Proposed Pull Request Change

📄 Document Links

View on GitHub View on Microsoft Learn

--- title: Static website hosting in Azure Storage description: Azure Storage static website hosting, providing a cost-effective, scalable solution for hosting modern web applications. author: stevenmatthew ms.service: azure-blob-storage ms.topic: how-to ms.author: shaas ms.reviewer: dineshm ms.date: 02/12/2025 # Customer intent: "As a web developer, I want to host a static website using cloud storage, so that I can efficiently serve content without the need for a traditional web server while maintaining scalability and performance." --- # Static website hosting in Azure Storage Azure Blob Storage is ideal for storing large amounts of unstructured data such as text, images, and videos. Because blob storage also provides static website hosting support, it's a great option in cases where you don't require a web server to render content. Although you're limited to hosting static content such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and image files, you can use serverless architectures including [Azure Functions](../../azure-functions/functions-overview.md) and other Platform as a service (PaaS) services. [!INCLUDE [static websites vs static web apps](../../../includes/storage-blob-static-website-vs-static-web-app.md)] If you need a web server to render content, you can use [Azure App Service](https://azure.microsoft.com/services/app-service/). ## Prerequisites - An Azure account with an active subscription. [Create an account for free](https://azure.microsoft.com/). - An Azure storage account resource. To learn how to create a storage account, see [Create an Azure storage account](../common/storage-account-create.md). ## Setting up a static website Static website hosting functionality is configured within a storage account and isn't enabled by default. To enable static website hosting, select a storage account. In the left navigation pane, select **Static website** from the **Data management** group, and then select **Enabled**. Provide a name for your *Index document name*. You can optionally provide a path to a custom 404 page. Finally, select **Save** to save your configuration changes. :::image type="content" source="media/storage-blob-static-website/storage-blob-static-website-enable-sml.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing the locations used to enable static website hosting on a storage account." lightbox="media/storage-blob-static-website/storage-blob-static-website-enable-lrg.png"::: A blob storage container named **$web** is created for you within the storage account if it doesn't already exist. Add your website's files to the **$web** container to make them accessible through the static website's primary endpoint. :::image type="content" source="media/storage-blob-static-website/storage-blob-static-website-blob-container-sml.png" alt-text="Screenshot showing how to enable static website hosting on a storage account using a blob storage container." lightbox="media/storage-blob-static-website/storage-blob-static-website-blob-container-lrg.png"::: Files in the **$web** container are case-sensitive, served through anonymous access requests and are available only through read operations. For step-by-step guidance, see [Host a static website in Azure Storage](storage-blob-static-website-how-to.md). ## Uploading content You can use any of these tools to upload content to the **$web** container: > [!div class="checklist"] > - [Azure CLI](storage-blob-static-website-how-to.md?tabs=azure-cli) > - [Azure PowerShell module](storage-blob-static-website-how-to.md?tabs=azure-powershell) > - [AzCopy](../common/storage-use-azcopy-v10.md) > - [Azure Storage Explorer](https://azure.microsoft.com/features/storage-explorer/) > - [Azure portal](storage-blob-static-website-how-to.md?tabs=azure-portal#upload-files) > - [Azure Pipelines](https://azure.microsoft.com/services/devops/pipelines/) > - [Visual Studio Code extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-azuretools.vscode-azurefunctions) and [Channel 9 video demonstration](/Shows/Docs-Azure/Deploy-static-website-to-Azure-from-Visual-Studio-Code/player) ## Viewing content Users can view site content from a browser by using the public URL of the website. You can find the URL by using the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or PowerShell. See [Find the website URL](storage-blob-static-website-how-to.md#portal-find-url). The index document that you specify when you enable static website hosting appears when users open the site and don't specify a specific file (For example: `https://contosostaticsite.z22.web.core.windows.net`). If the server returns a 404 error, and you haven't specified an error document when you enabled the website, then a default 404 page is returned to the user. > [!NOTE] > [Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) support for Azure Storage](/rest/api/storageservices/cross-origin-resource-sharing--cors--support-for-the-azure-storage-services) is not supported with static website. ### Secondary endpoints If you set up [redundancy in a secondary region](../common/storage-redundancy.md#redundancy-in-a-secondary-region), you can also access website content by using a secondary endpoint. Data is replicated to secondary regions asynchronously. Therefore, the files that are available at the secondary endpoint aren't always in sync with the files that are available on the primary endpoint. ## Impact of setting the access level on the web container You can modify the anonymous access level of the **$web** container, but making this modification has no impact on the primary static website endpoint because these files are served through anonymous access requests. That means public (read-only) access to all files. While the primary static website endpoint isn't affected, a change to the anonymous access level does impact the primary blob service endpoint. For example, if you change the anonymous access level of the **$web** container from **Private (no anonymous access)** to **Blob (anonymous read access for blobs only)**, then the level of anonymous access to the primary static website endpoint `https://contosostaticsite.z22.web.core.windows.net/index.html` doesn't change. However, anonymous access to the primary blob service endpoint `https://contosostaticsite.blob.core.windows.net/$web/index.html` does change, enabling users to open that file by using either of these two endpoints. Disabling anonymous access on a storage account by using the [anonymous access setting](anonymous-read-access-prevent.md#set-the-storage-accounts-allowblobpublicaccess-property-to-false) of the storage account doesn't affect static websites that are hosted in that storage account. For