Introduction

Angular is a popular front-end framework used for building dynamic web applications. Once you’ve developed your Angular app, deploying it to a cloud platform like Amazon Web Services (AWS) can enhance scalability and accessibility. This guide will walk you through the process of deploying your Angular application on AWS, ensuring it’s accessible and performant.

Prerequisites

Before deploying your Angular app on AWS, ensure you have the following:

• An Angular application ready for deployment.
• An AWS account. If you don’t have one, you can sign up at the AWS website.
• Basic knowledge of the AWS Management Console.
• Node.js and the Angular CLI installed on your local machine.

Step 1: Build Your Angular Application

Before deploying, you need to build your Angular application for production. This optimizes your application and prepares it for deployment.

            

ng build --prod

            

        

This command will create a dist folder with your compiled Angular application. This folder contains all the files you need to deploy.

Step 2: Choose a Deployment Service on AWS

AWS offers multiple services for deploying web applications. For an Angular application, you might consider using:

• Amazon S3 – For hosting static websites.
• AWS Amplify – A comprehensive hosting solution.
• Amazon EC2 – For more control and dynamic sites.

In this guide, we’ll deploy using Amazon S3 and optionally combine it with Amazon CloudFront for global distribution.

Step 3: Deploying to Amazon S3

Amazon S3 is a scalable storage service that’s perfect for hosting static sites like Angular apps.

1. Open the AWS Management Console and navigate to the S3 service.
2. Create a new bucket:

   • Click on “Create bucket”.
   • Enter a unique bucket name.
   • Select a region.
   • Disable “Block all public access” and acknowledge the warning.

3. Upload your app:

   • Click on the newly created bucket.
   • Use the “Upload” button to add the contents of the dist folder.

4. Set up static website hosting:

   • Go to the “Properties” tab.
   • Select “Static website hosting”.
   • Choose “Use this bucket to host a website”.
   • Enter “index.html” as the index document.

5. Make the bucket publicly accessible:

   • In the “Permissions” tab, edit the bucket policy to allow public read access.

Step 4: (Optional) Use Amazon CloudFront

To enhance performance and deliver your app efficiently to global users, you can use Amazon CloudFront, which is a content delivery network (CDN).

• Navigate to the CloudFront service in the AWS Management Console.
• Click “Create Distribution”.
• Select “Web” for the delivery method.
• Enter the S3 bucket URL as the “Origin Domain Name”.
• Set other configurations as needed and create the distribution.
• Wait for the CloudFront distribution status to change to “Deployed”.

Step 5: Monitoring and Maintenance

Once your Angular application is live, ongoing monitoring and maintenance are essential to ensure continued performance and security.

• Use AWS CloudWatch to monitor traffic and performance metrics.
• Regularly update the application to patch security vulnerabilities and add new features.
• Utilize AWS Lambda to automate tasks or manage backend functionality.

Conclusion

Deploying an Angular app on AWS can significantly enhance its reach and reliability. By using services like Amazon S3 and CloudFront, you can efficiently host and distribute your application to a global audience. While this guide provides a comprehensive overview, AWS’s vast infrastructure offers opportunities for further customization and scaling as your app grows. Regular monitoring and updates ensure your application stays secure and performant. With AWS, the possibilities for your Angular application are virtually limitless.