Assuming you are not referring directly to the ASP.NET Web Sites technology (which is available through WebMatrix) the term "Web Sites" is something that I often associate with sites that have little to no user interaction and don't really require
any server-side code (ie C#, Visual Basic etc.) and could be thought of as informational or read-only. Whereas an actual Web Application would be a bit more involved and would allow the user to make selections, query a database, actually "interact"
with the site to accomplish something.
If you are developing any Web Site or Web Application within .NET, you can think of all of them as "Web Applications" (as they will likely have code-behind), whereas if you were just using pure HTML to display a site, you could refer to that as
a "Web Site". Both projects will differ in how they are developed and how they are actually deployed depending on what you need them to do.
I usually associate a "site" with more static content that may not change very often, however a "project" implies that it may continue to evolve and progress (and it will likely require more that just static content).
I would highly recommend checking out these resources and discussions on the topic for a bit more information :
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Difference between New Project and New Website.
Apr 17, 2014 03:55 PM|CASPartan|LINK
Using Visual Web Developer Express 2010.
So if I want to make an ASP.NET website, using Razor syntax, I need to select "New Website..."
But if I want to make a traditional ASP.NET Webforms, or ASP.NET MVC website, I need to select "New Project..."
Why the distinction? Anyone knows? What makes one a "website" and not a "project" and vice versa?
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Re: Difference between New Project and New Website.
Apr 17, 2014 04:34 PM|Rion Williams|LINK
Assuming you are not referring directly to the ASP.NET Web Sites technology (which is available through WebMatrix) the term "Web Sites" is something that I often associate with sites that have little to no user interaction and don't really require any server-side code (ie C#, Visual Basic etc.) and could be thought of as informational or read-only. Whereas an actual Web Application would be a bit more involved and would allow the user to make selections, query a database, actually "interact" with the site to accomplish something.
If you are developing any Web Site or Web Application within .NET, you can think of all of them as "Web Applications" (as they will likely have code-behind), whereas if you were just using pure HTML to display a site, you could refer to that as a "Web Site". Both projects will differ in how they are developed and how they are actually deployed depending on what you need them to do.
I usually associate a "site" with more static content that may not change very often, however a "project" implies that it may continue to evolve and progress (and it will likely require more that just static content).
I would highly recommend checking out these resources and discussions on the topic for a bit more information :