<nav>: The NAV Element
Last updated: 2026-10-13
<nav>The NAV Element
Represents a section of major navigation links, such as primary nav, breadcrumbs or pagination.
| Category | Semantic |
|---|---|
| Content Model | Flow content |
| Allowed Parents | Any element that accepts flow content |
| Content Tag | Yes — requires closing </nav> tag |
| Status | Standard |
📝 Syntax
<nav>navigation links</nav>▶ Example
Edit the code below and see the live result in the playground:
🌐 Browser Support
| Browser |  Chrome |
 Edge |
 Firefox |
 Safari |
 Opera |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <nav> | ✓ v1 | ✓ v12 | ✓ v1 | ✓ v1 | ✓ v1 |
| Supported in all major browsers | |||||
Tip： Not every link group needs nav; reserve it for major navigation.
❓ FAQ
QHow does nav differ from a ul with li?
A
<nav> provides the navigation landmark that screen readers can list and jump to, usually wrapping a <ul><li> of links. A bare <ul> is just a list with no navigation semantics. The conventional structure: <nav><ul><li><a>link</a></li></ul></nav>.QCan a page have multiple nav elements?
AYes. Main navigation, breadcrumbs, footer link groups, and a table of contents can each be a
<nav> — but not every link needs one. Wrap only major navigation blocks and give each nav an aria-label (such as Main or Breadcrumb) to distinguish them.QDo all links need to be inside nav?
ANo. The spec reserves
<nav> for major navigation blocks; ordinary links in the body do not need it, and the spec even says footer navigation can skip nav. Overusing nav dilutes the landmark semantics.🏷️ Related Tags
💡 Related Cases
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📚 Related Tutorials
