Emmanuel Banjo

Posted on May 2

How I Set Up Azure Storage for My First Public Website

#azure #microsoft #cloud #website

Introduction

I needed a place to store images and files for a website project. Azure Blob Storage turned out to be perfect. it's basically a file system in the cloud that anyone can access via a URL.
This guide shows you exactly how to set it up, make files publicly accessible, and add some safety features so you don't lose your work if something gets deleted.

Create the Storage Account

Search for Storage accounts in Azure Portal
Click + Create
Create a new resource group (name it something like website-storage)
Name your storage account publicwebsite plus some numbers (like publicwebsite2024)
Click Review then Create
Wait for deployment, then click Go to resource

Set Up High Availability

This makes sure your files are backed up in multiple locations.

Go to Data management → Redundancy
Select Read-access geo-redundant storage You'll see two locations: primary and secondary Now if one region goes down, your files are still available. Cool, right?

Allow Public Access

By default, storage is locked down. We need to open it up for public website files.

Go to Settings → Configuration
Turn on Allow Blob anonymous access
Click Save

Create Your Container

Containers are like folders that hold your files.

Go to Data storage → Containers
Click + Container
Name it public
Click Create

Make Files Publicly Accessible

Click on your public container
Click Change access level
Select Blob (anonymous read access for blobs only)
Click OK

Now anyone with the URL can view your files!

Upload and Test a File

In your container, click Upload
Choose any image or text file
Click Upload
After upload, click on your file
Copy the URL from the Overview tab
Paste it in a new browser tab If you see your file, it worked! 🎉

Set Up Soft Delete (The Undo Button)

This is like having a recycle bin. If you accidentally delete something, you can get it back for 21 days.

Go back to your storage account overview
Find Properties → Blob service section
Click Blob soft delete
Check Enable soft delete for blobs
Set it to 21 days
Click Save

Testing Soft Delete

Go to your container
Select a file and click Delete
Toggle Show deleted blobs (top right)
Select the deleted file
Click the three dots and choose Undelete

Your file is back!

Enable Versioning

This keeps a history of your file changes, like version control for your files.

Back in storage account Properties
Find Blob service → Versioning
Check Enable versioning for blobs
Click Save

Now when you upload a new version of a file, the old one is saved automatically.

You just set up cloud storage that's accessible from anywhere on the internet. This is the same technology that powers file hosting for major websites and apps.

One Important Warning
Since you made this publicly accessible, never upload sensitive information. Anything you put here can be accessed by anyone with the URL. No passwords, no private data, no confidential documents.

Got stuck anywhere? Drop a comment and I'll help you out. We're all figuring this stuff out together! Please like and share!!!