Production Deployment Checklist for ASP.NET Core Print

Pre-Deployment Checklist

Use this checklist before deploying your ASP.NET Core application to production on Plesk Windows hosting.

1. Configuration

• ☐ Set ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT to Production
• ☐ Create appsettings.Production.json with production settings
• ☐ Remove or secure any development endpoints
• ☐ Verify connection strings point to production database
• ☐ Configure proper logging levels (Warning or Error)

2. Security

• ☐ Enable HTTPS redirection
• ☐ Configure HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security)
• ☐ Remove sensitive data from appsettings.json
• ☐ Use environment variables for secrets
• ☐ Enable Data Protection with persistent keys
• ☐ Configure CORS properly (no AllowAnyOrigin)
• ☐ Validate and sanitize all user inputs

3. Performance

• ☐ Enable Response Compression
• ☐ Configure Response Caching where appropriate
• ☐ Minify CSS and JavaScript
• ☐ Optimize images
• ☐ Enable static file caching headers

4. Error Handling

• ☐ Configure custom error pages
• ☐ Disable developer exception page in production
• ☐ Set up global exception handling
• ☐ Configure logging to persistent storage

5. Database

• ☐ Run all pending migrations
• ☐ Backup existing production database
• ☐ Test database connectivity
• ☐ Add TrustServerCertificate=True to connection string

6. Build and Publish

• ☐ Build in Release configuration
• ☐ Run all tests
• ☐ Publish with correct target framework

dotnet publish -c Release -o ./publish

7. Plesk Configuration

• ☐ Set correct .NET Core version in Hosting Settings
• ☐ Set Application Startup File correctly
• ☐ Verify SSL certificate is installed
• ☐ Enable HTTPS redirect
• ☐ Configure Application Pool memory limits

8. Post-Deployment

• ☐ Test all critical functionality
• ☐ Verify forms and user inputs work
• ☐ Check for console errors in browser
• ☐ Monitor application logs for first 24 hours
• ☐ Test on multiple devices/browsers

Essential web.config Settings

<aspNetCore processPath="dotnet"
            arguments=".\YourApp.dll"
            stdoutLogEnabled="false"
            stdoutLogFile=".\logs\stdout"
            hostingModel="inprocess">
  <environmentVariables>
    <environmentVariable name="ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT" value="Production" />
  </environmentVariables>
</aspNetCore>

Rollback Plan

• Keep previous version files backed up
• Document steps to revert database changes
• Know how to quickly switch back in Plesk