You may encounter <plaintext> while maintaining an older website. It is a legacy HTML element, so the goal is to recognize it and replace it—not to start using it in new pages.
What the old element was for
Literal-looking source text. In older markup, developers sometimes mixed page appearance, browser plug-in behavior, and document structure in the same HTML file.
plaintext causes browsers to treat the remainder of a document as plain text.
Use this modern alternative
A better modern choice is pre with escaped text. This example focuses on the meaning of the replacement:
<section>
<pre><code><h1>Hello</h1></code></pre>
</section>Why the replacement is better
An accidental plaintext tag can cause the rest of a document to appear as unparsed text.
With modern markup, HTML describes the content, CSS controls presentation, and JavaScript is added only if the feature needs changing behavior.
Updating an older page
Find one use of <plaintext> in the old source. Work out the meaning the author intended, replace it with the supported structure, and compare the result in your browser. Do not remove meaningful content while updating the markup.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Copying
<plaintext>from an old tutorial into a new website. - Assuming a browser displaying obsolete markup means the markup is recommended.
- Replacing an old tag with something that changes its meaning rather than its appearance.
Key Takeaways
<plaintext>is legacy markup, not a recommended new HTML feature.- Prefer pre with escaped text.
- plaintext causes browsers to treat the remainder of a document as plain text.