Deploy a CMS Site to Optimizely Cloud

Why this matters

Getting your first deployment right sets the foundation for your entire development workflow. A clean initial setup means predictable builds, reliable promotions, and confidence that what you test is what your users see.

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Step 1: Connect your repository

Optimizely Cloud builds code directly from a Git repository. You need to connect your project’s repository to the cloud platform.

1. Log into the Optimizely Cloud management portal
2. Navigate to your project
3. Go to Settings > Repository
4. Copy the Git remote URL provided by the portal
5. Add it as a remote in your local repository:

git remote add opti <repository-url-from-portal>

6. Push your code to the Integration branch:

git push opti main:develop

The platform automatically detects the push and starts a build.

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Step 2: Verify the build

After pushing, monitor the build process in the management portal.

1. Navigate to Deployments in the portal
2. Watch the build log for errors
3. A successful build shows a green status and logs ending with “Deployment completed”

If the build fails, check for:

• Missing NuGet packages — Ensure nuget.config references all required feeds
• Compilation errors — Fix locally, commit, and push again
• Timeout — Large solutions may need build configuration adjustments

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Step 3: Configure environment variables

Before your application runs correctly, set the environment-specific configuration.

1. In the management portal, go to Settings > Environment Variables
2. Select the Integration environment
3. Add required variables:

Variable	Purpose	Example
ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT	Runtime environment	Integration
ConnectionStrings__EPiServerDB	CMS database	Auto-configured
Optimizely__Cdn__Enabled	CDN toggle	true

4. Click Save and redeploy for changes to take effect

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Step 4: Configure custom domains (optional)

If you want a custom domain instead of the default *.optimizely.cloud hostname:

1. Go to Settings > Domains
2. Click Add Domain
3. Enter your domain name (e.g., www.example.com)
4. Create a CNAME record pointing your domain to the provided target
5. Wait for DNS propagation (up to 24 hours)
6. The platform provisions an SSL certificate automatically

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Step 5: Validate your deployment

Once the Integration deployment succeeds:

1. Open the Integration URL from the portal dashboard
2. Verify the site loads correctly
3. Log into the CMS admin interface (/episerver/cms)
4. Confirm content types are registered
5. Create a test page and publish it
6. Verify the published page renders on the front end

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Step 6: Promote to Preproduction

When Integration is validated, promote to Preproduction:

1. In the portal, navigate to Deployments
2. Find the successful Integration deployment
3. Click Deploy to Preproduction
4. Monitor the deployment log
5. Validate the Preproduction environment using the same checks from Step 5

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Step 7: Go live to Production

After Preproduction validation:

1. Click Deploy to Production in the portal
2. Monitor the zero-downtime deployment
3. Verify the Production site with your custom domain
4. Check health metrics in the monitoring dashboard

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Troubleshooting first deployments

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Build fails with NuGet errors	Missing package feed	Add Optimizely feed to nuget.config
Site starts but shows errors	Missing environment variables	Configure connection strings in portal
502 Bad Gateway	Application crash on startup	Check deployment logs for exceptions
CSS/JS not loading	Static file middleware not configured	Ensure UseStaticFiles() is called
CMS admin login fails	Admin account not seeded	Run initialization on first startup

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Related resources

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