Why it’s best: GoDaddy offers strong and affordable security tools to keep your site and customers secure. They provide daily malware scans and backups are stored in their cloud for safekeeping.
We checked which hosts provided support for multiple versions of ASP.NET and Microsoft frameworks. We chose hosts with high trust levels for ASP.NET, a user-friendly control panel like cPanel, and Windows support. We picked hosts with the best customer ratings.
What Is ASP.NET?
ASP.NET is a web application framework developed by Microsoft. However, unlike most things coming out of Redmond, ASP.NET is an open-source framework. It enables programmers to build dynamic websites, services, and applications. ASP.NET pages are officially referred to as Web Forms, although developers tend to dispense with formalities.
While ASP.NET is an open-source framework, it is designed with the .NET framework and Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) in mind. Fortunately, Microsoft’s .NET Core is now open source as well.
Hosting companies tend to offer a number of options for ASP.NET, ranging from inexpensive shared plans to pricier dedicated-server plans.
One of Microsoft’s primary design considerations for ASP.NET was to gain market share from competitor script-based frameworks by delivering superior performance benefits. This is done by compiling the server-side code to DLL files, allowing the use of a common language runtime that provides a performance boost over other scripting languages.
How To Choose an ASP.NET Web Host
While most hosts offer the latest versions of all relevant frameworks, it is always a good idea to check before committing to their package. Keep the following in mind when researching hosts:
Updates: Check whether the host you are considering has a good track record when it comes to software updates.
Support for versions of ASP.NET: Ensure that all the necessary versions are supported, not just the latest version of ASP.NET.
Multiple versions of Microsoft frameworks: Look for hosts that offer this level of choice.
MSSQL edition: Make sure the MSSQL edition supported by your host matches that found in your application.
OS version: Check the OS version(s) supported by the host. This will typically be Windows Server 2012R2 or Windows Server 2012.
ASP.NET trust levels: Available trust levels are: Full, High, Medium, Low, and Minimal. The trust level that will be available to you will depend on the type of hosting services you choose.
Add-ons: Check the availability of add-ons you may need now or in the future.
Control panels: Check for access to easy-to-use popular control panels like Plesk or cPanel.
Hardware requirements: Make sure you gather your requirements before vetting a host. Check and make sure their tech matches the requirements. Ensure your hosting provider can scale its solutions for you and keep up with demand. If you are building a site that could experience rapid growth, make sure to inquire about the possibility of adding more RAM, SSD storage or migrating to a better plan.
Quality of tech support: Good tech support is key. Find a company with a good reputation for helping customers solve their problems.
One of the most affordable web hosting companies for ASP.NET support is A2 Hosting. You will need to look specifically at the lineup of ASP.net hosting options as not all options at A2 Hosting support this framework. Fortunately, you will find that most of the shared hosting plans are optimized for ASP, ASP.NET, and Microsoft SQL.
These plans include access to the Plesk control panel and provide unlimited disk space and bandwidth. One thing we love about A2 Hosting is the anytime money-back guarantee that lets you try them risk-free.
Pros and cons of A2 Hosting
Pros
24/7/365 support
International data centers
Cons
Windows options not yet implemented
What customers are saying about A2 Hosting
Customers speak highly of their pricing plans and customer support. One reviewer says, “A2 Hosting is a cost-effective deal for both companies and Small-Medium Businesses,” while another says, “I am very pleased and impressed with the level of support from A2 Hosting — that’s in addition to their excellent documentation.”
Flexible tools allow you to install and modify your setup easily at no additional charge
Pricing
$2.75 per month
Why it’s best: Flexible tools allow you to install and modify your setup easily at no additional charge.
HostGator gives you the same features and benefits A2’s Windows hosting plan offers – at similar prices.
HostGator includes free one-click installations of ASP.NET-friendly scripts. However, HostGator does not offer the 20-times-faster speed boosts that A2 Hosting offers with their optional Turbo Servers.
