Speed Up Development: WebMatrix Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts

WebMatrix vs. Modern IDEs: Which Is Right for Your Project?WebMatrix was introduced by Microsoft as a lightweight, beginner-friendly web development tool combining a code editor, web server, database support, and templates in one simple interface. Since its debut, the web development landscape and the tooling that supports it have evolved dramatically. This article compares WebMatrix with modern integrated development environments (IDEs) to help you decide which is the better fit for your project.

Quick summary

• WebMatrix excels at quick prototypes, teaching, and simple websites with minimal setup.
• Modern IDEs (such as Visual Studio Code, JetBrains WebStorm, Visual Studio, and others) offer advanced language intelligence, extensibility, debugging, performance tooling, and collaboration features suited to medium-to-large projects and modern workflows.

What WebMatrix is (and was designed for)

WebMatrix combined several components into a single, accessible application:

• A lightweight editor with syntax highlighting and basic IntelliSense.
• A built-in web server (IIS Express) for local testing.
• Integrated database support (SQL CE) and easy connection to SQL Server.
• One-click installation of open-source web applications and templates.
• Simple publishing tools to deploy to shared hosting or Azure.

Its goals were ease of use, minimal configuration, and rapid on-ramping for new developers or small projects.

What “modern IDEs” bring to the table

Modern IDEs vary, but they commonly provide:

• Advanced code intelligence (language servers, rich autocompletion, code navigation, refactoring).
• Debuggers with breakpoints, step-through, watch expressions, and integrated consoles.
• Tight integration with modern tooling: npm/Yarn/pnpm, task runners, linters (ESLint), formatters (Prettier), bundlers (Webpack, Vite), and transpilers (Babel, TypeScript).
• Extensibility through large ecosystems of plugins/extensions.
• Integrated terminal, version control (Git) UI, and CI/CD hooks.
• Performance profiling, test runners, and container/Docker support.
• Collaboration tools (Live Share, remote development over SSH or containers).
• Support for many languages, frameworks, and deployment targets.

Examples:

• Visual Studio Code — lightweight, extensible, massive extension marketplace, excellent language support via LSP, strong front-end and Node.js ecosystem integration.
• JetBrains WebStorm — deep JavaScript/TypeScript intelligence, refactorings, and built-in tooling for complex front-end projects.
• Visual Studio — especially strong for .NET, C#, and enterprise applications with integrated build/test/publish pipelines.

Feature-by-feature comparison

When to choose WebMatrix

Choose WebMatrix only if you match most of these conditions:

• You need a very simple environment for a tiny site or demo.
• The audience is beginners or students learning basic web concepts.
• You require a single, minimal tool that bundles a web server and templates.
• You’re maintaining an existing legacy project originally built with WebMatrix and don’t want to migrate immediately.

Note: Microsoft discontinued active development and mainstream support for WebMatrix years ago. For new projects, choosing an actively maintained tool is strongly recommended.

When to choose a modern IDE

Modern IDEs are the right choice when you need:

• Rich language support, reliable refactoring, and strong autocomplete.
• Integration with modern web toolchains: package managers, bundlers, TypeScript, transpilers.
• Robust debugging (including remote and containerized workloads).
• Team collaboration, version control workflows, and CI/CD integration.
• Support for large or long-lived projects that will evolve over time.
• Frequent updates, a thriving extension ecosystem, and community support.

Migration considerations (WebMatrix → modern IDE)

If you’re moving from WebMatrix to a modern IDE:

• Choose tooling that matches your stack (e.g., Visual Studio for ASP.NET Core; VS Code or WebStorm for Node/React/Vue).
• Convert project structure: many WebMatrix projects used Web Pages or WebForms; consider migrating to ASP.NET Core or static site setups.
• Replace deprecated packages and update to modern frameworks and build pipelines (npm/Yarn, bundlers).
• Add proper linting and formatting (ESLint, Prettier, StyleCop).
• Set up Git and CI/CD pipelines early.
• Test thoroughly — differences in hosting (IIS vs. Kestrel, or serverless) can change behavior.

Practical examples

• Small brochure site / classroom example: WebMatrix (historically) or better — a modern static site generator + VS Code for editing.
• Single-developer hobby project using Node/React: VS Code or WebStorm.
• Enterprise .NET application: Visual Studio (full) for best .NET tooling, or VS Code for cross-platform .NET Core if preferred.
• Team collaboration across remote contributors: VS Code with Live Share or cloud-hosted development environments.

Conclusion

For new projects, modern IDEs are almost always the better choice due to active development, extensive language and tooling support, powerful debugging and refactoring, and collaboration features. WebMatrix served an important role for quick starts and education, but it’s discontinued and lacks the capabilities required by contemporary web development workflows. If you maintain a legacy WebMatrix site, plan a migration path to a modern IDE and updated frameworks; for anything new, pick a modern IDE that matches your stack and scale.