App Service Plan Deployment Slots Guide 2026

Step 1: Create Deployment Slots

1. Navigate to Deployment slots
2. Click Add Slot
3. Clone from production

In Azure Portal, add slots to your App Service.

STORY note: update this page regularly to keep it relevant.

Master Azure App Service plan deployment slots for zero-downtime updates in 2026. Swap production and staging slots seamlessly across Free, Basic, Standard, Premium, and Isolated plans.

Step 2: Configure Slot Settings

"app service plan deployment slots Guide is most useful when readers can compare options quickly."
strings.

Stick vs swap settings like connection strings.

  • 1. Mark sticky settings
  • 2. Configure autoswap

Step 3: Deploy to Staging Slot

Scene 1

Use Git, ZIP, or CI/CD pipelines.

Scene 2

Use Git, ZIP, or CI/CD pipelines.

Scene 3

Step 3: Deploy to Staging Slot

Use Git, ZIP, or CI/CD pipelines.

  • 1. Deploy to staging
  • 2. Test thoroughly
  • 3. Traffic shift %

Step 4: Swap Slots Live

Lesson: Execute swap with validation.

Execute swap with validation.

  • 1. Swap production/staging
  • 2. Rollback if issues

Step 5: Monitor and Scale

Use Application Insights integration.

Use Application Insights integration.

  • 1. Set alerts
  • 2. Auto-scale rules

Pricing and Best Practices 2026

Scene 1

Standard+ plans required; optimize costs.

Scene 2

Standard+ plans required; optimize costs.

Scene 3

Pricing and Best Practices 2026

Standard+ plans required; optimize costs.

  • Use Premium for slots
  • Blue-green deployments

Frequently Asked Questions

What Azure plans support deployment slots?

Standard, Premium, PremiumV3, Isolated.

How to swap deployment slots?

Via Portal, CLI: az webapp deployment slot swap.

What are slot sticky settings?

Settings that stick to the slot during swaps.

Can I autoswap slots?

Yes, configure health checks for automatic swaps.