In this article I will explain with an example, how to insert data into Database using Web API and Entity Framework in ASP.Net MVC Razor.
When the Add Button is clicked, the InsertCustomer Action method of the Web API is called using jQuery AJAX and the details of Customer are sent as JSON object.
Finally, after insertion the ID of the inserted Customer record is returned back to the View in ASP.Net MVC Razor.
Note: For beginners in ASP.Net MVC and Web API, please refer my article: What is Web API, why to use it and how to use it in ASP.Net MVC for details about using and configuring Web API.
 
 
Database
I have made use of the following table Customers with the schema as follows. CustomerId is an Auto-Increment (Identity) column.
ASP.Net MVC: Insert data into Database using Web API and Entity Framework
 
I have already inserted few records in the table.
ASP.Net MVC: Insert data into Database using Web API and Entity Framework
 
Note: You can download the database table SQL by clicking the download link below.
          Download SQL file
 
 
Entity Framework Model
Once the Entity Framework is configured and connected to the database table, the Model will look as shown below.
Note: For beginners in ASP.Net MVC and Entity Framework, please refer my article ASP.Net MVC: Simple Entity Framework Tutorial with example. It covers all the information needed for connecting and configuring Entity Framework.
 
ASP.Net MVC: Insert data into Database using Web API and Entity Framework
 
 
Controller
The Controller consists of the following Action method.
Action method for handling GET operation
Inside this Action method, simply the View is returned.
public class HomeController : Controller
{
    // GET: Home
    public ActionResult Index()
    {
        return View();
    }
}
 
 
Web API Controller
The Web API Controller consists of the following Action method.
Action method for Inserting
Inside this Action method, the received Customer object is inserted into the Customers table and the updated Customer object with generated Customer Id is returned back to the calling jQuery AJAX function.
public class AjaxAPIController : ApiController
{
    [Route("api/AjaxAPI/InsertCustomer")]
    [HttpPost]
    public Customer InsertCustomer(Customer _customer)
    {
        using (CustomersEntities entities = new CustomersEntities())
        {
            entities.Customers.Add(_customer);
            entities.SaveChanges();
        }
 
        return _customer;
    }
}
 
 
View
The View consists of two TextBoxes and a Button. The Button has been assigned with a jQuery Click event handler.
When the Add button is clicked, the Name and the Country values are fetched from their respective TextBoxes and then passed to the InsertCustomer Action method using jQuery AJAX function.
The ID of the Inserted record is displayed using JavaScript Alert Message Box.
@{
    Layout = null;
}
 
<!DOCTYPE html>
 
<html>
<head>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width"/>
    <title>Index</title>
</head>
<body>
    <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
        <tr>
            <td style="width: 150px">
                Name<br/>
                <input type="text" id="txtName" style="width:140px"/>
            </td>
            <td style="width: 150px">
                Country:<br/>
                <input type="text" id="txtCountry" style="width:140px"/>
            </td>
            <td style="width: 200px">
                <br/>
                <input type="button" id="btnAdd" value="Add"/>
            </td>
        </tr>
    </table>
 
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.3/jquery.min.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://ajax.cdnjs.com/ajax/libs/json2/20110223/json2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript">
        $("body").on("click", "#btnAdd", function () {
            var txtName = $("#txtName");
            var txtCountry = $("#txtCountry");
            var _customer = {};
            _customer.Name = txtName.val();
            _customer.Country = txtCountry.val();
            $.ajax({
                type: "POST",
                url: "/api/AjaxAPI/InsertCustomer",
                data: JSON.stringify(_customer),
                contentType: "application/json; charset=utf-8",
                dataType: "json",
                success: function (r) {
                    alert("CustomerId: " + r.CustomerId.toString());
                  }
            });
        });
    </script>
</body>
</html>
 
 
Screenshot
ASP.Net MVC: Insert data into Database using Web API and Entity Framework
 
 
Downloads
Download Code