Learn how to structure HTML semantically for improved SEO and accessibility with this guide on best web development practices.

Essential Strategies for Semantic HTML Structure Use Semantic HTML Elements: Utilize elements like , , , and to accurately represent different sections of your page's content. Properly Nest Elements: Ensure elements are nested logically and hierarchically, maintaining a clear structure throughout your HTML document. Avoid Presentational Elements: Refrain from using presentational elements like or attributes like align. Instead, use CSS for styling, keeping HTML focused on content and structure. Follow Accessibility Guidelines: Ensure your HTML is accessible by using landmarks like and providing descriptive text alternatives for non-text content.

1) Validate HTML : Use online HTML validators to check for syntax errors and ensure your HTML markup follows the standards. 2) Test for accessibility: By using accessibility tools you can ensure that your HTML is accessible to users with disabilities.This includes screen readers, keyboard navigation,ensuring proper contrast and font sizes.

Ensure Semantic Structure in Your HTML

1 HTML Basics

To start, you need to grasp the basics of HTML. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It consists of elements represented by tags. Semantic structure in HTML means using these tags to convey the meaning of the content they enclose, rather than just presentation. For example, use <article> for a self-contained composition, <section> for a thematic grouping, and <header> for introductory content.

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Aathithyabalan J

Full-Stack Engineer Intern @ Sifocom | 14k+ Community | Crafting Tech Stories, Insights & Memes | Web Dev | Python | Java | C | Inspiring Growth Through Code & Creativity
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Essential Strategies for Semantic HTML Structure Use Semantic HTML Elements: Utilize elements like <header>, <nav>, <main>, and <footer> to accurately represent different sections of your page's content. Properly Nest Elements: Ensure elements are nested logically and hierarchically, maintaining a clear structure throughout your HTML document. Avoid Presentational Elements: Refrain from using presentational elements like <font> or attributes like align. Instead, use CSS for styling, keeping HTML focused on content and structure. Follow Accessibility Guidelines: Ensure your HTML is accessible by using landmarks like <main> and providing descriptive text alternatives for non-text content.

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Prince Kumar

Accessibility Lead Engineer at HCL(Google) | DHS Trusted Tester | WCAG 2.1 & 2.0 | Accessibility Testing | Ex-IBMER | LMS | LOS | BANKING DOMAIN | Automation Testing | Manual Testing | PLSQL
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1. Use Appropriate HTML5 Semantic Elements HTML5 introduced several elements that provide more meaningful structure to your document: <header>: Defines introductory content or a set of navigational links. <nav>: Contains the navigation links. <main>: Represents the dominant content of the <body>. <section>: Defines sections in a document 2. Use Headings Properly Headings (<h1> to <h6>) should be used to indicate the hierarchy of content: 3. Use Lists for Lists of Items <ul>: Unordered list, used for lists where the order doesn’t matter. <ol>: Ordered list, used for lists where the order matters. 4. Use Tables for Tabular Data <td>: Table data cell. 5. Use Forms for User Input 6. Use Inline Elements for Text-Level Semantics

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Divyanshu Singh

Associate Software Developer | Java | Spring |Springboot | JavaScript | Angular | MySQL | Microservices |
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To ensure semantic HTML: Use semantic tags (like <header>, <footer>). Organize content with proper hierarchy. Choose tags accurately (e.g., <ul>, <figure>). Minimize unnecessary <div> usage. Include descriptive alt text for images. Maintain logical structure. Validate HTML regularly.

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Mohammad Ali Ghorbani Delijani

Full-Stack Engineer & DevOps Specialist | Embracing PHP, GoLang, and AI | 10+ Years of Web Development | Remote Work Enthusiast
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Use appropriate HTML5 elements (<!DOCTYPE html>, <html>, <head>, <title>, <body>). Avoid deprecated elements like <center> or <font> tags. Use lowercase for HTML tags and attributes.

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Haroon Jamil ⚙️

WordPress Developer | Web Developer | Theme Developer | Ex @devcause | 4k+ Connections Helping businesses grow online
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To ensure semantically structured HTML, use appropriate elements like <header>, <nav>, <main>, <section>, <article>, and <footer>. Avoid overusing generic elements like <div>. Include meaningful attributes like alt text for images and maintain a clear hierarchical structure using heading elements (<h1> to <h6>). This enhances accessibility, SEO, and code readability.

