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Alternatives for Deprecated Elements and Attributes
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
It is important to eliminate deprecated and prohibited elements and attributes so that Web pages are more accessible and comply with Common Look and Feel (CLF) Standards. This document also provides a list of approved elements.
2.0 Deprecated elements
| Element | Alternative |
|---|---|
applet |
Use the <object> element instead. |
b |
Although technically not deprecated, W3C recommends the <strong> element be used instead. |
basefont |
Use CSS instead. e.g. body{font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 100%;} |
center |
Use CSS instead. Please read How to align text, images and form controls for instructions on aligning content. |
dir |
Use the <ul> element instead. |
font |
Use CSS instead. e.g., .textStyle{font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;} |
i |
Although technically not deprecated, W3C recommends the <em> element be used instead. |
isindex |
Use the <input /> element instead. |
menu |
Use the <ul> element instead. |
s |
Use the text-decoration CSS property instead. e.g., .strikeStyle{text-decoration: line-through;} |
strike |
Use the text-decoration CSS property instead. e.g., .strikeStyle{text-decoration: line-through;} |
u |
The <u> element should be avoided since clients may be confused by underlined text that is not a link. If underlining is still required, use the text-decoration CSS property instead.e.g., .underlineStyle{text-decoration : underline;} |
3.0 Deprecated attributes
| Element | Element(s) deprecated for | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
align |
applet (deprecated), caption, div, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, iframe, img, input, legend, object, p, table |
Use CSS to align content. Please read How to align text, images and form controls for instructions on aligning content. |
alink |
body |
Use the a:active CSS property to specify the colour for active links.e.g., a:active{color: #000000;} |
alt |
applet (deprecated) |
Use the <object> element instead. |
archive |
applet (deprecated) |
Use the <object> element instead. |
background |
body |
Use the background-color CSS property instead to specify the background colour for <body> .e.g., body{background-color: #FFFFFF;} |
bgcolor |
body, table, td, th, tr |
Use the background-color CSS property to specify the background colour for a container.e.g, .greyBG{background-color: #CCCCCC;} |
border |
img, object |
Use CSS to specify the border. e.g., .borderStyle{border: 3px solid #000000;} |
clear |
br |
Use the clear CSS property instead.e.g., .clearStyle{clear: left;} |
code |
applet (deprecated) |
Use the <object> element instead. |
codebase |
applet (deprecated) |
Use the <object> element instead. |
color |
basefont (deprecated), font (deprecated) |
Use CSS to specify the color. e.g, .red{color: #CC0000;} |
compact |
dir (deprecated), dl, menu (deprecated), ol, ul |
Use CSS to control the margins for the lists. e.g, .ulMargin{margin-left: 5px;} |
face |
basefont (deprecated), font (deprecated) |
Use CSS to specify the font. e.g., .textStyle{font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} |
height |
td, th |
Use the height CSS property instead.e.g., .tdHeight{height: 25px;} |
hspace |
img, object |
Use CSS instead. e.g., .hspaceStyle{padding-right: 3px; padding-left: 3px;} |
language |
script |
Use the type attribute instead. e.g., <script type="text/javascript" src=""></script> |
link |
body |
Use the a:link CSS property to specify the colour for non-visited links.e.g., a:link{color: #0000FF;} |
name |
applet (deprecated) |
Use the <object> element instead. |
noshade |
hr |
Use CSS instead. e.g., .hrStyle{border-style: solid;} |
nowrap |
td, th |
Use the white-space CSS property instead.e.g., .noWrap{white-space: nowrap;} |
object |
applet (deprecated) |
Use the <object> element instead. |
prompt |
isindex (deprecated) |
Use the <input /> element instead. |
size |
hr, basefont (deprecated), font (deprecated) |
Use the height CSS property instead. e.g., .hrSize{height: 5px; } |
start |
ol |
There is no need to specify the starting number since an ordered list should not be separated. |
style |
All | Although technically not deprecated, inline styles should never be used for reasons of accessibility. Use the class attribute instead.e.g., <p class="someStyle"> |
target |
All | Although technically not deprecated, the target attribute is not supported by any strict DTDs (HTML 4.01 Strict or XHTML 1.0 Strict). It is also related to numerous accessibility and display issues. |
text |
body |
Use the color CSS property to specify the text colour for the <body> element.e.g., body{color: #000000;} |
type |
li, ol, ul |
Use the list-style-type CSS property instead.e.g., .listStyle{list-style-type : disc;} |
value |
li |
There is no need to specify the starting number since an ordered list should not be separated. |
version |
html |
Use the DOCTYPE declaration instead. |
vlink |
body |
Use the a:visited CSS property to specify the colour for visited links.e.g., a:visited{color: #000099;} |
vspace |
img, object |
Use CSS instead. e.g., .vspaceStyle{padding-top: 3px; padding-bottom: 3px;} |
width |
hr, td, th, applet (deprecated), pre |
Use the width CSS property instead.e.g., .widthStyle{width: 20%;} |
4.0 Approved elements
<a></a><abbr></abbr><acronym></acronym><address></address><area /><base /><bdo></bdo><big></big><blockquote></blockquote><body></body><br /><button></button><caption> </caption><cite></cite><code></code><col /><colgroup></colgroup><dd></dd><del></del><dfn></dfn><div></div><dl></dl><dt></dt><em></em><fieldset></fieldset><form></form><frame /><frameset></frameset><h1></h1><h2></h2><h3></h3><h4></h4><h5></h5><h6></h6><head></head><hr /><html></html><iframe></iframe><img /><input /><ins></ins><kbd></kbd><label></label><legend></legend><li></li><link /><map></map><meta /><noframes></noframes><noscript></noscript><object></object><ol></ol><optgroup></optgroup><option></option><p></p><param /><pre></pre><q></q><samp></samp><script></script><select></select><small></small><span></span><strong></strong><style></style><sub></sub><sup></sup><table></table><tbody></tbody><td></td><textarea></textarea><tfoot></tfoot><th></th><thead></thead><title></title><tr></tr><tt></tt><ul></ul><var></var>