Not all HTML tags are of the same structure. While most elements require an opening tag, a closing tag, and
contents, some elements – known as void elements – only require an opening tag as they themselves do not contain
any elements. This topic explains and demonstrates the proper usage of void elements in HTML
Void elements
HTML 4.01/XHTML 1.0 Strict includes the following void elements:
- area – clickable, defined area in an image
- base – specifies a base URL from which all links base
- br – line break
- col – column in a table [deprecated]
- hr – horizontal rule (line)
- img – image
- input – field where users enter data
- link – links an external resource to the document
- meta – provides information about the document
- param – defines parameters for plugins
HTML 5 standards include all non-deprecated tags from the previous list and
- command – represents a command users can invoke [obsolete]
- keygen – facilitates public key generation for web certificates [deprecated]
- source – specifies media sources for picture, audio, and video elements
The example below does not include void elements:
<div>
<a href="http://stackoverflow.com/">
<h3>Click here to visit <i>Stack Overflow!</i></h3>
</a>
<button onclick="alert('Hello!');">Say Hello!</button>
<p>My favorite language is <b>HTML</b>. Here are my others:</p>
<ol>
<li>CSS</li>
<li>JavaScript</li>
<li>PHP</li>
</ol>
</div>
Notice how every element has an opening tag, a closing tag, and text or other elements inside the opening and
closing tags. Void tags however, are shown in the example below:
<img src="https://cdn.sstatic.net/Sites/stackoverflow/company/img/logos/so/so-icon.png" /> <br> <hr> <input type="number" placeholder="Enter your favorite number">
With the exception of the img tag, all of these void elements have only an opening tag. The img tag, unlike any other
tag, has a self closing / before the greater than sign of the opening tag. It is best practice to have a space before the
slash.