iX Magazine: From Desktop to Web app with Wisej.NET

Translated article first published in the German iX Magazine June 2025

by Dr. Veikko Krypczyk

The Wisej.NET framework makes it easy for .NET developers to migrate proven desktop applications to the web or to develop new applications. Version 4 brings modern language features, more flexible markup and better portability.

When companies want to optimize their software platforms, they often want to transfer established desktop programs to the web or develop new applications using the skills and tools already available in their team. This is where the Wisej.NET framework comes in, which can be used to create web applications with C# or VB.NET in Visual Studio. It combines the .NET development environment with the advantages of modern web technology. Unlike traditional web frameworks, which often require extensive knowledge of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, Wisej.NET allows you to create web applications with a graphical designer and an extensive library of UI components directly in Visual Studio. The process is comparable to the development of desktop applications with Windows Forms, WPF and similar technologies.

German iX Magazine featuring Wisej.NET in its June 2025 edition. Full download available at the end of this page.

Single-page web applications created with Wisej.NET synchronize continuously between client and server by exchanging small differential Ajax/JSON packets via a WebSocket connection (an HTTP fallback is possible). Wisej.NET enables a flat learning curve for .NET developers, as it is based on familiar concepts and tools. It also integrates third-party components and freely available JavaScript controls. It is possible to create responsive web applications that run on different devices and operating systems. The manufacturer - the US-based Ice Tea Group - has now released version 4 of the framework.

Suitable for migration and new development

Wisej.NET is suitable both for the migration of existing desktop applications and for the development of modern web apps. Many companies have been using Windows Forms or WPF applications for years, which often contain complex business logic. In such cases, a complete redevelopment for the web is cost-intensive, risky and often unnecessary. Migration has advantages:

• A large part of the existing C# or VB.NET code can be adopted, as Wisej.NET is based on the .NET ecosystem.

• Developers can continue to work with familiar concepts such as events, controls, layouts and the designer.

• With the available controls, layout containers and the designer, classic desktop UIs can be quickly converted into modern web interfaces.

• Thanks to the HTML5 rendering engine, apps can easily be made responsive - a prerequisite for use on mobile devices or in different browser environments.

In addition to migration, Wisej.NET is also suitable for the complete development of complex business applications, especially if teams come from the .NET environment. The advantages here are:

• With Wisej.NET, single page applications (SPA) are created with high performance through updates based on WebSockets, which are equipped for complex requirements.

• The integrated graphical designer allows an interactive design in which application interfaces can be created for the browser in a similar way to WPF or Windows Forms.

• Developers can use JavaScript interoperability to integrate external JavaScript libraries or write their own web components.

• Wisej.NET runs on the server in a NET application. Therefore, security standards, authentication and deployment are simplified.

The architecture of Wisej.NET is based on server-side logic. (Figure 1)

Modular architecture based on server-client model

Wisej.NET has a modular architecture that combines classic .NET paradigms with the possibilities of modern web development. Developers remain in the world of Visual Studio and C# (or VB.NET), but work with technologies that use current web standards such as HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript under the hood. Wisej.NET is based on a server-client model that executes the application on the server under .NET, while the user interface is displayed in the browser with JavaScript components. It communicates in real time via WebSockets. The architecture has various key points (Fig. 1):

• Server-side logic: The business logic remains on the server; no additional APIs or services need to be implemented to separate UI and logic.

• Client-side rendering: The user interface is rendered as an HTML5 application.

• The application is displayed in the browser with a JavaScript-based runtime environment.

• Unlike classic web frameworks, the UI model in Wisej.NET is stateful, similar to desktop apps. This means less effort when managing states and navigation.

• Instead of complete page reloads, Wisej.NET only sends changes (deltaupdates) to the client, resulting in high performance and minimal latency.

