Syntax
<data value="12345">Product #12345</data>Examples
Product Listing
Attaching a machine-readable product ID to its display name.
<ul>
<li><data value="SKU-001">Wireless Mouse</data> - $24.99</li>
<li><data value="SKU-002">Mechanical Keyboard</data> - $89.99</li>
</ul>Formatted Measurement
Showing a human-friendly value with a precise machine value behind it.
<p>Distance: <data value="42195">26.2 miles</data></p>Attributes
- value (string): The machine-readable value associated with the content
Best practices
- Use <time> instead of <data> specifically for dates and times — data is for everything else
- Use data when a script elsewhere on the page needs to read the underlying value (e.g., for sorting or filtering)
- Keep the visible content human-readable while the value attribute holds the precise machine value
- Do not use data purely as a generic wrapper — only when there is a genuine machine-readable value to attach
At a glance
- Purpose
- Structure and meaning for web content
- File extension
- .html · .htm
- Runs in
- Web browsers
- Usually used with
- CSS and JavaScript
Specifications & further reading
Related HTML documentation
<span>
The <span> element is an inline container used to group and style specific portions of text or inline elements. Unlike <div>, which is block-level, <span> doesn't break the flow of content. It's perfect for applying styles or manipulating specific words or phrases within a paragraph without affecting the surrounding content.<h1> - <h6>
The heading elements <h1> through <h6> represent six levels of section headings, with <h1> being the most important and <h6> the least. Headings create a document outline that both sighted users and assistive technologies rely on to understand and navigate page structure. Search engines also use heading hierarchy to interpret content relevance. Each page should typically have exactly one <h1> describing its main topic, with subsequent headings nested logically to reflect the content hierarchy.<p>
The <p> element represents a paragraph of text — one of the most fundamental building blocks of written content on the web. Browsers automatically add margin above and below paragraphs to visually separate them. The <p> element cannot contain other block-level elements like <div> or headings, only inline content and text. It is a block-level element, meaning it always starts on a new line.Text Formatting: <strong>, <em>, <b>, <i>, <mark>, <small>
HTML provides several inline elements for formatting text with semantic and visual meaning. <strong> indicates strong importance (typically rendered bold), and <em> indicates stress emphasis (typically rendered italic) — both carry semantic weight that screen readers can announce. <b> and <i> are their purely visual counterparts, used when bold/italic styling is needed without implying importance or emphasis. <mark> highlights text as relevant to the current context, and <small> represents side comments like fine print or disclaimers.
The <span> element is an inline container used to group and style specific portions of text or inline elements. Unlike <div>, which is block-level, <span> doesn't break the flow of content. It's perfect for applying styles or manipulating specific words or phrases within a paragraph without affecting the surrounding content.<h1> - <h6>
The heading elements <h1> through <h6> represent six levels of section headings, with <h1> being the most important and <h6> the least. Headings create a document outline that both sighted users and assistive technologies rely on to understand and navigate page structure. Search engines also use heading hierarchy to interpret content relevance. Each page should typically have exactly one <h1> describing its main topic, with subsequent headings nested logically to reflect the content hierarchy.<p>
The <p> element represents a paragraph of text — one of the most fundamental building blocks of written content on the web. Browsers automatically add margin above and below paragraphs to visually separate them. The <p> element cannot contain other block-level elements like <div> or headings, only inline content and text. It is a block-level element, meaning it always starts on a new line.Text Formatting: <strong>, <em>, <b>, <i>, <mark>, <small>
HTML provides several inline elements for formatting text with semantic and visual meaning. <strong> indicates strong importance (typically rendered bold), and <em> indicates stress emphasis (typically rendered italic) — both carry semantic weight that screen readers can announce. <b> and <i> are their purely visual counterparts, used when bold/italic styling is needed without implying importance or emphasis. <mark> highlights text as relevant to the current context, and <small> represents side comments like fine print or disclaimers.