HTML <li> Tag

The HTML <li> tag represents a list item in ordered and unordered lists.

The <li> tag is placed inside either a <ol> tag or a <ul> to represent each individual item within that list. It can also be used with the <menu> tag for HTML 5.1 and HTML Living Standard documents.

Syntax

The <li> tag is written as <li></li> with the list item inserted between the start and end tags. The element must be placed inside either a <ol> tag or a <ul> tag to provide each individual list item within those elements.

The <li> tag can also be used inside the <menu> element (only when the element is in the toolbar state), however, that element is not supported by the W3C HTML5 specification - it is currently only supported by the HTML 5.1 specification and the WHATWG HTML Living Standard.

Like this:

Examples

Unordered List

Here's an example of using the <li> inside the <ul> tag to create an unordered list.

Ordered List

Here's an example of using the <li> inside the <ol> tag to create an ordered list.

The value Attribute

You can use the value attribute to specify a number for a list item. Any subesquent list items increment their value from that initial value (unless you override it with a new value).

Note that you can only use the value attribute when using the <ol> element.

Also note that the ordinal value of the value attribute must be a valid integer.

Applying Styles

You can use the CSS list-style, list-style-image, list-style-position, and list-style-type properties to change the styles of the <li> elements.

Although you can apply these properties directly to the <li> element, they are usually applied to the parent element (which is then cascaded down to the <li> element).

Here are some examples.

Roman Numerals

This example uses the list-style-type property to specify roman numerals.

Square Bullets

This example uses the list-style-type property to specify square bullets for each list item within an unordered list.

Images

You can replace the bullet points with an image using the list-style-image property.

Position of List Item

This example uses the list-style-position property to specify the position of the list items.

The list-style Property

The list-style property is a shortcut property. It allows you to apply multiple properties to your list items.

Example:

Attributes

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

There are 3 kinds of attributes that you can add to your HTML tags: Element-specific, global, and event handler content attributes.

The <li> element accepts the following attributes.

Element-Specific Attributes

This table shows the attributes that are specific to the <li> tag/element.

Global Attributes

The following attributes are standard across all HTML5 elements. Therefore, you can use these attributes with the <li> tag , as well as with all other HTML tags.

• accesskey
• class
• contenteditable
• contextmenu
• dir
• draggable
• dropzone
• hidden
• id
• inert
• itemid
• itemprop
• itemref
• itemscope
• itemtype
• lang
• spellcheck
• style
• tabindex
• title
• translate

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

Event Handler Content Attributes

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.

Below are the standard HTML5 event handler content attributes.

Again, you can use any of these with the <li> element, as well as any other HTML5 element.

• onabort
• oncancel
• onblur
• oncanplay
• oncanplaythrough
• onchange
• onclick
• oncontextmenu
• ondblclick
• ondrag
• ondragend
• ondragenter
• ondragexit
• ondragleave
• ondragover
• ondragstart
• ondrop
• ondurationchange
• onemptied
• onended
• onerror
• onfocus
• onformchange
• onforminput
• oninput
• oninvalid
• onkeydown
• onkeypress
• onkeyup
• onload
• onloadeddata
• onloadedmetadata
• onloadstart
• onmousedown
• onmousemove
• onmouseout
• onmouseover
• onmouseup
• onmousewheel
• onpause
• onplay
• onplaying
• onprogress
• onratechange
• onreadystatechange
• onscroll
• onseeked
• onseeking
• onselect
• onshow
• onstalled
• onsubmit
• onsuspend
• ontimeupdate
• onvolumechange
• onwaiting

For a full explanation of these attributes, see HTML 5 event handler content attributes.

Differences Between HTML 4 & HTML 5

The value attribute was deprecated in HTML 4, however, this attribute is supported in HTML5 (but only if the <li> element is a child of an <ol> element).

Also, the type attribute is not supported in HTML5 (it was deprecated in HTML 4).

To see more detail on the two versions see HTML5 <li> Tag and HTML4 <li> Tag. Also check out the links to the official specifications below.

Template

Here's a template for the <li> tag with all available attributes for the tag (based on HTML5). These are grouped into attribute types, each type separated by a space. In many cases, you will probably only need one or two (if any) attributes. Simply remove the attributes you don't need.

For more information on attributes for this tag, see HTML5 <li> Tag and HTML4 <li> Tag.

* The value attribute can only be used if the <li> element is a child of an <ol> element.

Tag Details

For more details about the <li> tag, see HTML5 <li> Tag and HTML4 <li> Tag.

Specifications

Here are the official specifications for the <li> element.

• HTML5 Specification (W3C)
• HTML Living Standard (WHATWG)
• Current W3C Draft (the next version that is currently being worked on)
• HTML 4 (W3C)

What's the Difference?

W3C creates "snapshot" specifications that don't change once defined. So the HTML5 specification won't change once it becomes an official recommendation. WHATWG on the other hand, develops a "living standard" that is updated on a regular basis. In general, you will probably find that the HTML living standard will be more closely aligned to the current W3C draft than to the HTML5 specification.