---
title: "HTML5 Self Closing Tags"
url: "https://florea.xyz/html5-self-closing-tag/"
date: "2022-06-24T10:15:00+03:00"
updated: "2023-03-30T10:15:59+03:00"
author: "Bogdan Florea"
topic: "Programming"
---

# HTML5 Self Closing Tags

HTML is a markup language used for creating web pages. In HTML, there are two types of tags: opening tags and closing tags. Opening tags begin with a less-than symbol (\<) followed by the tag name, and closing tags begin with a less-than symbol followed by a forward slash (/) and the tag name. However, in HTML5, there are certain tags that can be self-closing, meaning they don't require a separate closing tag. In this article, we will discuss self-closing tags in HTML5.

### What are self-closing tags?

Self-closing tags are HTML tags that don't require a separate closing tag. Instead, they are written as a single tag with a forward slash (/) at the end. Here's an example of a self-closing tag in HTML5:

```html
<img src="image.jpg" alt="an image" />
```

In this example, the `<img>` tag is a self-closing tag. It's used to display an image on a web page and doesn't require a separate closing tag.

### Which tags are self-closing in HTML5?

There are several tags that can be self-closing in HTML5. Here are some examples:

- `<area>`
- `<base>`
- `<br>`
- `<col>`
- `<embed>`
- `<hr>`
- `<img>`
- `<input>`
- `<link>`
- `<meta>`
- `<param>`
- `<source>`
- `<track>`
- `<wbr>`

All of these tags can be written as self-closing tags in HTML5.

### Why use self-closing tags?

Self-closing tags can be useful for a few reasons. Firstly, they can make your code more concise and easier to read. For example, instead of writing:

```html
<br></br>
```

You can simply write:

```html
<br />
```

Secondly, self-closing tags can help prevent errors in your HTML code. If you forget to close a tag, your web page may not render correctly or may not work at all. By using self-closing tags, you can avoid this issue altogether.

### Conclusion

Self-closing tags are a useful feature of HTML5. By knowing which tags can be self-closing and when to use them, you can write cleaner, more efficient HTML code. Remember to use self-closing tags when appropriate, but don't overuse them, as some tags still require a separate closing tag.

### More on this topic:

1. [https://www.tutorialstonight.com/self-closing-tags-in-html.php](https://www.tutorialstonight.com/self-closing-tags-in-html.php)
2. [https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3558119/are-non-void-self-closing-tags-valid-in-html5](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3558119/are-non-void-self-closing-tags-valid-in-html5)