Page developers can use visual design tools such as Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 to create pages that use Web Parts. One advantage in using a tool such as Visual Studio is that the Web Parts control set provides features for drag-and-drop creation and configuration of Web Parts controls in a visual designer. For example, you can use the designer to drag a Web Parts zone, or a Web Parts editor control, onto the design surface, and then configure the control right in the designer using the UI provided by the Web Parts control set. This can speed development of Web Parts applications and reduce the amount of code you have to write.

You can use any existing ASP.NET control as a Web Parts control, including standard Web server controls, custom server controls, and user controls. For maximum programmatic control of your environment, you can also create custom Web Parts controls that derive from the WebPart class. For individual Web Parts control development, you will typically either create a user control and use it as a Web Parts control, or develop a custom Web Parts control.

As an example of developing a custom Web Parts control, you could create a control to provide any of the features provided by other ASP.NET server controls that might be useful to package as a personalizable Web Parts control: calendars, lists, financial information, news, calculators, rich text controls for updating content, editable grids that connect to databases, charts that dynamically update their displays, or weather and travel information. If you provide a visual designer with your control, then any page developer using Visual Studio can simply drag your control into a Web Parts zone and configure it at design time without having to write additional code.

Developing fully integrated and personalizable Web applications--such as a portal-- involves the most comprehensive use of Web Parts. You can develop a Web site that allows extensive user personalization of the UI and content--with features similar to MSN. Or you can even develop a packaged application that can be shipped and used by companies or fee-based ISPs that provide portal hosting services.

In a Web application scenario, you could offer a complete solution for end users to manage and personalize the application. This could include a set of Web Parts controls that provide the desired features for the site, a consistent set of themes and styles that allow end users to personalize the UI in a consistent way, catalogs of Web Parts controls from which users can select the ones they want to appear on a page, authentication services, and role-based management (for example, allowing administrative users to personalize Web Parts controls and site settings for all users).

For each part of your application, you can extend the Web Parts control set as needed to provide greater control over the environment. For example, besides authoring custom Web Parts controls for the primary UI of your pages, you might also want to develop a custom Web Parts catalog that is consistent with the look and feel of your application, and gives users more flexibility to choose how controls are added to a page. Or you could extend a zone control to provide additional UI options for the Web Parts controls it contains. You could also write a custom personalization provider to give more flexibility and control over how the personalization data is stored and managed.