Web Deploy (Web Deployment Tool) is a Microsoft tool that
significantly simplifies the migration, management, and deployment of
your websites and web applications. More precisely, you can write a code
in your local environment, for example, in Visual Studio® (IDE) or
WebMatrix® (development tool), and then periodically publish the
updates to your production server by means of Web Deploy.
Differences Between Visual Studio® and WebMatrix®
If you are looking for an environment that allows you to seamlessly
publish code updates to your account, it is likely you will choose
between Visual Studio® and WebMatrix®.
- Visual Studio® is a classic integrated development environment (IDE)
for writing .NET applications and sites of any scale. It has a
variety of plugins that extend its basic functionality. However, to
run and debug your applications in Visual Studio®, you should perform
extra configuration (such as preparing a database and adjusting
environment settings). Thus, this tool is more suitable for advanced
users. - With WebMatrix® you have a built-in set of application templates and
even working applications (WordPress, Joomla) right out of the box.
If you wish to instantly add an app to your customer account or run
it, you just need to select the app from the list and WebMatrix® will
transparently configure it for you. Moreover, you can promptly find
and subscribe to a hosting plan for your project without leaving
WebMatrix®. Summing up, this tool is suitable even for novice users,
and encourages fast development by providing ready-to-run
applications and templates. The details on how to install and use
WebMatrix® are available at http://www.microsoft.com/web/webmatrix/.
It is up to you to decide which is better for your project.
How to Configure Web Publishing in Visual Studio® and WebMatrix®
To set up web publishing in your environment, you should open the
publishing settings and specify the IP address of your customer account
and the username and password you use to log in to the Customer Panel.
In WebMatrix®, the publishing settings are found in Home >
Publish. You can provide these settings either manually or as an XML
file that Plesk automatically generates. To download the file for a
certain website, click on a corresponding Download link in
Websites & Domains > <domain_name> > Web Deploy Publishing
Settings. The settings are only available if Web Deploy is installed
on the Plesk server and is running. If you do not see these settings,
contact your hosting provider.
To learn more about publication settings in Visual Studio®, see
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