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2 Use of Headers

Headers are crucial for semantic structure. They define the hierarchy of your content, making it easier for users and search engines to understand the importance and relevance of different sections. Always start with <h1> for the main title and proceed with <h2> , <h3> , and so on, for subheadings in a descending order of significance. Avoid skipping levels as it can confuse the content structure.

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Utkarsh K.

Ex-IT Ops Intern@Aditya Birla FRL | Web Ops Engineer@PARA | Technical Consultant@UpGrad | Google CSJ Facilitator'23 | Ex-Google DSC Technical Lead | Ex-Intern@IITG,IIITG | Full Stack Developer |
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Ensuring semantically structured HTML involves proper use of headers. Start by using <header> for introductory content, such as logos or navigation menus, and <footer> for concluding content, like copyright information. Utilize <h1> through <h6> tags for headings, with <h1> representing the most important heading and <h6> the least. Within the body content, employ <section> for grouping related content and <article> for standalone content pieces. Finally, use <nav> for navigation menus and <aside> for supplementary content. By adhering to these header guidelines, you create a clear and meaningful structure, enhancing both SEO and accessibility.

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Krutika Patel

Technology and Marketing Sr. Manager at Cognixia | IT & Marketing Strategist | Driving Growth through Tech and Creativity
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To ensure semantically structured HTML with headers: 1. Utilize <header> for top-of-page content or navigation. 2. Use <nav> for navigation menus. 3. Prioritize headings (<h1> to <h6>) for content hierarchy. 4. Outline document structure with clear headings for each section. 5. Avoid skipping heading levels for logical organization. 6. Enhance SEO by emphasizing keywords in headings. 7. Validate HTML regularly for standards compliance.

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Mohammad Ali Ghorbani Delijani

Full-Stack Engineer & DevOps Specialist | Embracing PHP, GoLang, and AI | 10+ Years of Web Development | Remote Work Enthusiast
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Utilize <h1> to <h6> tags for headers based on their hierarchical importance. Ensure headers are used to outline the structure and hierarchy of your content.

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Ritu Sharma

I Promise Small businesses to book 50+ appointments/month for High-Value Services with a 100% guarantee through Website Development, Mobile App Development and Digital Marketing.
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how you can ensure your HTML is semantically structured by effectively using headers: Start with a single <h1> tag, which represents the main heading of your document and should provide a concise summary of its content. Use <h2> tags for major sections or topics within your document, providing clear subdivisions under the main heading. Progressively use <h3>, <h4>, <h5>, and <h6> tags for further subheadings, maintaining a hierarchical structure that reflects the organization of your content. Avoid skipping heading levels and maintain a logical sequence of headings to enhance readability

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Giles Bennett

I write code that solves business problems. Co-founder and lead developer at Status 218, likewise at Cloud Ready Skills. Project Boo is my baby.
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At their most simple, heading tags run from H1 (the most important) to H6 (the least important). Ideally each semantic section of the page should have its own H1 to indicate to search engines what that section is about. Ignore anyone who says that you should only have one H1 tag per page. Use H2 and H3 tags to cover subtopics within one or more topics on your page. Try not to skip levels (ie. don't jump from H1 to H3) as this may be confusing to accessibility tools. Whilst they exist, H4 - H6 are little-used. If you never use them, that's absolutely fine. Remember, though, that with CSS styling, just because an H1 heading is an H1 heading, it doesn't have to look bigger, or more important, to the reader than an H2 or an H3.

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3 Navigation Elements

Proper navigation is essential for a user-friendly website. Use the <nav> element to wrap navigation links. This tells browsers and assistive technologies that the contained links are a major navigation block. For unordered lists of links, such as menus or site maps, use the <ul> tag with nested <li> elements for each item to maintain a clear and accessible structure.

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Mohammad Ali Ghorbani Delijani

Full-Stack Engineer & DevOps Specialist | Embracing PHP, GoLang, and AI | 10+ Years of Web Development | Remote Work Enthusiast
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Wrap navigation links within <nav> tags. Use <ul> and <li> for unordered lists of navigation items. Consider using semantic elements like <header> and <footer> to delineate navigation sections.

