{"id":88516,"date":"2023-03-20T13:10:53","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T13:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/?p=4051269"},"modified":"2023-03-20T13:10:53","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T13:10:53","slug":"running-wordpress-on-azure-for-secure-fast-and-global-content-delivery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cloudnewshub.com\/?p=88516","title":{"rendered":"Running WordPress on Azure for secure, fast and global content delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Learn about Microsoft’s WordPress on Azure App Service, as well as an interesting alternative from WP Engine. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Image: Hugo Baeta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Twenty years old this year, WordPress remains one of the most popular content management tools.<\/p>\n

Running a WordPress instance requires a web server and a database, an ideal combination for moving to a virtual infrastructure running in the cloud, either using platform services or bringing your own infrastructure. Bringing your own WordPress installation to Azure still requires managing and patching the underlying OS and the CMS application, as you\u2019re treating Azure as just another host for virtual machines. Yes, it\u2019s an approach that simplifies lifting and shifting existing services from on-premises or from traditional hosting providers, but you\u2019re not really getting the benefits that come with using a hyperscale cloud platform.<\/p>\n

Jump to:<\/p>\n

Finding WordPress for Azure<\/h2>\n

If you take a look at the Azure Marketplace, you\u2019ll see many options for running WordPress, from basic installs to complete managed environments, including customized versions. There are many choices, and it can be difficult to pick an option \u2014 especially when many offer similar features at similar prices.<\/p>\n

WordPress is, at heart, a Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) application, and you should remember that the only supported PHP on Azure is the one running on Azure App Service for Linux. If you\u2019re running your own or a third-party WordPress on Azure, you should ensure that it\u2019s either running on Azure App Service or that your WordPress vendor is providing PHP support for you.<\/p>\n

Microsoft now has its own managed WordPress<\/h2>\n

One option is Microsoft\u2019s own offering,WordPress on Azure App Service<\/a>. This is a managed WordPress, running on the familiar Azure App Service and using Microsoft\u2019s MySQL flexible server service for your content and data. Microsoft has tuned its WordPress installation for Azure, building on App Service\u2019s Linux hosting option. It\u2019s also an open-source project with the tools needed to configure and create an instance hosted on GitHub. The project\u2019s GitHub repository<\/a> contains links to documentation showing the default settings and providing details on what you can change.<\/p>\n

As the service is managed, Microsoft handles security patching for you, ensuring that your Content Management System (CMS) is up to date and reducing the risks associated with running WordPress. There\u2019s no need to schedule maintenance, as Microsoft will spin up a new instance, connect it to your content storage and database and then switch away from the old instance.<\/p>\n

Using WordPress on Azure App Service<\/h2>\n

Microsoft built its WordPress solution to take advantage of Azure best practices. The WordPress application runs in a separate virtual network from the database and backup storage, using a local Redis cache to speed up content delivery. The whole service sits behind an Azure Front Door security appliance, with static content served from Azure Blob storage. Usefully, Front Door is configured to work with the Azure Content Delivery Network, so that static content is cached near the edge of the network, with endpoints in many more places than there are Azure regions.<\/p>\n