Keywords: Azure origin URL, 403 error, azurewebsites.net URL not working
Please be aware of an important security change on Umbraco Cloud:
What’s changing
The Azure origin URL ({guid}.azurewebsites.net) will no longer be publicly accessible.
New projects are already protected (returning 403).
Existing projects will be enrolled in the coming weeks.
What this means
• Sites will only be accessible via:
The custom domain
The default project.region.umbraco.io URL
• Direct access to the Azure azurewebsites.net URL will be blocked.
If the project.region.umbraco.io URL, for some reason, redirects to the azurewebsites, which is now not accessible, you'll need to restart to fix it.
Why
This is a security measure to prevent bypassing CDN/WAF and direct origin access.
If someone needs access to the origin URL, it will require access via Perimeter VPN or secure VPN (no longer publicly accessible).
If customers report the azurewebsites.net URL not working, this is expected behaviour, not downtime.
Case example:
Before, you could visit any Umbraco Cloud website on a link looking like this: {guid}.azurewebsites.net
From now on, a new website on Umbraco Cloud will be protected by default: https://e20b25cb-3d5f-447c-9049-97433f6402ad.azurewebsites.net/ - returning a 403 error.
If project.region.umbraco.io URL redirects to the Azurewebsites, it will return an error:
The website will only be accessible on the custom hostname and the default project.region.umbraco.io URL.
In the near future, existing projects will also be protected like this.
What if I need to access https://e20b25cb-3d5f-447c-9049-97433f6402ad.azurewebsites.net/ ? Answer: Perimeter VPN
Updated on March, 6th, 2026.