You might see <del> 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
Marks content removed from a document; datetime can record when the change happened.
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.
<p>Price: <del datetime="2026-10-01">$20</del> <ins>$15</ins></p>What Each Part Does
- The del element records deleted content in an edited document.
- A paragraph keeps one idea together as readable text.
- The ins element records inserted content in an edited document.
- datetime stores a date or time in a machine-readable format.
The old price is semantically removed and the new price inserted.
Try It Yourself
Try replacing the example content with your own while keeping the valid HTML structure.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Using del merely as a decoration for unrelated text.
- 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
- Marks content removed from a document; datetime can record when the change happened.
- The old price is semantically removed and the new price inserted.
- Test the markup in a browser, and check accessibility and real-world behavior where relevant.