Repeater Control in ASP.NET Web Forms with C#

Here’s a complete concept and sample code for using a Repeater control in ASP.NET Web Forms with C#, perfect for displaying data from a SQL Server database.

What is a Repeater in ASP.NET?

The Repeater control is a data-bound control that renders a custom HTML layout for each record in a data source. Unlike GridView or ListView, Repeater offers full control over the output, making it lightweight and flexible.

 Real-Time Example Scenario

Let’s say you want to display a list of IPOs (Initial Public Offerings) with Symbol, Company Name, and Listing Date in a clean format.

 Step-by-Step Repeater Integration

 ASPX Markup (with Repeater)

<asp:Repeater ID="rptIPOList" runat="server">
    <HeaderTemplate>
        <table border="1" cellpadding="5">
            <tr>
                <th>Symbol</th>
                <th>Company Name</th>
                <th>Listing Date</th>
            </tr>
    </HeaderTemplate>

    <ItemTemplate>
            <tr>
                <td><%# Eval("Symbol") %></td>
                <td><%# Eval("CompanyName") %></td>
                <td><%# Eval("ListingDate", "{0:dd-MM-yyyy}") %></td>
            </tr>
    </ItemTemplate>

    <FooterTemplate>
        </table>
    </FooterTemplate>
</asp:Repeater>

C# Code-Behind (Page_Load + SQL)

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    if (!IsPostBack)
    {
        BindRepeater();
    }
}
private void BindRepeater()
{
    string connStr = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["IPOOnline"].ConnectionString;

    using (SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(connStr))
    {
        string query = "SELECT Symbol, CompanyName, ListingDate FROM IPObidfiledetailsoffline";
        using (SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand(query, conn))
        {
            conn.Open();
            SqlDataReader rdr = cmd.ExecuteReader();
            rptIPOList.DataSource = rdr;
            rptIPOList.DataBind();
        }
    }
}

 Output

When this code runs, the Repeater will generate.

Symbol	Company Name	Listing Date
ABC123	ABC Corp	01-08-2025
XYZ789	XYZ Ltd	05-08-2025

Why Use Repeater?

Feature	Benefit
Full HTML Control	Customize layout, tags, CSS
Lightweight	No ViewState or server-side UI
Fast Rendering	Ideal for simple data display

Tip

If you want paging or editing, use GridView instead. But for display-only lists with full HTML freedom, Repeater is best.