.NET vs. PHP: what to select for web development?

If you are a company embarking on a new web development project, you need to choose a technology that will best meet your needs, ensure flawless performance of your application, its stability, and cost-effectiveness. Let’s have a closer look at two leaders — PHP and ASP.NET and try to find out which one could be more suitable for your product.

Why use ASP. Net?

Microsoft is perpetually improving the ASP. Net framework and adds new functionality in close cooperation with the community. This feedback helps to approach it in a modern way and eliminate everything outdated. It is one of the reasons the fan base of this robust framework has been growing for a few decades already. For example, with the earlier version, it was possible to run web applications only on Microsoft servers, which made hosting more expensive. The updated one — ASP.NET Core (2016) allows using cheaper Linux services.

Excellent performance is often decisive for technology choice, and ASP.NET provides it. Firstly, it ensures higher consistency and scalability of the code, as the compilation must be done only once, and then it is executed repeatedly. Secondly, the framework helps to optimize the code architecture and allows vertical scalability. All of these factors result in shorter project delivery times. High security is another merit of the framework: it has several built-in features for multi-aspect protection of the web applications. With all these factors in mind, we can confidently say that ASP. Net is an effective solution for many web development projects.

Why use PHP?

Initially introduced as a web scripting language, PHP is now a market winner with a considerable share. It is widely accessible and extremely popular because of its simplicity and short learning curve. PHP also boasts many handy tools, e.g., MySQL Extension that allows PHP-based applications to interact with the database and enables transaction and statement support. Moreover, PHP is a part of the LAMP technological stack, which supports integration between the four open-source components it represents. Like ASP.NET, PHP offers increased scalability, but it is horizontal and is achieved by distributing the total workload between multiple servers, which allows handling a higher number of user requests. Several PHP frameworks — Zend, Symphony, CodeIgniter, Laravel, etc., help to fix numerous development issues.

ASP.NET vs. PHP: questions & answers

ASP.NET vs. PHP summary

Let us recap the main points of ASP.NET compared to PHP from a business perspective:

• PHP has extensive community support. However, with high-complexity projects, a professional approach is required, which you can get from Microsoft in the case of ASP.NET.
• Both technologies offer high scalability.
• ASP.NET offers compiled coding, which is highly accurate and well-organized. It favorably impacts the performance of the web application, its speed, and overall efficiency.
• ASP.NET provides better security in many cases, especially for web applications that process large volumes of data.
• Both technologies are cross-platform and open source. Despite the fact that some ASP.NET tools are paid, these expenses are often justified due to enhanced functionality. Nevertheless, the basic ASP.NET toolset is free and powerful enough.

How to make the right choice?

The best approach to selecting the right technology for your web application is to consult professionals. First of all, you need a thorough analysis of your product requirements and workflow, combined with end-user research. It should be based not only on the profound knowledge of .NET software development principles but also the hands-on experience to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Then a solution architect will be able to advise on the most beneficial and cost-efficient tech stack for your specific needs. This process is called the Discovery Phase, and is a highly demanded service, especially with startups. With over a decade of successfully completed software development projects in various industries, the Blackthorn Vision expert team will gladly be your technology guide.

Contact us now to learn more about our web development services, tech expertise, and how else we can contribute to the success of your business.