Semantic HTML and SEO

Good HTML is not just markup — it is the contract between your content, search engines, assistive technologies, and the browser. Semantic HTML, correct metadata, and progressive enhancement make UI resilient, findable, and accessible by default.

Semantic HTML5

Use the element that describes the content's meaning, not just its appearance.

Document structure

html

<header>       <!-- site header, logo, primary nav -->
<nav>          <!-- navigation links -->
<main>         <!-- primary page content, one per page -->
<article>      <!-- self-contained content: blog post, product card, news item -->
<section>      <!-- thematic grouping with a heading -->
<aside>        <!-- tangentially related content: sidebar, callout -->
<footer>       <!-- site footer, secondary links, copyright -->

Headings

One

<h1>

per page — the primary topic. Headings form an outline: do not skip levels (

h1

→

h3

without

h2

html

<h1>Product name</h1>
  <h2>Features</h2>
    <h3>Feature detail</h3>
  <h2>Pricing</h2>

Interactive elements

html

<button>   <!-- clickable action, submits or triggers JS -->
<a href>   <!-- navigation to a URL -->
<input>    <!-- user data entry -->
<select>   <!-- option selection -->
<details> / <summary>  <!-- native disclosure/accordion -->

Never use

<div>

<span>

as interactive elements without full ARIA annotation — and even then, prefer the native element.

Images and Alt Text

Every

<img>

needs an

alt

attribute. What goes in it depends on context.

Image type	Alt text
Informative (product photo, chart)	Describe content: `alt="Red leather sofa, three-seater"`
Functional (icon button, logo link)	Describe function: `alt="Go to homepage"`
Decorative	Empty: `alt=""` — screen readers skip it
Complex (chart, diagram)	Short alt + longer description nearby or in `<figcaption>`

html

<!-- Informative -->
<img src="sofa.jpg" alt="Red leather sofa, three-seater">

<!-- Decorative -->
<img src="divider.svg" alt="">

<!-- With caption -->
<figure>
  <img src="chart.png" alt="Bar chart showing revenue growth Q1–Q4 2025">
  <figcaption>Revenue grew 42% year-on-year in Q4 2025.</figcaption>
</figure>

SEO Fundamentals

Title and description

html

<title>Product Name — Short descriptor | Brand</title>
<meta name="description" content="One or two sentences. What this page is, who it is for, what they will find.">

Title: 50–60 characters. Most important keyword first.
Description: 120–160 characters. Shown in search results — write for the human, not the algorithm.

Canonical URL

html

<link rel="canonical" href="https://example.com/the-definitive-url">

Prevents duplicate content penalties when the same page is accessible via multiple URLs.

Open Graph (social sharing)

html

<meta property="og:title" content="Page title">
<meta property="og:description" content="Page description">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://example.com/og-image.jpg">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://example.com/page">
<meta property="og:type" content="website">

<!-- Twitter/X -->
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Page title">
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://example.com/og-image.jpg">

OG image: 1200×630px. Appears when the URL is shared on Slack, LinkedIn, Twitter, iMessage.

Structured Data (JSON-LD)

Machine-readable content enables rich search results.

html

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Product Name",
  "description": "Product description",
  "image": "https://example.com/product.jpg",
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "49.00",
    "priceCurrency": "EUR"
  }
}
</script>

Common types:

Product

Article

BreadcrumbList

FAQPage

Organization

SiteLinksSearchBox

Progressive Enhancement

Build in layers. The core content and function must work without JavaScript. Enhance with CSS. Enhance further with JS.

Layer 1: HTML — content is readable, links work, forms submit
Layer 2: CSS  — layout, typography, visual design
Layer 3: JS   — interactivity, animations, dynamic content

In practice:

Forms must submit via native
```
<form action>
```
without JS — JS can intercept and enhance with fetch
Navigation links must be real
```
<a href>
```
— JS can add transitions
Content must be in the HTML — JS can enhance with lazy-load or personalisation
Images must have
```
src
```
— JS can add lazy loading via
```
loading="lazy"
```
(now native)

SPA Considerations

Single-page applications break browser defaults that SEO and accessibility depend on. Fix them explicitly.

Server-side rendering or static generation

Client-rendered HTML is not reliably indexed by search engines. Use SSR (Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit) or static generation for any content that needs to be found.

Title and meta updates

Update

document.title

and meta tags on every route change. Use the framework's

<Head>

component or equivalent.

Focus management

On route change, move focus to the new page's

<h1>

<main>

— screen readers do not detect SPA navigation automatically.

// After route change
document.querySelector('h1')?.focus();

Scroll restoration

Restore scroll position to top on navigation, or to the saved position on back navigation. Browser default scroll restoration is disabled in SPAs.

History API

Use

pushState

replaceState

so back/forward navigation and bookmarking work correctly.

Device Capabilities and User Context

Design and code should adapt to what the device and user can actually do.

Input method detection

css

@media (hover: hover) {
  /* hover states — mouse or trackpad */
  .btn:hover { background: var(--color-primary-hover); }
}

@media (hover: none) {
  /* touch device — no hover, larger targets */
  .btn { min-height: 44px; }
}

Pointer precision

css

@media (pointer: coarse) {
  /* fat-finger touch — increase target sizes */
  .interactive { min-height: 44px; min-width: 44px; }
}

@media (pointer: fine) {
  /* mouse — precise, can use smaller targets */
}

Network conditions

html

<!-- Lazy load images below the fold -->
<img src="product.jpg" loading="lazy" alt="...">

<!-- Serve modern formats with fallback -->
<picture>
  <source srcset="image.avif" type="image/avif">
  <source srcset="image.webp" type="image/webp">
  <img src="image.jpg" alt="...">
</picture>

User preferences

css

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) { /* disable animations */ }
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark)     { /* dark mode tokens */ }
@media (prefers-contrast: more)         { /* increase contrast */ }
@media (forced-colors: active)          { /* Windows high contrast mode */ }

Review Checklist

One
```
<h1>
```
per page, headings form a logical outline

Semantic elements used:

<main>

<nav>

<header>

<footer>

<article>

<section>

Every
```
<img>
```
has a meaningful
```
alt
```
or
```
alt=""
```
for decorative images
```
<title>
```
is unique per page, 50–60 characters, keyword-first
```
<meta name="description">
```
present and 120–160 characters
Open Graph tags present on all shareable pages
```
<link rel="canonical">
```
on pages accessible via multiple URLs
Structured data (JSON-LD) on product, article, and FAQ pages
Forms work without JavaScript
SPA updates
```
document.title
```
and meta tags on route change
SPA moves focus on route change
Hover states scoped to
```
@media (hover: hover)
```
Touch targets ≥ 44px on
```
@media (pointer: coarse)
```
Images use
```
loading="lazy"
```
below the fold
```
prefers-reduced-motion
```
respected

semantic-html-and-seo

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Semantic HTML and SEO

Semantic HTML5

Document structure

Headings

Interactive elements

Images and Alt Text

SEO Fundamentals

Title and description

Canonical URL

Open Graph (social sharing)

Structured Data (JSON-LD)

Progressive Enhancement

SPA Considerations

Server-side rendering or static generation

Title and meta updates

Focus management

Scroll restoration

History API

Device Capabilities and User Context

Input method detection

Pointer precision

Network conditions

User preferences

Review Checklist