I've a 2.0 .NET web app that I created in VS2003.  Every page has same info, such as header and footer.  At first I created a MasterPage.  MasterPage just included header and footer, however I came across another solution that shows the use of User Control (create footer.ascx and header.ascx) for this purpose and not MasterPage.

I'm confused as to which solution I should implement.  Which is the better one and why?

 I think the ASCX extension and 'includes' goes back to the days of classic ASP. You should use master pages.

I prefer master page
Advantages of Master Pages

 I would use both. I mainly use masterpages for doing layout changes. I use usercontrols for creating specific content. For example, I would create user controls for login, header, footer, weather item, stock ticker, news ticker.

Then you could easily use those same controls in a different master page with a different look and feel without duplicating any code.

BD

All true..

If you do need to have the option to split the header and footer, use user controls. If you wanna include both the header and footer, use the MasterPage.

Personally I hate the idea of going back to the classic ASP method. Use the MasterPage, you will love it :)

 I agree.  I'm loving this solution.  It works well for my app and appreciate that I only have to make changes in one place!

 I use Master Pages and User Controls: My site requires a variety of layouts, so I have a user control for each component of the layout, then I use the master pages to combine these components in different ways.

In fact, I can't think of any reason not to use both!