Scaling Sitefinity for High Traffic Events with the ASP.NET Core Rendering Engine
Discover how we helped a client scale their Sitefinity website to handle massive traffic surges without downtime. Learn how the ASP.NET Core Rendering Engine improved performance, reduced costs, and simplified development—without requiring a full site rebuild.
Jan 30, 2025

When a client approached us with a pressing challenge—scaling their Sitefinity website to withstand massive traffic spikes during key weekends—we knew a traditional approach wouldn’t cut it. Their previous experiences had been marred by downtime at crucial moments, leading to frustrated users and lost opportunities. They needed a solution that would keep their website up and running, no matter the demand.

The Challenge: Handling Sudden Traffic Surges

The client's Sitefinity-powered website struggled under the weight of high-traffic bursts, crashing when thousands of users flooded the platform simultaneously. They sought a way to make their site:

  • Scalable—able to handle traffic spikes without performance issues
  • Cost-effective—minimizing infrastructure expenses
  • Easily deployable—without requiring a full site rebuild

They had explored several potential solutions but were concerned about the effort and cost of a complete overhaul. That’s where our unique approach came in.

Our Solution: Leveraging the ASP.NET Core Rendering Engine

Rather than restructuring the entire site, we implemented Sitefinity’s ASP.NET Core Rendering Engine, which allows content to be surfaced through APIs while keeping the CMS backend untouched. Here’s how it made a difference:

  • Lightweight & Scalable: Unlike the traditional Sitefinity CMS, which runs on Windows, the rendering engine is a standalone, lightweight application that can run on Linux. This means we could easily scale horizontally—spinning up multiple instances to handle high traffic loads.
  • Cost Savings: Running the ASP.NET Core Rendering Engine on Linux dramatically reduced infrastructure costs since Linux instances avoid Windows licensing fees.
  • Selective Conversion for Maximum Impact: Many organizations hesitate to adopt ASP.NET Core, fearing they must convert their entire site. However, that’s not the case. We identified only the most high-traffic pages and widgets for conversion, significantly reducing development effort and cost while keeping the rest of the site on the traditional Sitefinity CMS.
  • Simplified Codebase: By transitioning high-traffic pages to ASP.NET Core, we reduced reliance on custom Sitefinity widgets. Instead, we leveraged built-in widgets with minor template modifications, streamlining development and reducing technical debt.

Lessons Learned: Planning is Key

While selecting high-traffic pages for conversion was straightforward, we quickly realized that defining scope by pages alone was insufficient. The real complexity lay in identifying dependencies, including:

  • Widgets on each page – Some needed to be rewritten, while others could be reused.
  • Templates & Layouts – Ensuring the converted pages fit seamlessly within the overall design.
  • Supporting functionality – Hidden dependencies in custom code required careful refactoring.

Breaking down the work at the widget and template level—rather than just by page—allowed for better visibility into the scope of work and a more predictable implementation process.

The Outcome: A Scalable, Cost-Effective Website

By strategically integrating the ASP.NET Core Rendering Engine, our client’s website is now:

  • Highly scalable, handling burst traffic with ease
  • More cost-effective, thanks to Linux-based hosting
  • More maintainable, with a simplified, modular architecture

This project demonstrated that Sitefinity users don’t need to choose between scalability and cost-efficiency—with the right approach, they can have both. If you’re considering ways to future-proof your Sitefinity site, adopting a hybrid approach with ASP.NET Core could be the perfect solution.

Want to explore how your website can benefit from this approach? Let’s talk.

Begin Your Success Story

By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies. We use cookies to provide you with a great experience and to help our website run effectively. For more, see our Privacy Policy.