Must ASP.NET MVC Controller Methods Return ActionResult?

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You can absolutely use specific return types, even though most examples on the web seems to return the ActionResult. The only time I would return the ActionResult class is when different paths of the action method returns different subtypes.

Steven Sanderson also recommends returning specific types in his book Pro ASP.NET MVC Framework. Take a look at the quote below:

This action method specifically declares that it returns an instance of ViewResult. It would work just the same if instead the method
return type was ActionResult (the base class for all action results).
In fact, some ASP.NET MVC programmers declare all their action methods
as returning a nonspecific ActionResult, even if they know for sure
that it will always return one particular subclass. However, it’s a
well-established principle in object-oriented programming that methods
should return the most specific type they can (as well as accepting
the most general parameter types they can). Following this principle
maximizes convenience and flexibility for code that calls your method,
such as your unit tests.

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