The DataGrid belongs to the standard controls of Wisej.NET. (Figure 2)

Wisej.NET contains a component-based UI system with many predefined controls such as buttons, text fields, combo boxes, menus, data grids and other UI controls (Fig. 2). The UI is defined either via the Visual Studio Designer or declaratively via Fluent Markup. Wisej.NET follows a component-oriented approach reminiscent of WinForms, but with modern features such as themes, responsive layout, dynamic styling and data binding. The following features are particularly relevant when developing business products: Design time support with a live preview of the web application, data binding for various objects and data sources in NET, theming with complete control over the visual appearance and JavaScript interoperability for the integration of external web libraries and UI components (such as D3.js and Chart.js).

Wisej.NET runs in the .NET ecosystem and works with both the classic .NET Framework as well as .NET Core. This proves to be particularly helpful in migration projects, as older desktop applications are usually based on the .NET Framework and have not yet been converted to .NET Core. Older applications based on the .NET framework can be migrated to a web application immediately and an update to .NET Core can be carried out later.

.NET developers can access all common libraries, including Entity Framework (EF Core) for database connection. It is possible to host Wisej.NET applications on a web server (Windows, Linux), use Docker, deploy them via the cloud (e.g. Azure App Service) and package them via Wisej.NET Hybrid into a cross-platform application that can be used offline with a local web server in order to address devices without network access.

Graphical designer in Visual Studio for Wisej.NET apps: UI design is component-based. (Figure 3)

Version 4 with Fluent Markup and Managed Graphics

Wisej.NET 4 optimizes existing functions and also brings new features. It takes into account the .NET Core Designer, contains a cross-platform library for managed graphics (System.Drawing.Managed), Fluent Markup for UI design and implements Markdown for text-based UI controls. Another new feature is the complete integration of the graphic designer for .NET Core projects in Visual Studio 2022 (from version 17.6). Previously, .NET Core was fully supported; however, in order to use the visual designer, a reference to the .NET Framework was still required. The development team has now removed this dependency and forms and user controls can now be edited visually with the new .NET Core-based Designer (Figure 3). Wisej.NET 4.0 continues to work with both .NET Framework and .NET Core.

Previously, Wisej.NET relied on GDI+ and System.Drawing to draw custom interfaces, which could be problematic in .NET Core environments - especially under Linux and macOS. With version 4, Wisej.NET introduces Managed Graphics, a fully managed rendering system based on the universal graphics library Image Sharp. The advantages: platform-independent drawing under Windows, Linux, macOS and Docker, compatible with current .NET versions and high resolution display (High-DPI) including scaling and smoothing. Existing drawing code can be ported with minimal adaptations. GDI+ can still be used for existing projects.

Declarative UI (C#)

var textBox = new TextBox
{
	LabelText = "Name:",
	Location = new Point(20, 20),
	Size = new Size(150, 24)
};
var binding = textBox.DataBindings.Add("Text", dataSource, "FirstName");
binding.Format += (s, e) => { 
	e.Value = e.Value.ToString().ToUpper();
};
var button = new Button
{
	Text = "Click me",
	Location = new Point(20, 50),
	Size = new Size(80, 32),
};
button.Click += (s, e) => { 
	// Do something on click.
};
page.Controls.Add(button);
page.Controls.Add(textBox);

Fluent Marketup (C#)

using Wisej.Web.Markup;

page.Controls(
	new TextBox()
		.LabelText("Name:")
		.Location(20, 20)
		.Size(154, 24)
		.Bind("Text", dataSource, "FirstName", 
			format: v => v.Value.ToString().ToUpper()),
	new Button()
		.Text("Click me")
		.Location(20, 50)
		.Size(80, 32)
		.OnClick(b =>
		{
			// Do something on click.
		}
));

With Fluent Markup, user interfaces can be defined by code. C# code is used to declare the UI. Developers are familiar with this approach from .NET MAUI. Fluent markup code is useful for creating dynamic user interfaces at runtime, for example to generate forms based on data structures. The syntax is more compact and easier to read than the object-oriented notation (see above).

Fluent Markup can also help to create UI templates for reusable modules. Version 4 natively supports the rendering of Markdown and extended HTML in controls with a text label. This function is useful for document views or report components, for example.

