HTML <main> Tag
The HTML <main> tag represents the main content area within an HTML document.
The <main> tag surrounds the main content of the page - content that is unique to that document and is obviously the "main" content for that page. This excludes any content that is repeated across multiple pages (such as navigation bars, headers, footers, etc).
An HTML document can have a maximum of one <main> element. It must not appear within the <article>, <aside>, <footer>, <header> or <nav> tags.
The <main> tag was introduced in HTML 5.
The W3C recommends using role="main" until browsers catch up with this element.
Syntax
The <main> tag is written as <main></main> with the element's contents inserted between the start and end tags.
Like this:
Adding role="main"
The W3C recommends adding ARIA role="main" to the <main> element until user agents implement the required role mapping.
Examples
Context
Here's an example of how the <main> element could be incorporated into an HTML document. This is not the only way. The <main> tag can be placed anywhere that "flow content" can be used (pretty much anywhere within the document's <body> element). However, a <main> cannot have any <article>, <aside>, <footer>, <header> or <nav> element ancestors.
Contents
The <main> element can contain "flow content", which means basically any other element that can go within the <body> element.
Here's an example of using the <main> element to represent two articles, as well as a heading and intro.
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 <main> element accepts the following attributes.
Element-Specific Attributes
This table shows the attributes that are specific to the <main> tag/element.
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| None |
Global Attributes
The following attributes are standard across all HTML5 elements. Therefore, you can use these attributes with the <main> 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 <main> 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 <main> element is new in HTML5.
For more information on this element see HTML5 <main> Tag. Also check out the links to the official specifications below.
Template
Here's a template for the <main> 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.
Note that the <main> element does not actually have any local attributes (i.e. attributes that are specific to the element), but the following global attributes and event handlers are available to the element (and all other HTML elements).
For more information on attributes for this tag, see HTML5 <main> Tag.
Tag Details
For more details about the <main> tag, see HTML5 <main> Tag.
Specifications
Here are the official specifications for the <main> element.
- HTML5 Specification (W3C)
- HTML Living Standard (WHATWG)
- Current W3C Draft (the next version that is currently being worked on)
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.