PHP vs ASP.NET: Which is Better for Web Development?

It might be quite a challenging task to select the right technology stack for the next web development project. Even though some framework or programming language was a perfect match for other projects, the final choice should definitely correspond to the ongoing needs. Due to the wide range of technologies, the companies have to do their own research to make the final decision. In this article, we’ll define important details in the light of PHP vs ASP.NET comparison as the market trends for web development.

There is a growing tendency to deliver progressive web applications that will empower user experience and engagement as well as facilitate the development process. The market requirements are growing extremely fast and it is obvious that the right technology stack could make a difference to the project. According to statistics, considerable market share of the back-end technologies is gained by two programming languages – PHP and ASP.NET.Both are widely used for various projects; therefore, it raises the following question – PHP vs ASP.NET: which is better for web development? Let’s find out more about each approach, its pros and cons, the main differences, and why ASP.NET vs PHP can work better for certain cases.

List of The Contents

• ASP.NET and web development
• PHP vs ASP.NET: is ASP.NET good for web development?
• PHP web development
• ASP.NET vs PHP: why use PHP for web development?
• PHP vs ASP.NET: which is better? 
• Conclusion

ASP.NET AND WEB DEVELOPMENT

ASP.NET is a C# based server-side web application framework. It was introduced by Microsoft in the early 2000s as an extension to the .NET platform. This framework offers a variety of libraries and tools, particularly for web development. Moreover, any other packages available on the .NET platform like Visual Studio can be comfortably used by web developers. 

Microsoft presents the base framework for processing requests along with web-page templating syntax, the authentication system, editor extensions, and pattern libraries. This framework enables developing different types of applications including dynamic web pages, microservices, REST APIs and real-time hubs. The Microsoft team delivers constant improvements to extend the overall functionality and presents the huge ecosystem of open libraries. Nevertheless, this is an open-source framework supported by Microsoft, developers are also encouraged to contribute to the community. 

Among the main functionalities is the web-page templating syntax called Razor. It allows developers to write the back-end code in C#. After code evaluation on the server, the HTML content will be sent to the users. Furthermore, the user side is coded in JavaScript that efficiently integrates with ASP.NET. Different editor extensions empower code completion and syntax highlighting.  

Previously, ASP.NET web applications ran only on the Microsoft servers that usually require higher hosting fees. With the new version of ASP.NET Core released in 2016, software engineers are able to apply for Linux and macOS hosting services. In the light of ASP.NET and web development connection, we can infer that this framework provides a reasonable solution. It definitely has a number of advantages to be considered in the PHP vs ASP.NET choice for the next project.

PHP VS ASP.NET: IS ASP.NET GOOD FOR WEB DEVELOPMENT

In fact, any web technology can be an excellent choice for the project whenever it meets the set expectations. Giving a comprehensive answer on the question “why use ASP.NET for web development?’’, we would like to define the most important aspects that should be taken into account.

To start with, ASP.NET is a mature framework that has been on the market for more than a few decades. In comparison to other frameworks, it has gained a decent market share and continues to strengthen them through constant evolvement. Today’s community consists of more than 60,000 developers all around the world. While being an open-source framework, it is also strongly supported by Microsoft and known for active community support. This tight cooperation leads to the accessibility of different libraries and clear guidelines. Microsoft invests significant amounts of resources in the development of their platforms and community support. There are no worries that they would suggest some outdated approaches.

As for the technology side, ASP.NET is often chosen due to fast and efficient performance. The compilation needs to be done only once as the .NET platform is capable to execute the compiled code over and over again. Unlike the interpreted code that needs to be executed every time by the machine, compiled one is more consistent and scalable.

Scalability is a great performance accelerator. It covers the optimization of the code as well as architecture and infrastructure including catching, networking, etc. This framework obtains the vertical scalability that focuses on reducing the overall delivery time.

One of the distinctive advantages is strong security. This web application framework supports all the required authentication protocols. ASP.NET offers a number of built-in features for the general app protection along with cross-site scripting and request forgery. In addition to multi-factor authentication, the framework ensures it externally for example with Google.

Previously developers had to purchase IDEs to write the code. Nowadays, free tools and libraries are accessible to everyone. However, It is common that professional development companies will pay for additional licenses to get more functionality. Moreover, all web software requires the hosting servers. Windows hosting is more expensive in comparison with Linux servers. Also, there is Microsoft IIS that is free for different versions of Microsoft windows.

As a result, ASP.NET web development services have become a great solution for many companies due to great functionality, security and regular improvements.

PHP WEB DEVELOPMENT

PHP as a server-side web development language has evolved from the small open-source project. It was created in 1995 by Rasmus Lerdorf who wrote a few CGI programs and managed to make them work with web forms and databases. He hasn’t aimed to create a new programming language but it turned to become among one of the biggest open-source languages. Anyone can make a contribution to the new release including task deployment, testing, documentation, and sources. 

Thanks to its accessibility, PHP has gained popularity among a huge number of developers. It might be a common choice for newcomers, as its learning curve is much easier in comparison with others.

