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Lesson 3: Creating Your First ASP.NET Core Project

In this lesson, you will create your first ASP.NET Core project using Visual Studio 2026. This is an important milestone because it introduces you to the workflow used in many real .NET web applications.

Choosing the right project template

Visual Studio provides multiple ASP.NET Core templates. For beginners, one of the best choices is:

• ASP.NET Core Web App (Model-View-Controller)

This template is ideal because it introduces the MVC pattern, which is widely used in structured web development.

Step-by-step project creation

1. Open Visual Studio 2026
2. Click Create a new project
3. Search for ASP.NET Core Web App (Model-View-Controller)
4. Select the template and click Next
5. Enter a project name such as AspNetCoreDemo
6. Choose a suitable project location
7. Click Next
8. Select the latest .NET version available
9. Choose None for authentication for now
10. Click Create

What Visual Studio creates for you

Once the project is created, Visual Studio generates a ready-to-run web application. This includes the core folders, startup code, and a sample homepage. Instead of beginning with an empty project, you get a working base that you can explore and modify.

Running the project

To run the project, press F5 or click the Run button in Visual Studio. The application will be built and launched in your browser.

You should see a default home page generated by the template. This confirms that your development environment is working correctly.

Understanding the first launch

When the project runs for the first time, several things happen:

• The code is compiled into an executable application
• A local development web server is started
• The browser opens the home page
• Routing sends the request to the default controller and action

A look at the startup code

In newer ASP.NET Core projects, the application is often configured in Program.cs. The code may look similar to this:

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddControllersWithViews();

var app = builder.Build();

app.UseHttpsRedirection();
app.UseStaticFiles();
app.UseRouting();
app.UseAuthorization();

app.MapControllerRoute(
    name: "default",
    pattern: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}");

app.Run();

Do not worry if this looks confusing now. In later lessons, you will understand each part step by step.

Why MVC is a good starting point

MVC stands for Model-View-Controller:

• Model represents data
• View displays the interface
• Controller handles requests and logic

This structure helps keep applications organized and easier to maintain.

What to explore after creating the project

Before moving to the next lesson, take a few minutes to inspect the generated folders and files. Look at:

• Program.cs
• Controllers
• Views
• wwwroot
• appsettings.json

Conclusion

You have successfully created and run your first ASP.NET Core MVC project. This gives you a working base for future lessons. In the next lesson, we will explore the project structure in detail so you can understand what each file and folder does.