An ASP.NET Web Form can contain any or all of the following types of server controls:

HTML Server Controls

Programmable HTML controls. HTML server controls expose an object model that maps very closely to the HTML elements that they render.

Web Server Controls

Programmable controls with more built-in features than HTML server controls. Web server controls include not only controls for user input, but also controls to display data-bound lists, and special-purpose controls.

Validation Controls

Controls that incorporate logic to allow validation of user input. Validation controls enable checking for a required field, and testing against a specific value or pattern of characters, between ranges, and so on.

User Controls

User-defined controls that are mainly used for embedding in other ASP.NET Web pages. User controls provide an easy way to create reusable page elements, such as a search box with built-in user-defined search logic.

Now let’s briefly explore the main features of each type of server control.