Set the SiteMapPath.RootNodeTemplate to an System.Web.UI.ITemplate object to use an System.Web.UI.WebControls.Image control or some other control, such as a System.Web.UI.WebControls.Label as the root node's user interface element instead of a string.

If the SiteMapPath.RootNodeTemplate property is set, the template overrides both the root navigation node text displayed and any SiteMapPath.RootNodeStyle applied to it. The template also overrides the SiteMapPath.CurrentNodeTemplate and SiteMapPath.CurrentNodeStyle properties if the root page is the currently displayed page.

You can declaratively set the SiteMapPath.RootNodeTemplate property to any Web server control, and the ASP.NET infrastructure performs the necessary steps to wrap the Web server control as an System.Web.UI.ITemplate. However, Web server controls do not implement the System.Web.UI.ITemplate interface; therefore, when you work with the System.Web.UI.ITemplate properties programmatically, you must write an System.Web.UI.ITemplate wrapper for any template code. Then, the SiteMapPath.RootNodeTemplate property is set to an instance of the System.Web.UI.ITemplate wrapper.