Best Practices for Performance Optimization in .NET Applications

October 30, 2023
At MetaSys, we had the opportunity to transition a legacy application, initially constructed with the .NET Framework 1.0, to the more modern .NET Core. We put into practice some of the relevant strategies detailed in this blog post. In a landscape where both the application and the business are in a state of evolution, the focus is to get the new features into production. However, during this rewrite, we paid special attention to performance optimization across the modules that were upgraded. Subpar performance can exasperate users, potentially driving them away and exerting a negative impact on customer retention and overall business success. Performance optimization will remain an ongoing effort, however, rewriting the application in .NET Core presented a significant boost.
In today's digital era, users have come to expect websites and online applications to load quickly and function seamlessly. For businesses utilizing .NET Core in their web development, emphasizing performance optimization is essential to delivering a flawless user experience. This blog aims to be a guide to best practices, exploring critical aspects such as start-up time, database access, query efficiency, and caching for ASP.NET web applications.

Improving ASP.NET Web Application Start-up Time

The start-up time of your ASP.NET web application significantly impacts user acquisition and engagement. You can enhance this aspect by implementing the following methods:
  • Utilize the .NET Core Runtime: In our experience, leveraging the improved performance of the latest .NET Core runtime version significantly reduced application start-up time.
  • Implement Dependency Injection: Incorporating dependency injection simplifies the management of object dependencies, offers better control over application initialization, and results in quicker start-up times.

Optimizing Database Access and Query Performance in ASP.NET Applications

Efficient database access and query execution are crucial for enhancing the overall application's response time. Implement the following techniques to optimize these areas:
  • Employ Asynchronous Database Calls: Use asynchronous database calls to release the main thread, increasing program responsiveness and improving performance.
  • Optimize Database Queries: Enhance database performance by optimizing queries, utilizing appropriate query patterns, and generating suitable indexes to lessen the burden on the database server.

Leveraging Caching to Enhance ASP.NET Web Application Performance

Caching is a powerful tool for boosting ASP.NET web application performance by reducing unnecessary calculations and database requests. Employ the following caching techniques:
  • Output Caching: Cache the rendered output of web pages to serve subsequent requests faster and alleviate server load, resulting in a more efficient user experience.
  • Data Caching: Implement data caching to reduce database hits and enhance response times for frequently accessed data, contributing to a more responsive application.

Minimize the number of HTTP requests and reduce the size of resources in ASP.NET web applications

To speed up application load times, it is essential to minimize HTTP requests and optimize resource size:
  • Bundling and Minification The number of HTTP requests and the total amount of resources can be decreased by bundling and minifying numerous CSS and JavaScript files.
  • CDN Integration Use a CDN to offer static materials from geographically dispersed servers, lowering latency and speeding up loading times.

Optimize the performance of data binding and data controls in ASP.NET web applications

The speed and general performance can be affected by data binding and controls:
  • Use Server-Side Data Binding Judiciously Often, Server-Side Data Binding outperforms Client-Side Data Binding, particularly for large datasets. Depending on the specific application being developed server-side data binding can degrade performance. Hence this aspect needs to be thought through.
  • Reduce the Use of Unwanted Controls Make sure that controls are only applied when necessary and avoid the use of unrequired controls.

Recommended techniques for optimizing session state management in ASP.NET web applications

For the maintenance of user-specific data and preferences, effective session state management is necessary:
  • Consider Session State Modes Based on the needs and scalability requirements of your application, select the appropriate session state mode (InProc, StateServer, or SQL Server).
  • Place Cookies Don't store excessive quantities of data in cookies because doing so increases the size of HTTP requests and responses. Best practices for optimizing the performance of client-side scripting in ASP.NET web applications The user experience and application performance can be significantly impacted by client- side scripting:
  • Reduce DOM Manipulation DOM manipulations can be resource-intensive, so try to do them less frequently. Cache items instead, and whenever you can, update in bulk.
  • Async and Defer Use the "async" and "defer" properties to load scripts in order to prevent rendering-blocking and speed up page loading.

Optimize the performance of AJAX calls and asynchronous operations in ASP.NET

While asynchronous actions are necessary for responsiveness, they also need to be optimized:
  • Batch AJAX calls To cut down on round trips and overhead, combine several AJAX calls into a single batch request.
  • Implement Cancellation Implementing cancellation will improve user control and the user experience by giving users the ability to stop lengthy asynchronous activities.

Leverage browser caching and HTTP compression to improve the performance of ASP.NET web applications

For repeat visitors, load times can be greatly lowered by utilizing HTTP compression and browser caching:
  • Set the Right Cache Headers Set the right cache headers to allow the user's browser to cache static resources.
  • Enable HTTP Compression Minimize the size of the data transfer between the server and the client by enabling HTTP compression.
Delivering a superior user experience requires optimizing the speed of your ASP.NET web application. You can speed up response times, boost user satisfaction, and enhance business results by implementing these best practices and strategies.
Rely on MetaSys Software, the .NET Core outsourcing company in India , for excellent offshore .NET solutions development. Get in touch with us now to improve the speed of your ASP.NET web applications and expand the your business.

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