HTML <article> Tag

The HTML <article> tag is used to create an 'article' element. The 'article' element represents content that is independent from the other content in the document, in that its contents could stand alone, for example in syndication.

More specifically, the HTML5 specification states that the 'article' element represents:

a complete, or self-contained, composition in a document, page, application, or site and that is, in principle, independently distributable or reusable, e.g. in syndication. This could be a forum post, a magazine or newspaper article, a blog entry, a user-submitted comment, an interactive widget or gadget, or any other independent item of content.

The <article> tag was introduced in HTML 5.

Syntax

The <article> tag is written as <article></article> with the article content inserted between the start and end tags. The tag doesn't have any local attributes but you can use any of the global attributes and/or event content attributes.

Like this:

Examples

Single Article

Here's a quick example of a single article.

Multiple Articles within a Section

Here's a quick example of multiple <article> elements within a <section> element.

Headers & Footers

Articles often include headers and/or footers. To provide a header and footer, place the <header> and <footer> elements inside the <article> element.

Nested Articles (i.e. Articles within Articles)

You can nest an <article> tag inside another <article> tag. For example, an <article> tag could present the main article, while containing other <article> tags to present users' comments on the main article.

You can also use the <section> tag to group related items, such as the <article> elements used to present user comments.

Here's what the above example might look like after applying a background color to the <article> elements (using CSS).

<article> vs <section>

You can nest <article> tags inside <section> tags, and you can nest <section> tags inside <article> tags.

Which one should you use?

There's a subtle difference between the <article> element and the <section> element. The purpose of the <section> element is to represent a generic section of a document or application. The <article> element on the other hand, represents a single, self-contained piece of content.

When choosing whether to use a <article> tag or a <section> tag, use the <article> tag if the contents would retain its meaning if syndicated.

Attributes

Attributes can be added to an HTML element to provide more information about how the element should appear or behave.

The <article> element accepts the following attributes.

AttributeDescription
None 

Global Attributes

The following attributes are standard across all HTML elements. Therefore, you can use these attributes with the <article> tag , as well as with all other HTML tags.

For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 global attributes.

Event Handlers

Event handler content attributes enable you to invoke a script from within your HTML. The script is invoked when a certain "event" occurs. Each event handler content attribute deals with a different event.

Most event handler content attributes can be used on all HTML elements, but some event handlers have specific rules around when they can be used and which elements they are applicable to.

For more detail, see HTML event handler content attributes.