MVC 6 Attribute Routing using the new "[controller]/[action]" Tokens and Areas - asp.net-mvc-routing

Question

OK, I know the easiest way to use Attribute Routing in MVC 6 is:
public class Startup
{
public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
{
services.AddMvc();
}
public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app)
{
app.UseMvc();
}
}
And here is the controller code using the new Tokens (without Areas):
[Route("[controller]/[action]")]
public class HomeController : Controller
{
}
And here is the controller code using the new Tokens (with Areas):
[Area("MyArea")]
[Route("[controller]/[action]")]
public class HomeController : Controller
{
}
Questions:
Is this how MS wants you to code your controllers using Areas and Tokens?
Or is there a cleaner way?
Could they have somehow created an [area] Token?
Lastly, I know I can play this game, but isn't the 1st convention-based approach - app.UseMvc() - the simplest?
public void Configure(IApplicationBuilder app)
{
app.UseMvc(routes =>
{
routes.MapRoute(
name: "areaRoute",
template: "{area:exists}/{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}"
);
});
}

Answer 1

Microsoft gives you two options, each with own pros and cons. You should decide which one is better based on your context/needs.
Convention based routing
Pros:
It is simpler, instead of defining everything on an per-action level you just decide once and for all how your urls will looks like .
Perfect when your urls exactly match controller/action names.
If you want to change and url you need change the name of class/method.
Perfect for projects with clean and predictable url structure.
Perfect for quickly prototyping a new project.
Slightly easier for developers -> by knowing an url you know in which controller/action lies the functionality
Cons:
You loose little bit of control
Attribute-based routing
Pros:
Gives you total control over how the url looks like, for example for SEO purposes.
If you want to change an url you do not need to change the name of class/method.
Perfect when your urls do not match controller and action names or you want to hand-craft them (i.e customer wants that).
Perfect for maintaining backward compatibility, when you have an legacy project and want to have compatible url structure.
Cons:
Requires little bit more work, as you need to define the routes in your code. Please note that adding an attribute to a class/method is a matter of seconds.
How to decide which one to use:
If you have/expect to have very few routes.MapRoute() calls -> use convention routing as its simpler
If you have/expect to have lots of routes.MapRoute() calls -> use attribute routing