Use Semantic HTML for Accessibility, SEO, and AI Optimization
One of the most important website development practices is providing context with your code – ensuring that AI tools, search engines, and assistive technologies used for accessibility fully understand the structure and content of your site.
This context can be enhanced through the use of Semantic HTML, which is the practice of using HTML tags that clearly describe their meaning and purpose to both technology and to real humans. Unlike non-semantic elements like <div> or <span>, which only define a generic container, semantic tags like <header>, <article>, and <nav> provide context about the content they enclose.
Many screen readers and assistive technologies rely on semantic markup to better understand the structure of a web page, so that their meaning and content can be better conveyed to the user. Search engines also use semantic markup to identify the different parts of a web page, which can result in better indexing of your website and SEO rankings.
While using semantic HTML helps with accessibility and SEO fundamentals, some semantic markup also comes with built-in browser functionality. Using a <button> instead of a <div> for an interactive element like a navigation toggler ensures that the browser automatically handles keyboard focus and key presses without the need for additional JavaScript.
What Does Non-Semantic HTML Look Like?
Here’s an example of a simple webpage, with a navigation, title, content, and footer – not using semantic HTML.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<body>
<div>
<div>
<a href="#home">Home</a>
<a href="#about">About</a>
<a href="#contact">Contact</a>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<div>My Website</div>
<div>This is my website</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>Welcome to My Website</div>
<div>This is the main content of my website.</div>
</div>
<div>
<div>© 2026 My Website</div>
</div>
</body>
When we view the above HTML code, we aren’t able to easily understand the different parts of the webpage; every line of code uses the same <div> container. While <div> is a valid HTML tag, it does not provide any context about the content that it contains.
Assistive technologies and web crawlers will have a hard time distinguishing between the different parts of the page, which means they’ll potentially convey inaccurate information.
What Does Semantic HTML Look Like?
In order to make it easier for assistive technologies and web crawlers, the HTML code should be rewritten using semantic markup like this:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<body>
<header>
<nav>
<ul>
<li><a href="#home">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="#about">About</a></li>
<li><a href="#contact">Contact</a></li>
</ul>
</nav>
</header>
<main>
<section>
<h1>My Website</h1>
<p>This is my website</p>
</section>
<section>
<h2>Welcome to My Website</h2>
<p>This is the main content of my website.</p>
</section>
</main>
<footer>
<p>© 2026 My Website</p>
</footer>
</body>
You can easily tell the difference between these two code snippets – the Semantic version uses plain-language to describe the structure of the page, which also makes it easier for assistive technologies and web crawlers to scan and understand.
What Semantic HTML Tags Exist?
There are a number of semantic HTML tags to choose from. Some of the most common ones are as follows:
- <header>: Indicates a container for introductory content or navigational links
- <nav>: Indicates a container for site navigation links
- <main>: Indicates a container for main sections of a webpage
- <section>: Indicates a container for a section of a webpage
- <footer>: Indicates a container for the footer of the webpage
By using semantic HTML during web development, you can make your website more accessible, improve your SEO, help AI tools better understand your content, and implement built-in browser functionalities for a better user experience.
If you need help updating your website to use semantic HTML for any other digital marketing needs, reach out to us – we’re happy to assist.
