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Asked: 2026-05-11T21:36:04+00:00

When you create a new website on IIS, you get to choose between an

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When you create a new website on IIS, you get to choose between an “Application” and a “Virtual Directory”. What is the difference between those two options?

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  1. Editorial Team

    There are a few differences, here are the biggest:

    • In IIS 6 and up, you can assign an application a certain “protection” level. (e.g. protection levels, application pools, etc). You can’t do this with Virtual Directories
    • If you are working with ASP.NET, the search for the master “Web.config” file for your application stops at your application level. For a working directory it will actually check your parent hierarchy for settings as well.

    These are the two biggest differences in my opinion, although there are other small ones as well.

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