Block Elements [June 24, 2011, 1:44 a.m.]

Status: Drafting

There are several primary block elements used in HTML5. We will look at some new and old tags that complement the <head> and <body> duo.

<header>
<nav>
<article>
<aside>
<footer>

<header>

The <header> tag is a container for introductory materials in a document or section. <header> can be used multiple times in a document and usually contains at least one <h1>-<h6> element (in order to validate).

<header>
  <h1>Section/Document Header</h1>
  <p>A brief description of this section/document</p>
</header>

Further reading:

HTML5 Doctor: The <header> Element
w3schools: HTML5 <header>

<nav>

The <nav> tag is used to demarcate a section containing navigation anchors (links) to other content or sections. The anchors can be nested within a list such as an unordered list <ul>.

<nav>
  <h1>Navigation</h1>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="#home">Home</a></li>
    <li><a href="#contact">Contact Us</a></li>
  </ul>
</nav>

Further reading:

w3schools: HTML5 <nav>
HTML5 Doctor: <nav>
w3c: <nav> Specification

<article>

The <article> tag designates a region of a document that is self-contained. <article> can be an article, blog post, news story, etc.

<article>
  <img src="image.webp" alt="An image." />
  This is the content for the article.
</article>

Further reading:

<aside>

The <aside> tag contains information that is tangentially related to to the primary content. Examples can include anecdotes, sidebars, external links, keyword definitions, etc.

<article>
  <p>This is an article HTML5</p>
  <aside>
    HTML5 is often used in conjunction with CSS and JavaScript. 
  </aside>
</article>

Further reading:

HTML5 Doctor: Aside revisited
w3c: The aside element
w3schools: HTML5 aside tag

<footer>

The <footer> element is located at the end of a content section, such as <html>, and will contain information including licensing details, addresses and contact information, and links to site-wide documents such as a community aggreement.

<html>
  <article>Article content.</article>
  <footer>
  Creative Commons license.
  </footer>
</html>

Further reading:

<blockquote>

The <blockquote> tag is used to indicate a quotation or citation. The cite attribute is used within a <blockquote> tag to reference the origin of the quote.