Asp.Net Website Structure Question

Question

Hi all,

I recently got a project where i need to create a web app in asp.net. This is my first big project so i figured i'd ask you guys for your input on how to go about doing this. I'm planning on using asp.net webforms for this project. The app requires a bunch of summary pages that are some what similar (with the exception of a few different controls) and they display a summary list of an item or a person or a book etc.. There is also a detail screen view which will allow the users to add/update a record in the database. The detail pages are similar in look and feel but they each have different input controls pertaining to the item/person/book. What would be the best way to go about creating a web app such as this? Right now i have 10-15 content Summary Pages, 10-15 content Detail Pages, and a couple of master pages. Is there a better more maintainable way to go about doing this?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

The question you should be constantly asking yourself is "Am I making this as easy to maintain as I can?".

If you keep that in mind (and the answer is yes) you should be fine. I am sure you will get many opinions on how to structure your site (more usercontrols, more masterpages, MVC, etc), and while some of them may be valid, the solution has to work for you since you are the one living with it.

There is nothing wrong with taking the simple/plain approach if it serves your needs.

Answer 2

If your summary pages are all the same, and your detail pages are all the same (except for content), you should make each of them one page (i.e. summary.aspx, detail.aspx) and populate the values dynamically. This way you can gain scalability without having to re-involve yourself when another product/whatever is added.

It may be feasible, depending on how much code and markup is involved, to further consolidate the two into one. That's a call you'll have to make.

Answer 3

I am currently working on a web app which uses a claim screen on many pages, I use a User Control and drop that on the many pages. You can then add any additional functionality to each specific page. This is a nice approach as you get the graphical design of the User Control. Masterpages are also a great feature to include. Keep it simple, but.. not so simple that your duplicating the same code over and over. Thats a no-no.

best of luck.

Answer 4

I think you have the right approach. For each list, create a details page. Alternatively you could use a single list and details page, and use querystrings to get the relevant data. Up to you though.