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I need to create a sample project (for educational purposes) and I'm faced with the choice between Web Site Projects or Web Application Projects.

This feels similar to the choice between C# and VB. My question isn't about the differences between these 2 choices, but rather which is more popular (relevant, recognizable) to the general ASP.NET community.

Has anyone seen any statistics in terms of adoption/usage of these 2 different project types? What project type should I use to reach the widest audience?

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Update: I created a poll on this subject - http://poll.fm/2e6cy

abatishchev
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Gabe Sumner
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3 Answers3

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I've used both and IMO I like the Web Site Project better - our company even switched from Web Application to Web Site. It's easier to understand, and compiling everything, all the time, is a big pain. From the answers listed :

  • You prefer dynamic compilation and working on pages without building entire site on each page view? use Web Site project.
  • You prefer single-page code model to code-behind model? use Web Site project.(IE, a little simpler for most to grasp)

I don't really see a lot of difference between the two besides the bullets listed (here) , there's not really a gigantic learning curve to be afraid of if you choose the "wrong" one (versus choosing between C#/VB ). When people think about ASP.NET, the terms 'Web Site' and 'Web Application' rarelyrarelyrarely ever come into the conversation, it's kind of one of those configuration things we developers would rather not think about if we can help it.

Community
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rlb.usa
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I've seen about 25 projects over the past several years convert from Web Site Projects to Web Application Projects. In that time I've seen exactly zero go the other direction. This covers around 10 different companies that I have helped in various capacities.

Web Application Projects are geared towards larger development teams. Web Site Projects on the other hand tend to be geared towards smaller (as in 1 person) dev "teams".

Some of the reasons include: Compilation, deployment, the various Build solutions, etc is much stronger with Web Apps.

Web Site projects on the other hand have a tendency to automatically attach files to your project for no other reason than they happen to be along the directory structure. In a team environment, this isn't helpful.

One last thing, you should evaluate what it is you are preparing your "students" for. If this is just an intro type class, then Web Site is probably a little easier to grasp. If you believe that they will one day go to work as a real programmer, then go with Web Apps. More dev's use that.

NotMe
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The fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter which project you use to reach the widest audience, because the audience will see nothing but the end result of the content, which will be identical no matter which project type you choose. Web Site vs Web Application is entirely a difference that matters only to the developer and your deployment process. Don't choose based on popularity, choose based on whichever suits your needs as a developer.

Jess
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  • This is a sample project that I would make available through CodePlex (or something like it) for other developers. The choice matters because I want the maximum number of developers to feel comfortable with the choice I make. – Gabe Sumner Nov 01 '10 at 21:35
  • @Gabe In this case I would personally recommend a Web Application. It is closer to the other types of C# or VB projects. – Jess Nov 01 '10 at 23:15