more information, see [Remediate anonymous read access to blob data (Azure Resource Manager deployments)](anonymous-read-access-prevent.md). ## Mapping a custom domain to a static website URL You can make your static website available via a custom domain. It's easier to enable HTTP access for your custom domain, because Azure Storage natively supports it. To enable HTTPS, you'll have to use Azure CDN because Azure Storage doesn't yet natively support HTTPS with custom domains. see [Map a custom domain to an Azure Blob Storage endpoint](storage-custom-domain-name.md) for step-by-step guidance. If the storage account is configured to [require secure transfer](../common/storage-require-secure-transfer.md) over HTTPS, then users must use the HTTPS endpoint. > [!TIP] > Consider hosting your domain on Azure. For more information, see [Host your domain in Azure DNS](../../dns/dns-delegate-domain-azure-dns.md). ## Adding HTTP headers There's no way to configure headers as part of the static website feature. However, you can use Azure CDN to add headers and append (or overwrite) header values. See [Standard rules engine reference for Azure CDN](../../cdn/cdn-standard-rules-engine-reference.md). If you want to use headers to control caching, see [Control Azure CDN caching behavior with caching rules](../../cdn/cdn-caching-rules.md). ## Multi-region website hosting If you plan to host a website in multiple geographies, we recommend that you use a [Content Delivery Network](../../cdn/index.yml) for regional caching. Use [Azure Front Door](../../frontdoor/index.yml) if you want to serve different content in each region. It also provides failover capabilities. [Azure Traffic Manager](../../traffic-manager/index.yml) isn't recommended if you plan to use a custom domain. Issues can arise because of how Azure Storage verifies custom domain names. ## Permissions The permission to be able to enable static website is Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/blobServices/write or shared key. Built in roles that provide this access include Storage Account Contributor. ## Pricing You can enable static website hosting free of charge. You're billed only for the blob storage that your site utilizes and operations costs. For more details on prices for Azure Blob Storage, check out the [Azure Blob Storage Pricing Page](https://azure.microsoft.com/pricing/details/storage/blobs/). ## Metrics You can enable metrics on static website pages. Once you've enabled metrics, traffic statistics on files in the **$web** container are reported in the metrics dashboard. To enable metrics on your static website pages, see [Enable metrics on static website pages](storage-blob-static-website-how-to.md#metrics). ## Feature support [!INCLUDE [Blob Storage feature support in Azure Storage accounts](../../../includes/azure-storage-feature-support.md)] ## Frequently asked questions (FAQ) ##### Does the Azure Storage firewall work with a static website? Yes. Storage account [network security rules](../common/storage-network-security.md), including IP-based and VNET firewalls, are supported for the static website endpoint, and may be used to protect your website. <a name='do-static-websites-support-azure-active-directory-azure-ad'></a> ##### Do static websites support Microsoft Entra ID? No. A static website only supports anonymous read access for files in the **$web** container. ##### How do I use a custom domain with a static website? You can configure a [custom domain](./static-website-content-delivery-network.md) with a static website by using [Azure Content Delivery Network (Azure CDN)](./storage-custom-domain-name.md#map-a-custom-domain-with-https-enabled). Azure CDN provides consistent low latencies to your website from anywhere in the world. ##### How do I use a custom Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate with a static website? You can configure a [custom SSL](./static-website-content-delivery-network.md) certificate with a static website by using [Azure CDN](./storage-custom-domain-name.md#map-a-custom-domain-with-https-enabled). Azure CDN provides consistent low latencies to your website from anywhere in the world. ##### How do I add custom headers and rules with a static website? You can configure the host header for a static website by using [Azure CDN rules engine](../../cdn/cdn-verizon-premium-rules-engine.md). We'd be interested to hear your feedback [here](https://feedback.azure.com/d365community/idea/694b08ef-3525-ec11-b6e6-000d3a4f0f84). ##### Why am I getting an HTTP 404 error from a static website? A 404 error can happen if you refer to a file name by using an incorrect case. For example: `Index.html` instead of `index.html`. File names and extensions in the url of a static website are case-sensitive even though they're served over HTTP. This can also happen if your Azure CDN endpoint isn't yet provisioned. Wait up to 90 minutes after you provision a new Azure CDN for the propagation to complete. ##### Why isn't the root directory of the website not redirecting to the default index page? In the Azure portal, open the static website configuration page of your account and locate the name and extension that is set in the **Index document name** field. Ensure that this name is exactly the same as the name of the file located in the **$web** container of the storage account. File names and extensions in the url of a static website are case-sensitive even though they're served over HTTP. ##### Why am I unable to access static websites in a storage account when a private endpoint is enabled for the blob in the storage account? Enabling a private endpoint for blobs in a storage account restricts access to that storage account to only resources within the same virtual network. Consequently, this restriction prevents external access to the static website hosted in the storage account, making the static website content inaccessible. The private endpoint configuration limits access to all storage account resources, including the static website content, to resources within the same virtual network where the private endpoint is enabled. The resolution would be to create a private endpoint specifically for the web. The static website needs a dedicated private end point for the $web domain. ## Next steps - [Host a static website in Azure Storage](storage-blob-static-website-how-to.md) - [Map a custom domain to an Azure Blob Storage endpoint](storage-custom-domain-name.md) - [Azure Functions](../../azure-functions/functions-overview.md) - [Azure App Service](../../app-service/overview.md) - [Build your first serverless web app](/samples/azure-samples/azure-opensource-labs/azure-opensource-labs/) - [Tutorial: Host your domain in Azure DNS](../../dns/dns-delegate-domain-azure-dns.md)