Pros and cons of Hostgator
Pros
Reliable uptime and fast response times
Affordable hosting plans
Generous 45-day money-back guarantee that gives customers peace of mind
Cons
An advanced cPanel that requires some getting used to
Weekly backups, which may slow service
What customers are saying about HostGator
HostGator customers praise their customer service and reliability. They specifically like how easy the site is to navigate and how a website builder is included with your subscription. Others are less thrilled with the frequent updates, which can cause service outages. It consistently ranks among the top three hosting sites on the web, however.
GoDaddy offers strong and affordable security tools to keep your site and customers secure. They provide daily malware scans and backups are stored in their cloud for safekeeping.
Pricing
$2.99 per month
Why it’s best: GoDaddy offers strong and affordable security tools to keep your site and customers secure. It provides daily malware scans, and backups are stored in their cloud for safekeeping.
Another hosting option to consider is GoDaddy. We like that this popular company gives you free domain registration with their plans. However, you’ll pay a bit more for unlimited resources and databases than you would with A2 and HostGator.
GoDaddy plans will also give you easy one-click installations of applications through their user-friendly control panel. Moreover, the company stresses server security, offering 24/7 monitoring and DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack protection.
Pros and cons of GoDaddy
Pros
Free domain
Excellent support
Free Microsoft 365 email
Cons
Limited features with basic plan
Higher renewal rates
What customers are saying about GoDaddy
Customers find GoDaddy to be a user-friendly and adaptable platform with helpful customer support at an affordable rate. The money-back guarantee also protects you and ensures you get a full refund within 30 days. It has a consistent rating of 3.3 stars, showing that most customers are generally satisfied with their product purchases.
ASP.NET is an open source web application framework for developing dynamic websites, services, and apps. It is a development platform created by Microsoft with adequate components to create applications. Its framework includes an authentication system to process web requests and is written in C#.
What operating systems does ASP.NET work on?
Technically speaking, ASP.NET only works on Windows. Microsoft has released an open source version of ASP.net calle ASP.net CORE, however, that will run on most operating systems, including Linux. ASP.NET applications can also run on a variety of operating systems Linux, MacOS, Docker, and a range of Windows versions. Currently, ASP.NET supports Windows XP, Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8/8.1, and selected Windows 10 versions.
What are the benefits of using ASP.NET?
With ASP.NET, development can be done in multiple languages. This is beneficial because certain tasks are easier to accomplish in some languages than others. Also, even if your development team will only code in a single language, DLLs and other tools written in other languages can still be included. Web applications written in scripting languages are interpreted at runtime. ASP.NET code is compiled, which makes it run much faster.
What are the disadvantages of ASP.NET?
ASP.NET primarily runs on Microsoft servers, so if you start with it, you’ll be tied to paying for your operating system and web server for a very long time, which gets expensive. Compared to more “fun” tools like Ruby on Rails or Node.js, it may be harder to find qualified ASP.NET developers because most talent tends to gravitate to more popular languages.
What are the best alternatives to ASP.NET?
Some alternative web application frameworks to ASP.NET include options like Ruby on Rails, Django (Python), and Zend (PHP, or hypertext preprocessor). However, unlike ASP.NET, most of them require all or most programming in a single language and rely on scripting rather than compiled code. There’s also Maverick.NET, Entity Framework, and ASP.NET MVC, an open-source framework also made by Microsoft.
When is ASP.NET a good platform choice?
ASP.NET is a good option for building complex web applications that need to interact heavily with existing Microsoft components. Typically, a certain level of operational complexity needs to be required before ASP.NET becomes a better option than simpler web development frameworks.
Who should use ASP.NET?
ASP.NET is a good platform for skilled developers and engineers with a lot of experience building desktop applications in a Windows environment and relatively little experience doing web application development. That said, anyone with a solid foundation in programming can learn the ins and outs of ASP.NET.