Is ASP.NET with Razor a recommended choice for modern web applications?

(Please refer me to another stack exchange, if this isn't the proper place to ask.) I have questions regarding the usage of Microsoft's Razor in context of making a new dynamic or interactive Web Application (like file management software that is used by offices, administrations or managements): What are the pros and cons in terms of user and developer experience How well does it work for cross-plattform development? How well is it suited to serve apps with client-side UI updates, client-side computational tasks, client-side API calls (like database queries)? How efficient is the idea of using Razor-code in the server over rendering in the client in terms of energy, costs or performance? Does it allow for development of client-side code with Frameworks? I don't really know Razor and I don't understand its basic working principle or usage scenario enough to argue with seasoned supporters of Razor. I am mainly looking for experiences, reasoning or facts. Details I am new at the company and I have been commissioned specifically to investigate technology options for the new web project. The current road map wants a remake of a Windows GUI Client application as web application (with some compatibility to mobile devices as well). One seasoned colleague in the company wants us to try Razor which is already used for administration websites (using 3rd party UI components), seeing no meaningful differences with using a Web Framework, even asserting, this would be just as performant or better. I don't easily find up-to-date arguments, advantages or comparisons (in 2025) regarding Web App development with ASP.NET and Razor. I don't easily find people in the Internet using or recommending Razor for (modern) Web application development. Even Microsoft recommends Blazor over Razor for "most" UI stuff but my colleagues are generally sceptical towards Blazor (which, as I understood, is using Razor components, running C# on the client). My notion is, dynamic and interactive web applications should be single page applications and the web app code (plus rendering) should run in the Browser or client device. I imagine like 80% of the app's code to run in the client device at the end of the day, at least! The server mainly would render stuff when the application loads, one or two times a day per person, and the rendered HTML page should make API calls for updating itself afterwards. Throughout the day, most server interactions just retrieve or send (updated) program data. This client-side code will be anything that may run in a browser, possibly transpiled first. I am not sure, how well Razor pages fit to or provide a suitable developer experience for dynamic and interactive client-side code or client-side-rendering code.

Feb 12, 2025 - 14:37

(Please refer me to another stack exchange, if this isn't the proper place to ask.)

I have questions regarding the usage of Microsoft's Razor in context of making a new dynamic or interactive Web Application (like file management software that is used by offices, administrations or managements):

What are the pros and cons in terms of user and developer experience
How well does it work for cross-plattform development?
How well is it suited to serve apps with client-side UI updates, client-side computational tasks, client-side API calls (like database queries)?
How efficient is the idea of using Razor-code in the server over rendering in the client in terms of energy, costs or performance?
Does it allow for development of client-side code with Frameworks?

I don't really know Razor and I don't understand its basic working principle or usage scenario enough to argue with seasoned supporters of Razor. I am mainly looking for experiences, reasoning or facts.

Details

I am new at the company and I have been commissioned specifically to investigate technology options for the new web project. The current road map wants a remake of a Windows GUI Client application as web application (with some compatibility to mobile devices as well). One seasoned colleague in the company wants us to try Razor which is already used for administration websites (using 3rd party UI components), seeing no meaningful differences with using a Web Framework, even asserting, this would be just as performant or better.

I don't easily find up-to-date arguments, advantages or comparisons (in 2025) regarding Web App development with ASP.NET and Razor. I don't easily find people in the Internet using or recommending Razor for (modern) Web application development. Even Microsoft recommends Blazor over Razor for "most" UI stuff but my colleagues are generally sceptical towards Blazor (which, as I understood, is using Razor components, running C# on the client).

My notion is, dynamic and interactive web applications should be single page applications and the web app code (plus rendering) should run in the Browser or client device. I imagine like 80% of the app's code to run in the client device at the end of the day, at least! The server mainly would render stuff when the application loads, one or two times a day per person, and the rendered HTML page should make API calls for updating itself afterwards. Throughout the day, most server interactions just retrieve or send (updated) program data.

This client-side code will be anything that may run in a browser, possibly transpiled first. I am not sure, how well Razor pages fit to or provide a suitable developer experience for dynamic and interactive client-side code or client-side-rendering code.