---
title: "HTML Landmark Elements"
description: "The full set of semantic HTML landmarks, their ARIA roles, and when context changes their meaning."
date: 2026-04-11
type: article
tags: [semantic-html, html, reference]
ai-disclosure: generated
ai-model: claude-sonnet-4-6
ai-provider: Anthropic
---
The full set: ``, ``, ``, ``, ``, ``, ``, plus the newer ``.
Each maps to an implicit ARIA landmark role, which is what makes them meaningful to screen readers and search engines — not just visual styling hooks.
## ``
Introductory content for its nearest sectioning ancestor. At the top level of `` it maps to the `banner` landmark — the site identity zone. Inside an `` or `` it's just a local header with no landmark role.
## ``
A block of navigation links. Maps to the `navigation` landmark. A page can have multiple — give each a distinct `aria-label` (`aria-label="Primary"`, `aria-label="Breadcrumb"`) so screen reader users can tell them apart.
## ``
**One per page.** The dominant content — excludes site chrome (nav, sidebar, footer). Maps to the `main` landmark. Skip-to-content links target this. Never nest `` inside another landmark.
## ``
Self-contained, independently distributable content. A blog post, a comment, a card, a widget — anything that would make sense pulled out of context and published elsewhere. Maps to the `article` role. Can nest: comments inside a post are valid nested `` elements.
## ``
A thematic grouping within a document. Only gets a landmark role (`region`) when given an accessible name via `aria-labelledby` or `aria-label`. Without a name it's an anonymous grouping — semantically inert, like a smarter ``.
## `
`
Content tangentially related to the surrounding content. Sidebar, pull quote, callout, related links. Maps to the `complementary` landmark. The relationship is *adjacent*, not *nested* — an `` inside an `` is tangential to that article, not the whole page.
## ``
Closing content for its nearest sectioning ancestor. At the body level it maps to the `contentinfo` landmark — copyright, legal, site-wide links. Inside an `` it's a local footer (author, date, tags) with no landmark role.
## ``
Added in the WHATWG HTML living standard in 2023. Maps to the `search` landmark. Previously you had to write `