HTML section vs div and differences

Question

What are the differences between sections and divs? both you use as the same:

<div id='test'> Element1 </div>
<section id='test'> Element2 </section>

but what is for what?

and second question: i need to design a homepage... the content page should look like this one... with different parts..what should i take.. divs or sections?

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 15 '13 at 18:42

2

From here:

The section element represents a generic document or application section…The section element is not a generic container element. When an element is needed only for styling purposes or as a convenience for scripting, authors are encouraged to use the div element instead. section is a blob of content that you could store as an individual record in a database.

div is a the generic flow container. It is a block-level element with no additional semantic meaning.

answered Dec 15 '13 at 18:42

Rahul Tripathi

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and when special do i use what? – Dec 15 '13 at 18:43
i said my requirement at the question..i think i need divs there because they are styled..right? – Dec 15 '13 at 18:46
@user3104539:- Yes you are correct! – Rahul Tripathi Dec 15 '13 at 18:48

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 15 '13 at 18:45

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Yes div is the block level element and use as a container but section is a semantic tags in html5 for more better way to representation the html content.

answered Dec 15 '13 at 18:45

Asraful Haque

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 15 '13 at 18:47

DIV

The div element has no special meaning at all. It represents its children. It can be used with the class, lang, and title attributes to mark up semantics common to a group of consecutive elements.

Click Here to know more about DIV

Section :

The section element represents a generic section of a document or application. A section, in this context, is a thematic grouping of content, typically with a heading.

Examples of sections would be chapters, the various tabbed pages in a tabbed dialog box, or the numbered sections of a thesis. A Web site's home page could be split into sections for an introduction, news items, and contact information.

Click here to know more about SECTION

but at this section-form (contact) then divs for name: and message: if they should have special style? — , Dec 15 '13 at 18:49
actually you need to design the page as it is? right so you should have a sound knowledge in CSS — Amarnath Balasubramanian, Dec 15 '13 at 18:52

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 15 '13 at 18:47

The section tag is new to HTML5, which effectively means older browsers may have trouble with it. According to MDN

•Do not use the element as a generic container; this is what is for, especially when the sectioning is only for styling purposes. A rule of thumb is that a section should logically appear in the outline of a document.

HTML section vs div and differences

4 Answers4