Although ASP.NET Web API is packaged with ASP.NET MVC, it is easy to add Web API to a traditional ASP.NET Web Forms application. This tutorial walks you through the steps.
## Overview
To use Web API in a Web Forms application, there are two main steps:
- Add a Web API controller that derives from the **ApiController** class.
- Add a route table to the **Application\_Start** method.
## Create a Web Forms Project
Start Visual Studio and select **New Project** from the **Start** page. Or, from the **File** menu, select **New** and then **Project**.
In the **Templates** pane, select **Installed Templates** and expand the **Visual C#** node. Under **Visual C#**, select **Web**. In the list of project templates, select **ASP.NET Web Forms Application**. Enter a name for the project and click **OK**.
This tutorial uses the same model and controller classes as the [Getting Started](tutorial-your-first-web-api.md) tutorial.
First, add a model class. In **Solution Explorer**, right-click the project and select **Add Class**. Name the class Product, and add the following implementation:
Under **Installed Templates**, expand **Visual C#** and select **Web**. Then, from the list of templates, select **Web API Controller Class**. Name the controller "ProductsController" and click **Add**.
When the document loads, this script makes an AJAX request to "api/products". The request returns a list of products in JSON format. The script adds the product information to the HTML table.
When you run the application, it should look like this:
