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The HTML article element is semantic element, similar to <section> and <header>. Introduced in HTML5, it is most commonly used to contain information that may be distributed independently from the rest of the site or application it appears in.
The <article> element represents a complete composition in a web page or web application that is 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. [1]
At its most basic, <article> can be used to encapsulate a body of text and a corresponding title like so:
<article><h2>Insert Title Here</h2><p>Insert a paragraph of text here</p></article>Forum entries and comments are typically implemented by nesting <article> tags:
<article><header><h1>Entry Title</h1><p>Header Info</p></header><p>Content of entry...</p><article><header><h2>Author: John Smith</h2><p>Comment Info</p></header><p>Comment text...</p></article><article><header><h2>Author: Jane Johnson</h2><p>2nd Comment's Info</p></header><p>Comment text...</p></article></article>The <article> element only includes the global HTML attributes such as contenteditable, id, and title. [2] However, pubdate, an optional boolean attribute of the <time> element, is often used in conjunction with <article>. If present, it indicates that the <time> element is the date the <article> was published. Note that pubdate applies only to the parent <article> element, or to the document as a whole. [3]
HTML5 introduced both <article> and <section>; both are semantic tags, defining sections in a document, such as chapters, headers, footers. [4] [ unreliable source? ] The <article> element is effectively a specialized kind of <section> and it has a more specific meaning, referring to an independent, self-contained block of related content. [3] [5]
To better organize independent content <section> tags can be nested inside <article> tags:
<article><h2>Names of Shapes</h2><p>There are several different types of shapes...</p><section><h4>Triangles</h4><p>Here is some info about triangles</p></section><section><h4>Circles</h4><p>These Pi-shaped wonders are mesmerizing and...</p></section></article>Conversely, it may sometimes be appropriate to nest an <article> element inside a <section> element. For example, in a web page containing several articles on varying subjects:
<section><h1>Articles about Paris Tourism</h1><article><h3>The Eiffel Tower</h3><p>Standing at over 12 inches high...</p></article><article><h3>The Louvre</h3><p>A must-see in Paris tourism...</p></article></section>The following browsers have support for this element: [6]