In this article I will explain the difference between Label and Literal controls in ASP.Net and when to use Label control and when Literal control.
HTML Markup
The below HTML Markup consists of two ASP.Net Label controls and one Literal control. Of the two Label controls, for the Label Label2, I have set AssociatedControlID property.
<asp:Label ID = "Label1" Text="Label Normal" runat="server" />
<br />
<asp:Label ID = "Label2" Text="Label Associated" AssociatedControlID = "Label1" runat="server" />
<br />
<asp:Literal ID = "Literal1" Text="Literal" runat="server" />
![Difference between Label and Literal control in ASP.Net]()
Difference between Label and Literal controls in ASP.Net
Label control
1. Label control (by default) is rendered as HTML <span> Tag i.e. the Text is enclosed within the HTML <span> Tags. When AssociatedControlID property is set for the Label control it is then rendered as HTML <label> Tag i.e. the Text is enclosed within the HTML <label> Tags.
2. Label control can be styled i.e. its Font, Color, Font Size, etc. can be easily changed.
3. Label control can be easily accessed via JavaScript or jQuery.
4. Generally used for displaying Text content on Web pages.
Literal control
1. Literal control is rendered as is i.e. it is not enclosed within any HTML Tags.
2. Literal control cannot be styled as it does not use any HTML tag.
3. Literal control in spite of giving ID is rendered without ID hence cannot be accessed via JavaScript or jQuery.
4. Generally used for adding HTML content on page for example suppose you want to add HTML <div> Tag and if you would use Label it would not be correct HTML since as per W3C Standards an HTML <div> cannot be rendered within a <span> or <label> tag.
