Web development is crucial for any business in the digital era. A well-designed and functional website helps you attract customers, showcase products and services, and increase brand awareness. However, web development isn't simple—it requires choosing the right technology stack, framework, and tools to meet your business requirements.
ASP.NET Core is a modern, open-source, cross-platform framework that lets you build high-performance, secure, and scalable web applications using C#, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. As the successor to classic ASP.NET (introduced in 2002), ASP.NET Core isn't just an update—it's a complete redesign that offers numerous advantages.
ASP.NET Core enables you to create web applications and services using C#, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It supports various application types:
It supports various hosting models including Kestrel (built-in web server), IIS, Azure App Service, and Docker containers. Being open-source and cross-platform, it runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, or any operating system supporting .NET Core.
ASP.NET Core is designed for high performance and scalability, delivering better user experiences while reducing operational costs.
You can run ASP.NET Core on any operating system supporting .NET Core. Choose the best platform based on your preferences, budget, or availability:
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:8.0 AS base
WORKDIR /app
EXPOSE 80
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:8.0 AS build
WORKDIR /src
COPY ["MyApp/MyApp.csproj", "MyApp/"]
RUN dotnet restore "MyApp/MyApp.csproj"
COPY . .
WORKDIR "/src/MyApp"
RUN dotnet build "MyApp.csproj" -c Release -o /app/build
FROM build AS publish
RUN dotnet publish "MyApp.csproj" -c Release -o /app/publish
FROM base AS final
WORKDIR /app
COPY --from=publish /app/publish .
ENTRYPOINT ["dotnet", "MyApp.dll"]ASP.NET Core's modular architecture lets you choose only what you need. Use NuGet packages or third-party libraries to add functionality, reducing application size and complexity:
var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
// Add only services you need
builder.Services.AddEndpointsApiExplorer();
builder.Services.AddSwaggerGen();
var app = builder.Build();
if (app.Environment.IsDevelopment())
{
app.UseSwagger();
app.UseSwaggerUI();
}
// Define lightweight endpoints
app.MapGet("/api/products", () =>
{
return new[] { "Product1", "Product2", "Product3" };
});
app.Run();ASP.NET Core supports built-in dependency injection, helping you decouple code and make it more testable and maintainable:
// Register services
builder.Services.AddScoped();
builder.Services.AddScoped();
// Use in controller
public class ProductsController : ControllerBase
{
private readonly IProductService _productService;
// Dependencies injected automatically
public ProductsController(IProductService productService)
{
_productService = productService;
}
[HttpGet]
public async Task GetProducts()
{
var products = await _productService.GetAllAsync();
return Ok(products);
}
} ASP.NET Core provides robust features for building secure and reliable applications.
Built-in support for authentication and authorization with ASP.NET Core Identity:
builder.Services.AddAuthentication(options =>
{
options.DefaultScheme = CookieAuthenticationDefaults.AuthenticationScheme;
options.DefaultChallengeScheme = OpenIdConnectDefaults.AuthenticationScheme;
})
.AddCookie()
.AddOpenIdConnect(options =>
{
options.Authority = "https://login.microsoftonline.com/tenant-id";
options.ClientId = "your-client-id";
options.ClientSecret = "your-client-secret";
});
// Protect routes with attributes
[Authorize]
public class SecureController : ControllerBase
{
[Authorize(Roles = "Admin")]
public IActionResult AdminOnly()
{
return Ok("Admin content");
}
}ASP.NET Core includes data protection APIs for encrypting sensitive information:
builder.Services.AddDataProtection()
.PersistKeysToFileSystem(new DirectoryInfo(@"C:\keys"))
.SetApplicationName("MyApp");
// Use in service
public class SecureService
{
private readonly IDataProtector _protector;
public SecureService(IDataProtectionProvider provider)
{
_protector = provider.CreateProtector("MyApp.SecureService");
}
public string ProtectData(string input)
{
return _protector.Protect(input);
}
public string UnprotectData(string protectedData)
{
return _protector.Unprotect(protectedData);
}
}Monitor application health with built-in health check middleware:
builder.Services.AddHealthChecks()
.AddSqlServer(connectionString)
.AddUrlGroup(new Uri("https://api.example.com/health"))
.AddCheck("Custom", () =>
HealthCheckResult.Healthy("All systems operational"));
app.MapHealthChecks("/health");Razor Pages simplify page-focused scenarios with a streamlined programming model:
public class IndexModel : PageModel
{
private readonly IProductService _productService;
public IndexModel(IProductService productService)
{
_productService = productService;
}
public List Products { get; set; }
public async Task OnGetAsync()
{
Products = await _productService.GetAllAsync();
}
} Modern ORM for database access with LINQ support:
public class AppDbContext : DbContext
{
public DbSet Products { get; set; }
public DbSet Orders { get; set; }
}
// Usage in service
public class ProductService
{
private readonly AppDbContext _context;
public async Task> GetProductsAsync()
{
return await _context.Products
.Where(p => p.IsActive)
.OrderBy(p => p.Name)
.ToListAsync();
}
} Add real-time functionality to your applications easily:
public class ChatHub : Hub
{
public async Task SendMessage(string user, string message)
{
await Clients.All.SendAsync("ReceiveMessage", user, message);
}
public async Task SendToGroup(string groupName, string message)
{
await Clients.Group(groupName).SendAsync("ReceiveMessage", message);
}
}ASP.NET Core offers businesses a modern, performant, and flexible framework for web development. Its cross-platform support, modular architecture, built-in security features, and excellent tooling make it ideal for building everything from simple websites to complex enterprise applications. Whether you're a startup or an established business, ASP.NET Core provides the foundation you need for scalable, maintainable web applications.
Yes, ASP.NET Core works well for businesses of all sizes. Its modular architecture means you only include what you need, keeping applications lightweight. You can start small and scale up as your business grows, and the cross-platform support keeps hosting costs flexible. The strong typing and excellent tooling also help small teams maintain code quality.
ASP.NET Core typically outperforms Node.js and PHP in benchmarks. It offers stronger typing with C#, built-in dependency injection, better tooling with Visual Studio, and enterprise-grade security features. While Node.js excels at real-time applications and PHP has a larger hosting ecosystem, ASP.NET Core provides the best balance of performance, productivity, and maintainability for business applications.
No, ASP.NET Core is cross-platform and runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Many businesses use Linux servers to host ASP.NET Core applications because they're typically more cost-effective. You can also deploy to Docker containers for maximum flexibility, making it easy to run your applications anywhere.