if and else - Django Template Tags

Last Updated : 7 May, 2026

The "if" tag in Django templates controls what content is displayed based on conditions. It can be combined with "elif (else-if)" and "else" to handle multiple conditional scenarios, allowing templates to show different content depending on various conditions. This provides a flexible way to dynamically render HTML based on data passed from views.

Syntax

{% if condition1 %}
<!-- Code to execute if condition1 is True -->
{% elif condition2 %}
<!-- Code to execute if condition2 is True -->
{% else %}
<!-- Code to execute if none of the above conditions are True -->
{% endif %}

  • condition1, condition2, etc., can be variables, comparisons, or any expression that evaluates to True or False.
  • {% elif %} and {% else %} are optional. Multiple {% elif %} blocks are allowed, but only one {% else %}.

Example: 

html 
{% if athlete_list %}
    Number of athletes: {{ athlete_list|length }}
{% elif athlete_in_locker_room_list %}
    Athletes should be out of the locker room soon!
{% else %}
    No athletes.
{% endif %}

Explanation:

  • {% if athlete_list %}: If the athlete_list is not empty, the number of athletes is displayed using the {{ athlete_list|length }} filter.
  • {% elif athlete_in_locker_room_list %}: If athlete_list is empty but athlete_in_locker_room_list has a value, a message saying athletes should be out of the locker room soon is displayed.
  • {% else %}: If neither condition is true, the message "No athletes." is shown.

Using {% if %} in a Django Application

Consider a project named 'geeksforgeeks' having an app named 'geeks'.

1. Creating the View

In geeks/views.py, a view can be defined to pass data to the template.

Python 
from django.shortcuts import render
 
def geeks_view(request):
    context = {
        "data" : 99,
    }
    return render(request, "geeks.html", context)

A key-value pair is passed in the context, where "data" has a value of 99.

2. Creating the URL Path

In the geeks/urls.py, Map the URL to this view.

Python 
from django.urls import path
from .views import geeks_view

urlpatterns = [
    path('', geeks_view),
]

3. Creating the Template

Create a template geeks.html inside the templates directory and use the {% if %} tag to conditionally render content.

html 
{% if data %}
Value in data is : - {{ data }}
{% else %}
Data is empty
{% endif %}

4. Output

Visit: http://127.0.0.1:8000/

if-django-template-tags

Handling Empty Values

If empty value is passed, like False, the {% else %} block will be executed.

Python 
from django.shortcuts import render
 
def geeks_view(request):
    context = {
        "data" : False,
    }
    return render(request, "geeks.html", context)

Visit: http://127.0.0.1:8000/ 

empty-tag-Django-template-tags

The functionality of Django Template Tags, specifically {% if %}, can be enhanced using Boolean operators (and, or, not) to combine multiple conditions.

Comment

Explore