The new version 4 comes with numerous detailed improvements that make the framework more developer friendly and modern. For example, the development team has implemented the ControlRendered and ControlUpdated events for all control elements. This allows you to customize the rendering behavior and react to changes in the browser without having to create your own subclasses. All C# project templates have also been revised: They now use modern .NET language features such as file-scoped namespaces and toplevel statements, which makes the code clearer and leaner. An upgrade tool is available for the migration from Wisej.NET 3.x to 4.0. Existing .NET Framework 4.8 and VB.NET projects can still be maintained.

Free Community Edition available

Wisej.NET offers a flexible licensing model that includes both developer and server licenses (detailed information can be found at https://wisej.com/server-licenses/). In addition to the free Community Edition, the Professional and Enterprise Editions are available for developers. The Community Edition is suitable for individual developers, students, teachers and small companies with an annual turnover of less than 1 million US dollars and up to five developers. The Professional Edition (1,190 US dollars) offers extended functions and is designed for professional development teams. The Enterprise Edition (USD 1,690) includes all the functions of the Professional Edition as well as additional premium features and support services.

For the operation of Wisej.NET applications on servers, separate licenses are required, which differ according to the number of CPU cores and the recommended number of concurrent users (Recommended Clients). The free Express license is designed for one core and up to one hundred users. The standard license (USD 690) is valid for two cores and up to 250 users. For larger use cases, there is the Advanced License (USD 2,490, four cores and up to one thousand users) and Data Center Licenses (USD 7,990 to 28,990).

Alternatives to Wisej.NET

There are several tools and frameworks that compete with Wisej.NET in individual areas - depending on the application scenario, technology preference and project requirements.

Blazor creates .NET web apps with C# instead of JavaScript; different rendering models are available: WebAssembly, static server and server. Blazor is also available in .NET and has a large community. One disadvantage compared to Wisej. NET is that there is no visual designer, more complex state handling is required and direct (automatic) migration of Windows Forms and WPF applications is not possible.

In JavaScript and TypeScript frameworks with .NET integration, Angular and React can be used for the front end and ASP.NET Core for the back end. Here, the existing .NET code can only be reused in approaches for the business logic on the server. The browser-based clients must be created from scratch based on the selected technology.

The Mobilize.NET WebMAP tool for C# and Angular migrates .NET desktop applications (WinForms, WPF) into web apps. WebMAP analyzes the existing C# code and extracts business logic and UI. It automatically transforms them into a web architecture with Angular frontend and ASP.NET core backend. Despite the automation, the approach also has its limitations: the original UI is not adopted one-to-one. Mobilize.NET WebMAP converts the business logic automatically, but the UI is new in Angular to design and customize. In addition, there is no visual designer available. The frontend is designed in Angular code or in HTML and CSS, which requires additional knowledge.

Wisej.NET therefore has a special position for the software modernization of WinForms and WPF applications; in particular, the graphical designer with an event and component-based approach makes the transfer of existing code much easier.

Conclusion

Wisej.NET 4 can be used to create web-based business applications for .NET Framework and .NET Core. It is designed for developers who want to transfer existing WinForms and WPF applications to a modern web environment without having to change fundamental paradigms. With server-side logic, a component-based UI model and the visual designer, the development approach remains familiar - with simultaneous access to modern web functions such as WebSocket, responsive layout and integration of third-party JavaScript controls and components. The new version brings important technical innovations such as Managed Graphics, Fluent Markup and NET Core-compatible designer support.

With Wisej.NET Hybrid, there are additional options for use beyond the web browser. Existing applications can be deployed across platforms as native apps for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android - including access to local system resources. The integration takes place with .NET MAUI and a web-based Wisej.NET app is thus hosted in a native .NET MAUI container.

Pros	Cons
Reusability of existing .NET code visual designer for web UIs Fast migration of WinForms and WPF applications Integration of JavaScript and third-party UI components case studies about successful projects from different industries	limited community compared to mainstream web frameworks Dependence on the provider for long-term further development WPF migration with XAML-based UI code currently without designer support Software migration harbors the risk of inheriting deficiencies in the architecture

Note: This text is an unauthorized translation from the iX Magazine June 2025. The original text in German is available for download here:

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