Azure Static Web Apps service is available now

The Azure Static Web Apps hosting service is finally generally available after being put into preview way back in May 2020. There will be a free plan as well as a standard plan.

As a turnkey service, Azure Static Web Apps is designed to help developers focus on their apps while Azure handles tasks such as infrastructure management and deployment. The service is designed with lots of productivity-focused features, which Microsoft outlines in its blog. The features include:

• Globally distributed content for production apps
• Tailored CI/CD workflows from code to cloud
• Auto-provisioned preview environments
• Custom domain configuration and free SSL certificates
• Built-in access to a variety of authentication providers
• Route-based authorization
• Custom routing
• Integration with serverless APIs powered by Azure Functions
• A custom Visual Studio Code developer extension
• A feature-rich CLI for local development

There are a lot of technical details in Microsoft’s blog post outlining the ins and outs of how Azure Static Web Apps works, but the short summary is: It simplifies processes and affords developers new tools for enhanced productivity. It works with GitHub and DevOps to ensure apps stay updated with code changes without the need for DevOps configuration, among other benefits and utilities.

This isn’t the only Azure-related news making the rounds. Azure’s also at the center of a newly enhanced partnership between Mars (the company that makes M&M’s) and Microsoft.