Web Browser Support For The New HTML5 Semantic Elements: Tests And Results
Last reviewed/updated: 26 Oct 2016 | Published: 28 Oct 2015 | Status: Active
1. Introduction
The new HTML5 semantic elements include the header, main, footer, nav, section, article, and aside elements. Support for these elements is different cross-browser. Moreover, the user agent styles for some web browsers style some of these elements as block-level elements (i.e., like div with style display: block), others as inline elements (i.e., like span with style display: inline), and this changes over time.
1.1. Web Browser Support For The New HTML5 Semantic Elements
| Element | Support Type | IE Support | ED Support | FF Support | SF Support | CH Support | OP Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
header,footer,section,article,aside |
As Block-Level Element | IE9+ | ED12+ | FF4+ | SF5+ | CH5+ | OP11.10+ |
| As Inline Element | - | - | FF1.5 - 3.6.28 | SF3.1 - 4.0.5 | CH2 - 4 | OP8 - 11.01 | |
| No Support | IE6 - 8 | - | - | - | - | OP7.50 - 7.54u2 | |
main |
As Block-Level Element | - | ED12+ | FF21+ | SF? | CH26+ | OP15+ |
| As Inline Element | IE9+ | - | FF1.5 - 20 | SF3.1 - 5.1.7 | CH2 - 25 | OP8 - 12.17 | |
| No Support | IE6 - 8 | - | - | - | - | OP7.50 - 7.54u2 | |
nav |
As Block-Level Element | IE9+ | ED12+ | FF4+ | SF5+ | CH4+ | OP11.10+ |
| As Inline Element | - | - | FF1.5 - 3.6.28 | SF3.1 - 4.0.5 | CH2 - 3 | OP8 - 11.01 | |
| No Support | IE6 - 8 | - | - | - | - | OP7.50 - 7.54u2 |
1.2. Abbreviations
- IE = Internet Explorer.
- ED = Edge Legacy 12 - 18 (EdgeHTML based) and Edge 79+ (Chromium based).
- FF = Firefox.
- SF = Safari.
- CH = Chrome.
- OP = Opera.