AWS architecture diagram for a web application

Request path through a three-tier AWS web app

A worked example to adapt. Rename steps, add branches and owners to match how your team actually works.

flowchart TD
  u(["Users (browser or mobile)"])
  r53["Route 53 DNS"]
  cf["CloudFront CDN"]
  s3[("S3: static assets")]
  alb["Application Load Balancer"]
  app["App tier: ECS or EC2 auto scaling group"]
  cache[("ElastiCache (Redis)")]
  db[("RDS PostgreSQL, Multi-AZ")]
  mon["CloudWatch logs and alarms"]
  u --> r53
  r53 --> cf
  cf -->|static| s3
  cf -->|dynamic| alb
  alb --> app
  app --> cache
  app --> db
  app --> mon

About this aws architecture for a web app

Most production web apps on AWS share a shape: requests resolve through Route 53, static content is served from S3 through CloudFront, and dynamic requests go through a load balancer to an auto-scaling app tier backed by a managed database and cache.

The diagram shows the request path. A full architecture diagram usually adds the VPC, public and private subnets, availability zones and security groups; add them to your version once the basic flow is right.

Step by step

1. Edge. Route 53 resolves the domain; CloudFront caches static files from S3 and forwards dynamic requests.
2. Load balancing. An Application Load Balancer spreads requests across healthy app instances or containers.
3. App tier. Containers on ECS or EC2 instances in an auto scaling group, ideally in private subnets across availability zones.
4. Data. RDS (Multi-AZ for failover) holds relational data; ElastiCache reduces database load for hot reads.
5. Observability. CloudWatch collects logs and metrics and raises alarms.

How to make it in flow-chart.io

1. Start from the example. Edit the text in the generator box above so it names your own AWS services and network layout, then press Generate. The free preview needs no sign-up.
2. Add the branches. Add the decision points that matter for you, for example a queue (SQS) for background jobs or a WAF in front of CloudFront. Each decision becomes a diamond with labeled outcomes.
3. Assign owners. Save the diagram to the editor (free account) and rename steps to show who does what: VPC, subnets and availability zones as groups.
4. Share or export. Share a read-only view link: people with the link can view the diagram but not edit it. Downloads as PNG, SVG or PDF are part of Flow Pro (see pricing).

Tips

• Draw availability zones as groups; reviewers check redundancy first.
• Keep the request path left-to-right or top-to-bottom, and data stores at the end.
• Label connections with protocols or ports when the diagram is for a security review.

Frequently asked questions

What should an AWS architecture diagram show?

The services, how requests flow between them, network boundaries (VPC, subnets, availability zones) and where data is stored.

Is this architecture right for my app?

It is a common starting point, not a recommendation for every workload. Traffic patterns, compliance needs and budget change the design; the AWS Well-Architected Framework is a good checklist for reviewing it.

Can I generate a serverless version?

Yes. Describe API Gateway, Lambda and DynamoDB in the generator box instead of the load balancer and app tier.

Related