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Ritu Sharma

I Promise Small businesses to book 50+ appointments/month for High-Value Services with a 100% guarantee through Website Development, Mobile App Development and Digital Marketing.
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To ensure your HTML is semantically structured with navigation elements: Use the <nav> element to encapsulate navigation links, representing a section of navigation within the document. Employ semantic elements such as <ul> and <li> to create lists of navigation items, ensuring clear organization and accessibility. Utilize anchor (<a>) tags within list items to link to different sections or pages of the website. Consider using additional semantic elements like <header> and <footer> within the <nav> element for supplementary navigation elements, such as logos or copyright information. Ensure navigation is intuitive and accessible

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Madhawa Umanga Kariyawasam

Senior Front-End Engineer (UX) | Building Scalable SaaS Architectures | Data-Driven Future
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Instead of generic <div> tags, use dedicated navigation elements like <header>, <nav>, and <footer>. This clearly defines the purpose of these sections for browsers, assistive technologies, and even future developers working on your codebase. For example, if you're building a blog website, using a <nav> element for the main navigation bar communicates its purpose to screen readers, allowing users with visual impairments to easily locate and navigate through your blog categories.

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Jeril Joy Joseph

Software Engineer
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Let's imagine you're designing a website for a small bakery. You'd want to create clear navigation for customers to easily find what they're looking for. So, you'd use the <nav> element to wrap the main navigation links like "Home," "Menu," "About Us," and "Contact." Within the <nav>, you'd use <ul> for each item, like this: <nav> <ul> <li><a href="/">Home</a></li> <li><a href="/menu">Menu</a></li> <li><a href="/about">About Us</a></li> <li><a href="/contact">Contact</a></li> </ul> </nav> This structure helps both browsers and assistive technologies understand the website's navigation, enhancing accessibility and user experience.

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4 Structuring Content

When structuring the main content, choose HTML elements that match the type of content you are displaying. Use <article> for syndicated content, blog posts, or news articles. The <section> tag is perfect for grouping themed content within an article or page, and <aside> works well for tangentially related content, like sidebars. This semantic use of tags helps in outlining your content clearly.

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Sachin M Mane

Experienced in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, Angular, React, Next.js, Node.js, and Python. Successfully led multiple products and collaborated with cross-functional teams.
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I emphasize the importance of semantic HTML for accessibility & SEO. 🌐 Use <header>, <footer>, <article>, and <section> to define page structure. 📜 Use <nav> for navigation links and <main> for primary content. 📊 For text, <h1>-<h6> establish hierarchy, while <em> and <strong> provide emphasis. Remember, correct tags improve user experience and help search engines understand your content!

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Muhammad Moiz Aslam

🚀 Webflow | WordPress | Shopify | Wix | E-commerce Ninja 💻 | Optimization Wizard 🛠️ | Database & Server Maestro 🌐
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Think of your HTML like a blueprint for your webpage. Each tag has a unique job, helping organize your content in a way that's easy to understand. For instance, use <article> for main pieces of content, like blog posts or news stories. By using these tags correctly, you're essentially creating signposts for both search engines and users, making it simpler for them to navigate and comprehend your website's content.

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Mohammad Ali Ghorbani Delijani

Full-Stack Engineer & DevOps Specialist | Embracing PHP, GoLang, and AI | 10+ Years of Web Development | Remote Work Enthusiast
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Use semantic elements such as <section>, <article>, <aside>, <main>, and <footer> to structure your content logically. Avoid using generic container elements like <div> when a more specific semantic element is applicable.

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Jeril Joy Joseph

Software Engineer
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The homepage could have sections for different types of recipes like "Appetizers," "Main Courses," and "Desserts," each wrapped in a <section> tag. Within the "Main Courses" section, individual recipes would be wrapped in <article> tags. If there's a sidebar with cooking tips or related articles, that content would go in an <aside> tag. This way, the HTML structure mirrors the logical organization of the content.

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Aneeqa Khan

Senior Mobile App Developer | React, React Native, JavaScript, TypeScript, Next.js | Technical Writer | I Help Companies Build Scalable Software Solutions
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Select HTML elements based on their intended purpose and meaning. For example, use <nav> for navigation menus, <article> for standalone content, <section> for thematic grouping, and so on.

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5 Forms and Tables

Forms and tables need to be semantically correct to be accessible. For forms, use the <fieldset> element to group related entries and <legend> to title these groups. Always label your inputs with <label> for better accessibility. With tables, use <th> for header cells and <caption> to provide context, aiding both users and search engines in understanding tabulated data.

