You might see <footer> 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
Provides footer information for the page or nearest sectioning element, such as copyright, contact or article metadata.
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>School News</h2>
<p>Our robotics club won a prize.</p>
<footer>Published by the school team.</footer>
</article>What Each Part Does
- The footer adds closing information for its page or nearby section.
- An article identifies a self-contained piece of content.
- The h2 identifies a major subsection.
The article footer belongs to the news item, not necessarily the whole website.
Try It Yourself
Try replacing the example content with your own while keeping the valid HTML structure.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Assuming there can only be one footer element on a page.
- 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
- Provides footer information for the page or nearest sectioning element, such as copyright, contact or article metadata.
- The article footer belongs to the news item, not necessarily the whole website.
- Test the markup in a browser, and check accessibility and real-world behavior where relevant.