ViewResult vs. ActionResult

ActionResult is an abstract class for all action result types in ASP.NET MVC, so is more general

ViewResult derives from ActionResult. Like others: JsonResult and PartialViewResult …

// OK
public ActionResult Index()
{
    return Json(new { foo = "bar", baz = "Blech" });
}
// OK
public ActionResult Index()
{
    return View(new { foo = "bar", baz = "Blech" });
}
// KO
public JsonResult Index()
{
    return View(new { foo = "bar", baz = "Blech" });
}
// OK
public JsonResult Index()
{
    return Json(new { foo = "bar", baz = "Blech" });
}
// OK
public ViewResult Index()
{
    return View(new { foo = "bar", baz = "Blech" });
}