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Madhawa Umanga Kariyawasam

Senior Front-End Engineer (UX) | Building Scalable SaaS Architectures | Data-Driven Future
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You can use semantic elements like <form>, <input>, and <label> for forms. This not only improves accessibility but also allows browsers to perform functionalities like automatic form validation. For tables, you can use <table>, <tr>, <th>, and <td> elements to define rows, columns, headers, and data cells. This structure makes your tables not only visually organized but also machine-readable, allowing search engines to better understand your content. For example, if you are building an e-commerce website, you can use semantic elements for your product listing table (e.g., <th> for product name, <td> for price) helps search engines understand the data you're presenting, potentially improving your search ranking.

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Mohammad Ali Ghorbani Delijani

Full-Stack Engineer & DevOps Specialist | Embracing PHP, GoLang, and AI | 10+ Years of Web Development | Remote Work Enthusiast
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Structure forms using <form> tags and include appropriate input types and labels. Utilize <table>, <thead>, <tbody>, <tfoot>, <tr>, <th>, and <td> for tabular data. Ensure form inputs have associated labels for accessibility.

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Jeril Joy Joseph

Software Engineer
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Imagine you're creating a registration form for a conference website. Use <fieldset> to group related inputs like personal info, contact details, and dietary preferences. For each input, wrap it in a <label> to associate the text with the input field. For tables, if you're displaying session schedules, use <th> for column headers and <caption> to summarize the table's purpose, like "Conference Schedule". These practices ensure your forms and tables are accessible to everyone.

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Krutika Patel

Technology and Marketing Sr. Manager at Cognixia | IT & Marketing Strategist | Driving Growth through Tech and Creativity
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To ensure semantically structured HTML with forms and tables: 1. Use <form> to encapsulate form elements, facilitating data submission. 2. Employ semantic form elements like <input>, <textarea>, and <button> for user input. 3. Utilize <label> to associate labels with form controls for accessibility. 4. Prioritize <table> for tabular data, structuring rows with <tr>, headers with <th>, and data cells with <td>. 5. Avoid using tables for layout purposes to maintain semantic clarity. 6. Ensure table headers are marked up using <th> for screen reader compatibility. 7. Validate HTML to confirm correct usage of form and table elements according to standards.

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Ritu Sharma

I Promise Small businesses to book 50+ appointments/month for High-Value Services with a 100% guarantee through Website Development, Mobile App Development and Digital Marketing.
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To ensure semantic structure with forms and tables: Use <form> element to encapsulate form controls, providing a semantic container for user input fields. Employ appropriate input types (<input>, <select>, <textarea>, etc.) with descriptive labels and placeholders for clarity. Utilize <label> elements to associate text labels with form controls, enhancing accessibility and usability. Maintain a logical tab order and utilize proper HTML attributes like "required" and "autocomplete" to improve form usability and accessibility. For tables, use <table> element with <thead>, <tbody>, <tfoot>, <tr>, <th>, and <td> to create structured and accessible data tables, ensuring headers and data cells are appropriately labeled and organized.

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6 Media and Embeds

Lastly, when embedding media such as images or videos, make sure to describe them using the <alt> attribute for images and proper titles or descriptions for videos. This ensures that users who rely on screen readers or have slow internet connections can still understand the content being presented. For other embeds like iframes or objects, provide a meaningful title and ensure that any interactive elements are fully accessible.

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Mohammad Ali Ghorbani Delijani

Full-Stack Engineer & DevOps Specialist | Embracing PHP, GoLang, and AI | 10+ Years of Web Development | Remote Work Enthusiast
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Use <img> for images and provide appropriate alt attributes for accessibility. Embed multimedia content using <audio>, <video>, or <iframe> tags where necessary. Include descriptive captions or labels for embedded media.

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Krutika Patel

Technology and Marketing Sr. Manager at Cognixia | IT & Marketing Strategist | Driving Growth through Tech and Creativity
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To ensure semantically structured HTML with media and embeds: 1. Use <img> for images, providing alt attributes for accessibility. 2. Utilize <audio> and <video> for embedding audio and video content, with fallback content for unsupported browsers. 3. Employ <iframe> for embedding external content like maps or social media posts. 4. Prioritize semantic elements like <figure> and <figcaption> for grouping media and providing captions. 5. Avoid using deprecated tags like <embed> and <object> for media embedding. 6. Ensure responsive design by specifying appropriate dimensions and aspect ratios. 7. Regularly validate HTML to confirm correct usage of media and embed elements for standards compliance.

