ASP.NET is an open-source server-side web application framework this was designed specifically for web development to produce dynamic web pages. As for PHP it’s acronym means Hypertext Preprocessor, this is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development this can as be embedded into HTML.
So, it has been an on-going debate of whether PHP or ASP.NET is better for web application development for any business. These do have their pros and cons like any other code-based platform. This article does not aim to lower the relevance of one over the other but, to simply highlight some areas of possible advantages of both ensure our clients/customer knows what is best for you.
Both ASP.NET and PHP have a wide base and used by many developers. In saying that my main reason for looking into this is that a few years ago this was a debate in college between a few of our classmates, this has not been a settle case years later. Hence, I am writing to state based on usage and observation of here is my result:
Performance & Speed
There is some mighty misconception that the framework of coding affects the speed and performance. This is not true as the performance of a web application is dependent on the developer and how his or her code is writing. As we know coding languages are done to communicate with a database or server to produce an outcome that outcome is totally dependent on the developer, YOGOWYPI (You Only Get Out What You Put In).
Saying that to say both frameworks are equipped to access data and display pages on web servers, now the speed and performance would have relied vastly on the database server, bandwidth and also the end-users’ computers.
Market Share
Based on various articles and research PHP shows to own a chunk of the market over ASP.NET. The tabular report below shows the comparison in various countries of both web applications. This taken from datanyze.com:
| Country | Technologies | Current Websites | Market Share |
| United States | ASP.NET | 487,669 | 22.88% |
| PHP | 774,186 | 36.31% | |
| China | ASP.NET | 44,985 | 44.80% |
| PHP | 34,756 | 34.63% | |
| Jamaica | ASP.NET | 163 | 16.12% |
| PHP | 536 | 53.02% | |
| Japan | ASP.NET | 969 | 7.75% |
| PHP | 6,636 | 53.06% | |
| Guyana | ASP.NET | 23 | 20.00% |
| PHP | 63 | 54.78% |
Based on the average of this tabular analysis it shows that PHP would have had more than 20% market share that ASP.NET. Majority of the sites and analysis done shows this marginal difference.
Scalability
Looking at the scalability of both PHP and ASP.NET we can say it is totally dependable on the team of developers you are working with. Also, note that in selecting your team do not force meal the programming language especially if it is a lead developer allow them the option to select their strong points. If, however, you are thinking of DIY(Do It Yourself) PHP Drupal would be a better option over ASP.NET for our entrepreneurs.
For most ASP.NET developers that I have conversed with, they regard PHP as chunky and will show as a prominent weak point in the framework of your website. On the other hand, PHP developers think of ASP.NET as being rather demanding and a few will say ASP.NET can be restricting as well.
Cost
In this area, there is a distinct advantage on PHP over ASP.NET. PHP is an open-source and this makes it completely free whereas, ASP.NET being owned by Microsoft comes with a fee for website hosting.
PHP Pros
- This is an open-source hence, it is free.
- It got large projects including White House websites, Facebook,…
- Easy to learn code.
- Wide online-based learning programs
- THE expert PHP developers market is very large.
PHP Cons
- Compared to other languages can be a bit slow if features aren’t properly used.
- Customization can cause poor code than ASP.NET
- Not especially suited for desktop applications
ASP.NET Pros
- Microsoft owned
- Excellent user-interface (UI) for developers
- This is an excellent platform for enterprise application
- Educates developers of errors if any in coding before compiling
- Windows developers will have no problem as it works well
- It is highly scalable as it poses great competition for rival PHP
ASP.NET Cons
- In comparison to PHP, tends to be a tab bit more difficult to learn and understand.
- It has a small market hence a smaller community that does not afford much active help.
- Rests on a closed source technology
In closing, though PHP as in this and most articles will show to have its edge over ASP.NET, both languages are beautiful in its own rights. Also, YOGOWYPI (You Only Get Out What You Put In) hence, the speed/performance is totally dependent on the developer, the user end and your bandwidth just to name a few.