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When creating web parts for Sharepoint, is it better to create an actual web part, or is using and ASP.NET User Control (.ascx) just as good?
I already know how to create the user controls that I need, so it seems like the extra effort of creating a web part is just unnecessary leg work.
What are the advantages of using a web part over just creating and ASP.NET user control?
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If you are doing SharePoint development I would recommend always building a control as a web part, even if you are only embedding it statically in a page layout or master page, It gives you more options for re-use while still allowing you to use it as if it was just an ASP.NET control.
A customControl can be styled and templated and best suited for a situation when you are building a Control Library. On the contrary, a UserControl gives you an easy way to define reusable chunk of XAML which can be reused widely in your application and when you don't need to use it as a Control Library .
A User Control is a reusable page or control with an extension of . ascx and created similar to an . aspx page but the difference is that a User Control does not render on its own, it requires an . aspx page to be rendered. User Controls are very useful to avoid repetition of code for similar requirements.
I am a big fan of user controls except for the simplest web parts. I create a webpart that instantiates and loads the user control. There are other tools out there that you can use to expose your user control, like smartpart, but I would suggest you wrap it up yourself, as it is a good learning experience. Once you have done it once, you basically have a template for any other webpart you want to create.
Good Luck!
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