Dear Microsoft, Please Include Web Deployment Projects in Visual Studio 2012

Microsoft Web Deployment projects are an easy way to add a MSBUILD scripting to your Visual Studio web projects. I use them all the time for personal deployment projects and at work so do all my team members. With the upcoming release of Visual Studio 2012 there is currently no Web Deployment project type. Luckily there is something we can try and do about it – Let Microsoft know.

If you hadn’t noticed, I love Continuous Integration. CI makes up so much of an important part of my development flow that I don’t deploy any other way anymore. It’s a matter of religion for me.

My personal projects are deployed through TeamCity, Web Deployment projects and Git.

My works projects are deployed through TeamCity, Web Deployment projects and SVN.

Some of my private clients are deployed through Bamboo, Web Deployment projects and Mercurial.

I simply love Web Deployment projects and the power they make available to you – MSDeploy is great, but is a very specialised tool for deploying over Http.

Web Deployment projects on the other hand allow you to script anything using MSBUILD scripting and integrate it into your build process.

Visual Studio 2012 Web Deployment Projects – An Unknown

In Visual Studio 2010 Web Deployment projects were not included in the standard install. They were available as an aftermarket download.

Currently the Visual Studio 2012 RC doesn’t have the Web Deployment project type included either.

What is more unsure is whether Microsoft are actually going to build the add-on anytime at all.

There is the possibility that if they don’t think it is used by many developers that Microsoft simply won’t be creating one. (!!!!!)

Have your say!

If you visit the link below to vote for Web Deployment Projects to be included in the new version of Visual Studio 2012.

Vote for Web Deployment projects!