Embedded content includes things brought into a document, such as images; interactive content includes controls that people can use; form-associated content includes controls connected to a form.
What You Need to Know
One element may belong to several categories. These groups help explain why some combinations work and others do not.
Example: See It in Action
Take a look at this small piece of HTML. You can use it in a practice document and change the text to make it your own.
This is a short HTML fragment. To try it as a webpage, put it inside the body element of a complete HTML document.
<form action="/search" method="get">
<label for="q">Search</label>
<input id="q" name="q" type="search">
<button type="submit">Find</button>
</form>Let’s Understand the Example
- Form groups controls that send named values to an endpoint when submitted.
- Label tells people what a control is for. For connects the label to the control with the matching id.
- Input creates a form control. Its type decides whether people type text, choose a date, move a slider and more.
- Action names the destination where the browser sends a form submission. A real server handler must exist there.
- Method controls how a form submits; GET makes values part of the URL, while POST sends them in the request body.
- For links a label to the input whose id matches, so clicking the label can focus the control.
The browser can submit values with keys such as q. A control without a name normally contributes no entry. Whether the submission produces a result depends on the action URL and the server behind it.
What Should You See?
The page should include “Search”. If it looks different from what you expected, open developer tools and compare the source with the elements the browser created.
Try removing one piece of markup in a scratch copy, refresh the page, and compare the behavior. This is often the fastest way to understand what that piece contributes.
Try It Yourself
- List one embedded element, one interactive element, and one form control from the example.
- Save your changes, open or refresh the page, and compare the result with the original example.
- Tell a friend what your change did. If you are not sure, undo it, refresh the page, and compare.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Nesting a button inside a link or putting one form inside another form.
- Avoid picking tags just for their default bold, italic or spaced appearance. Use CSS for presentation.
Key Takeaways
- Embedded content includes things brought into a document, such as images; interactive content includes controls that people can use; form-associated content includes controls.
- Form groups controls that send named values to an endpoint when submitted.
- One element may belong to several categories. These groups help explain why some combinations work and others do not.