ASP.NET is a server-side web application framework that allows developers to build dynamic web pages using .NET languages like VB.NET and C#. It is built on the .NET Framework and uses components like the CLR and class libraries. ASP.NET pages separate the design and code into HTML templates and code behind files. Common controls include HTML, ASP.NET, and user controls. The code behind files contain the programming logic and inherit from the page class. When requested, ASP.NET pages go through events like init, load, and render to generate the final HTML sent to browsers.