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Ritu Sharma

I Promise Small businesses to book 50+ appointments/month for High-Value Services with a 100% guarantee through Website Development, Mobile App Development and Digital Marketing.
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To ensure semantic structure with media and embeds: Use appropriate semantic elements like <figure> and <figcaption> to encapsulate media content such as images, videos, and audio. Provide descriptive alt attributes for images to ensure accessibility and convey meaningful information to users. Utilize <video> and <audio> elements for embedding multimedia content, specifying supported formats and fallback content for compatibility. Employ <iframe> element for embedding external content like maps, ensuring proper attribution and compliance with usage policies. Maintain a balance between rich media and textual content, ensuring a seamless and accessible user experience across devices and platforms.

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Madhawa Umanga Kariyawasam

Senior Front-End Engineer (UX) | Building Scalable SaaS Architectures | Data-Driven Future
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You can use elements like <figure> and <figcaption> for images and figures. This provides context for the image content and improves accessibility for screen reader users. For videos, you can use <video> element with appropriate attributes to specify the video source and control options. This ensures proper rendering and accessibility for video content across different browsers and devices. For example, if you have a news article with an embedded infographic, you can use <figure> and <figcaption> clarifies the infographic's role within the article, enhancing the overall user experience for all visitors, including those with visual impairments.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Kimaya Jadhav(きまや)

Consultant | Software Developer ( MEAN & MERN Stack ) Angular | Node | React | Javascript | Spring Boot | Bootstrap | HTML
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1) Validate HTML : Use online HTML validators to check for syntax errors and ensure your HTML markup follows the standards. 2) Test for accessibility: By using accessibility tools you can ensure that your HTML is accessible to users with disabilities.This includes screen readers, keyboard navigation,ensuring proper contrast and font sizes.

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Mohammad Ali Ghorbani Delijani

Full-Stack Engineer & DevOps Specialist | Embracing PHP, GoLang, and AI | 10+ Years of Web Development | Remote Work Enthusiast
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Validate your HTML using tools like the W3C Markup Validation Service to ensure compliance with HTML standards. Use ARIA roles and landmarks to enhance accessibility, especially for dynamic content or single-page applications. Regularly review and refactor your HTML structure to maintain semantic integrity and improve code maintainability.

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Isham Iqbal

Apps Modernisation | Systems Architecture | DevSecOps | ISO 27001
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Developers can utilise HTML5 features such as microdata, RDFa, or JSON-LD to add semantic annotations to the HTML markup, providing machine-readable metadata that further enhances the understanding and interpretation of the content by search engines and other automated systems. This can improve the visibility and discoverability of the content in search engine results and enable richer integrations with external platforms and services.

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Giles Bennett

I write code that solves business problems. Co-founder and lead developer at Status 218, likewise at Cloud Ready Skills. Project Boo is my baby.
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If you're just getting started, be sure to get an understanding of the following (in no particular order) : 1. The difference between block-level and inline-level content (ie. which elements will automatically seek to create a new block, and which will seek to continue the flow of the existing block). 2. The main (and not so important) HTML elements - you don't have to go into depth on every single one (<marquee> anyone?) but you should at least be aware of what is out there, if nothing else because it may save you from trying to re-invent the wheel. 3. The basics of CSS, in particular the difference between IDs and Classes, and the priority with which conflicting rules will be applied. This can be very !important.

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Kiran Gowda S

Senior Software Engineer at Intelliroot
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Use semantic HTML5 tags like <article>, <section>, <aside>, and <footer> to provide more meaningful structure to your content, improving both accessibility and search engine optimization. Paying attention to the hierarchy and nesting of HTML elements can help convey the relationships between different parts of your webpage more clearly to both users and search engines. Utilizing ARIA roles and attributes can enhance the accessibility of your HTML by providing additional context and instructions for assistive technologies. Regularly validating your HTML code using tools like the W3C Markup Validation Service can help ensure adherence to best practices and standards for semantic markup.

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How can you ensure your HTML is semantically structured?

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2

3

4

5

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1 HTML Basics

2 Use of Headers

3 Navigation Elements

4 Structuring Content

5 Forms and Tables

6 Media and Embeds

7 Here’s what else to consider

Web Development

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How can you ensure your HTML is semantically structured?

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1 HTML Basics

2 Use of Headers

3 Navigation Elements

4 Structuring Content

5 Forms and Tables

6 Media and Embeds

7 Here’s what else to consider

Web Development

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