[Azure] How to host an affordable blog

This post is about hosting a Web site on Azure using its App Service, VMs and Go Daddy’s domain.

Well, of course, the first thing that I am going to share is how to create a blog by yourself! The prerequisite for this is an Azure account, and a domain name (Azure will has its custom domain for you if you don’t mind using an azurewebsites.net domain) There are just four steps to get there

Step 1: Create an Azure App Service

It’s a pretty easy and is broadly seen topic in the web, you can get a full tutorial from azure site: Create a WordPress Web App

Step 2: Set up a MySQL Database

I think it’s the most trouble step while doing this, since Azure only support ClearDB now for the default use of MySQL. So if you want to build your own MySQL DB engine for this purpose and for other use, it will take you for a while to configure it. Luckily, I found this great tutorial online, so it does save me lots of time (Configuring mysql server on Ubuntu in Azure).

Step 3: Set up a custom domain

Guess what, there’s also an official document talking about this (Configure a custom domain name in Azure App Service) The only thing I’m going to mention here is that you need to config your web sites in to at least a shared mode, so it will have this function enabled.

Step 4: Calculate your fee

Here’s a super sweet tools for you to easily see how much you will consume in the services you operate. Azure Pricing Calculator

It’s only cost me $23.06/month total for a professional blog, and you are able to manage your work load and computing powers on demand. How sweet is it?