asp.net mvc 4 working as web application not as a website

Question

I have a simple asp.net mvc 4 web application, there is no code problem or any issues with routing.

I deploy it to IIS(any version) as a web application it works fine i can browse my site fine. If i just deploy it to web site, it throws standard 404 not found exception.

I am trying to understand why this happens with asp.net mvc web applications?

Any clues? Any experience deploying this as a web site?

Answer 1

Web Applications are compiled, Web Sites are as-is, meaning your C# files are served without actually being compiled in to a .dll

This is why it isn't working, MVC sites must be compiled in to a .dll