Service instance.
- BLOB Storage
Like CDN, you also get an option to enable Azure Blob Storage while creating a new WordPress on Azure App Service instance. BLOB storage serves static content directly to the browser, thereby reducing load on your web server.
Note that you can use either one of CDN or BLOB storage.
- Revised Hosting plans
There were four hosting plans originally during the public preview. We have revised it to three as follows:
|
Hosting Plan
|
WebApp Server
|
Database Server
|
|
Basic
|
B1
(1 vCores, 1.75 GB RAM, 10 GB Storage)
|
Burstable, B1ms
(1 vCores, 2 GiB RAM, 32 GiB storage, 400 IOPS)
|
|
Standard
|
P1V2
(1 vCores, 3.5 GB RAM, 250 GB Storage)
|
General Purpose, D2ds_v4
(2 vCores, 8 GiB RAM, 128 GiB storage, 700 IOPS)
|
|
Premium
|
P1V3
(2 vCores, 8 GB RAM, 250 GB Storage)
|
Memory Optimized, Standard_E4ds_v4
(2 vCores, 16 GiB RAM, 256 GiB storage, 1100 IOPS)
|
- Easy WordPress configuration: We have added the option to choose the language of the WordPress website with other easy configuration options available since public preview.
- MySQL Flexible Servers: We are now using MySQL Flexible servers which provide greater control over the database. Go to Overview - Azure Database for MySQL - Flexible Server | Microsoft Docs for more information.
- phpMyAdmin: phpMyAdmin is the preferred tool to administer and manage MySQL over the web. We have added phpMyAdmin to WordPress on Azure App Service. Access phpMyAdmin by visiting https://<your site URL>/phpMyAdmin
Start your WordPress website today at Create WordPress on App Service - Microsoft Azure. Please comment on this post and let us know what you think. You can also provide your reviews at Microsoft Azure Marketplace.
We will continue to deliver on our promise of empowering every WordPress developer to achieve more. If you have ideas about how we can do this better, you could post your ideas on Post idea · Community (azure.com) or you could email us at wordpressonazure@microsoft.com to start a conversation.
