You might see <article> Element reference while reading someone else’s HTML, or need it while building a page of your own. Instead of memorizing a definition, look at a working example and see when the element makes sense.
The Idea in Plain English
Represents a self-contained piece that makes sense when shared separately, such as a blog post or news story.
For a reference page, pay attention to where the element is allowed, whether it needs a closing tag, and what other elements it can contain.
A Working Example
Read the sample once before copying it. Notice the element names and attribute values, then compare them with the explanation below.
<article>
<h2>First Day of Autumn</h2>
<p>Our class planted trees in the garden.</p>
</article>What Each Part Does
- An article identifies a self-contained piece of content.
- The h2 identifies a major subsection.
- A paragraph keeps one idea together as readable text.
The story is marked as an independent article.
Try It Yourself
Try replacing the example content with your own while keeping the valid HTML structure.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Wrapping every paragraph in article regardless of whether it stands alone.
- Changing several parts of the example at once, making it difficult to see which part caused a different result.
- Choosing a tag only because its default appearance looks right, without checking whether it describes the content correctly.
Key Takeaways
- Represents a self-contained piece that makes sense when shared separately, such as a blog post or news story.
- The story is marked as an independent article.
- Test the markup in a browser, and check accessibility and real-world behavior where relevant.