Different Ways to Bind or Populate Dropdownlist Control In Asp.Net

In this article we will cover different ways to Bind or Populate DropDownList Control in Asp.Net

<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlCountry" runat="server"></asp:DropDownList>

Example 1

List<Country> countries = new List<Country>()
{
    new Country(){ Name = "India",Code = "IN"},
    new Country(){ Name = "USA",Code = "US"}
};
 
ddlCountry.DataSource = countries;
ddlCountry.DataTextField = "Name";
ddlCountry.DataValueField = "Code";
ddlCountry.DataBind();
ddlCountry.Items.Insert(0, new ListItem() { Text = "Please Select", Value = "" });

Example 2

ddlCountry.Items.Add(new ListItem() { Text = "Please Select", Value = "" });
ddlCountry.Items.Add(new ListItem() { Text = "India", Value = "IN" });
ddlCountry.Items.Add(new ListItem() { Text = "USA", Value = "US" });

Example 3

(Use this method when items needs to be added on perticular index)
ddlCountry.Items.Insert(0, new ListItem() { Text = "Please Select", Value = "" });
ddlCountry.Items.Insert(1, new ListItem() { Text = "India", Value = "IN" });
ddlCountry.Items.Insert(2, new ListItem() { Text = "USA", Value = "US" });