The PHP community has various open-source free libraries, tools and extensions. For example MySQL Extension, it allows developers to create PHP apps that interact with the database while enabling improved statement and transaction support.

In the light of PHP vs ASP.NET comparison, the PHP developers deal with the other type of code –  interpreted one that is completely written in C. It allows excellent customization nevertheless that might be the cause for some bugs and poor coding.

Since this server-side language was initially released for web development, it is efficient in communicating and accessing most types of databases. Due to its adaptability and flexibility, developers are not limited in their choice. Moreover, PHP can have support for other services covering different protocols like POP3, HTTP, IMAP, LDAP, etc.

Consequently, being open-sourced turned out to be a great solution for the PHP web development community. They have gained the great market share and keep on the constant improvements and regular releases. 

ASP.NET VS PHP: WHY WE USE PHP FOR WEB DEVELOPMENT

Whereas it might seem an easy question to answer, we would like to be more specific and define all the pros and cons of this development approach. Besides, it could help to make the final choice on PHP vs ASP.NET.  

The first reason why we use PHP for web development is that this programming language has been initially presented as a web scripting language. It is greatly supported and improved by own community that consists of more than 5 million PHP developers. The open-source programming language is quite popular among newcomers and has gained the biggest market share. Its supportive community keeps on growing for more than 25 years.

Working with the open source has its own advantages and disadvantages. In fact, this language is easy to learn, compatible with different servers and suitable for various web applications. Another distinction of PHP development is the interpreted code. This type of code is usually executed on the server, later generated into HTML and only then sent to the user side. Accordingly, the execution time is longer and might get some errors with importing heavy files and lead to slower performance compared to other languages.

On the other side, PHP web development is often chosen for increased scalability. This is accomplished by adding more servers. The overall workload will be distributed between them and can handle more user requests. This approach relies upon the horizontal scalability that differs PHP from ASP.NET.

Having a number of in-built security features, PHP is still considered less secure compared with other web-server programming languages. While obtaining more flexibility in writing the code, engineers have more responsibilities to secure it and can’t rely only on the in-build tools.

Lower development and maintenance cost is usually acknowledged as a great benefit. PHP developers have access to all the tools and libraries without any additional fees. Moreover, developers can choose among the different hosting services and have the opportunity to pay less. 

This adaptable and flexible programming language can easily meet the primary needs for web development. However, the companies need to outline their needs at first and make sure it corresponds to the set requirements and final goals.

PHP VS ASP.NET: WHICH IS BETTER?

Any company starting with web app development services can come across this common question – PHP vs ASP.NET: which is better. There is no doubt that each approach has own benefits. Moreover, they have worked efficiently for different projects and companies are really satisfied with the final results.

The point is that the company needs to address the PHP vs ASP.NET choice from a different perspective – which is better for their project, what points are the main concern. You can take simple advice – all the requirements should be divided into business and technology aspects. It is obvious that there is no point to choose some technology that has a great market share but doesn’t meet any of your technical requirements.

Let’s consider some important factors in the light of PHP vs ASP.NET business side.

Both technologies have been presented on the market a long time ago and gained special recognition among web developers. Since PHP was released earlier and was presented initially as the web programming language, its community was increasing faster than ASP.NET’s. At present, there is a high market demand for these developers as SPA and SaaS applications are the new default business standard.

In terms of support, developers are offered totally different approaches. As mentioned above, while open-source too, ASP.NET is supported by Microsoft, whereas PHP is the pure open-source project. The community support is always great, however, some complicated projects might require professional help and immediate solutions.

You can find many well-known companies among the users of these web approaches. For instance, UPS, Stack Overflow, DELL are applying ASP.NET whereas Facebook, WordPress, and Wikipedia are practicing PHP web development.

Making your final PHP vs ASP.NET choice mostly relies on the technology sides that influence the overall app functionality. It requires more detailed research to understand your options to fulfill ideas in the most appropriate way.Performance is the key requirement for any project. Everyone wants to deliver a fast and efficient solution for their users. ASP.NET would be the definite winner here as the compiled coding is more accurate and systematic.

In addition to different coding methods, businesses should draw special attention to scalability that greatly improves the performance of services. Vertical scalability aims at acquiring more power (CPU, RAM) to existing machines whereas horizontal one focuses on adding more machines.

In terms of PHP vs ASP.NET comparison, we should mention security as one of the main requirements. It is worth making an effort to get the highly secure software. Of course, it might also depend on the project. When the business deals with tons of data, it will better to use ASP.NET. But if it an open small size project, PHP will be an excellent match.

PHP is an open-source programming language that does not require paid tools or licenses. However, the additional expenses spent on ASP.NET development are definitely worth it due to improved functionality and high quality.

Consequently, there isn’t one definite answer to the raised ASP.NET vs PHP question. The final choice is always defined in accordance with the company’s outlined requirements and available resources.

CONCLUSION

We have gathered the most important details that usually influence the choice of the web development strategy. The main thing to remember that each method has significant benefits to be chosen. Always take a moment to outline your project needs. The PHP vs ASP.NET choice would be simplified if the company sets certain requirements and finds reasonable ways to meet them. Another great decision will be to consult some professionals that have experience in web development.