HTML Guide

Stray start tag “div”.

A <div> tag appears where the HTML structure does not expect it, often due to incorrect nesting or missing closing tags.

HTML elements must be properly nested and closed according to the specifications outlined by the HTML standard. A stray start tag usually occurs when a block-level element like <div> is used in a context where only phrasing (inline) content is permitted, or if required closing tags (such as </li>, </tr>, or </td>) are missing, causing the parser to be out of sync.

Incorrect Example: div after closing the html tag

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="">
<head>
<title>Test</title>
</head>
<body>
<p></p>
</body>
</html>
<div>
  some extra content
</div>

In the above, the <div> at the bottom is not valid because it appears after closing the html tag.

Always close elements properly and place block-level elements like <div> only inside appropriate containers. If your issue occurs elsewhere, look for missing closing tags or incorrect placement of the <div> relative to tables, lists, or other structural elements.

Learn more:

MDN: div element

Related W3C validator issues

Stray start tag “head”.

A <head> start tag has been found in an unexpected place in the document structure. Check that the <head> section appears before the <body> section, and that is not duplicated.

The <head> section of an HTML document is the container of metadata about the document, and must appear before the <body> section. A common cause of this issue is duplicated <head> sections.

Here is an example of a minimal HTML document structure:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Test</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <p></p>
  </body>
</html>

Stray start tag “html”.

Stray start tag “noscript”.

The “Stray start tag noscript“ error in the W3C HTML Validator indicates that the <noscript> tag has been used incorrectly or is placed in an invalid location within your HTML document.

The <noscript> tag is used to define alternative content for users who have disabled JavaScript in their browsers or for browsers that do not support JavaScript.

Common Causes:

Position of <noscript>: The <noscript> tag should be placed correctly within sections where it is allowed.
Nested Improperly: The <noscript> tag should not be placed inside other tags where it is not valid.

Correct Usage:

Within <head>:

 <head>
     <title>Example Page</title>
     <script>
         // Some JavaScript code
     </script>
     <noscript>
         <style>
             /* Alternative styling if JavaScript is disabled */
         </style>
     </noscript>
 </head>

Within <body>:

 <body>
     <h1>Welcome to the Example Page</h1>
     <script>
         // Some JavaScript code
     </script>
     <noscript>
         <p>JavaScript is disabled in your browser. Please enable JavaScript for the full experience.</p>
     </noscript>
 </body>

Fixing the Issue:

Inside Existing Tags: Ensure the <noscript> tag is not placed inside other tags where it cannot be parsed correctly.

 <!-- Incorrect -->
 <div>
     <noscript>
         <p>JavaScript is disabled in your browser.</p>
     </noscript>
 </div>
 
 <!-- Correct -->
 <noscript>
     <div>
         <p>JavaScript is disabled in your browser.</p>
     </div>
 </noscript>

Placement in Body or Head: Verify that the <noscript> tag is placed inside the <body> or <head> based on what content it’s providing a fallback for.

 <!-- Incorrect (inside an illegal tag) -->
 <div>
     Some content
     <noscript><p>JavaScript is disabled in your browser.</p></noscript>
 </div>

 <!-- Correct -->
 <div>Some content</div>
 <noscript><p>JavaScript is disabled in your browser.</p></noscript>

Summary:

Place <noscript> only within accepted sections (<head> or <body>).
Avoid nesting <noscript> inside other tags improperly.

Stray start tag “script”.

A <script> start tag has been found in an unexpected place in the document structure. Check that the <script> section appears within the <head> or <body> sections.

Here’s an example of a script inserted in the head of the document:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Test</title>
    <script>
      console.log("Hello from the head");
    </script>
  </head>
  <body>
    <p></p>
  </body>
</html>

Stray start tag “section”.

The “Stray start tag “section”” error in the W3C HTML Validator typically occurs when a <section> tag appears in an unexpected location within your HTML document structure. This can happen if the <section> tag is not positioned correctly within the HTML5 content model.

Here’s a focused guide to fix this issue:

1. Check the Parent Element

Make sure the <section> tag is placed within elements where it is allowed. According to the HTML5 specification:

A <section> element should be placed within the <body> tag.
It should not be a direct child of an inline element or an element that does not support flow content.

2. Correct Nesting Within Elements

Ensure your HTML structure follows a logical hierarchy and that the <section> element is not incorrectly nested. This example shows a correct usage of the <section> tag:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>Correct Usage of Section</title>
</head>
<body>
    <header>
        <h1>Page Title</h1>
    </header>
    
    <nav>
        <!-- Navigation links -->
    </nav>
    
    <main>
        <section>
            <h2>Section Title</h2>
            <p>Content for the first section.</p>
        </section>
        
        <section>
            <h2>Another Section Title</h2>
            <p>Content for the second section.</p>
        </section>
    </main>
    
    <footer>
        <p>Footer content</p>
    </footer>
</body>
</html>

3. Check for Mistaken Hierarchy

Verify whether the <section> tag is mistakenly placed inside elements that do not support it, such as directly inside a <p> tag or other inline elements. Correct any incorrect usage. For example this is incorrect usage because the <section> tag is placed after the closing <body> tag:

Incorrect:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <title>Sample page</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Main title</h1>
  <p>Some content</p>
</body>
</html>

<section>
  <h2>Incorrect Section</h2>
  <p>This section should not be after the closing body tag.</p>
</section>

Correct:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <title>Sample page</title>
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Main title</h1>
  <p>Some content</p>

  <section>
    <h2>Correct Section</h2>
    <p>This section is fine.</p>
  </section>
</body>
</html>

Summary

Ensure your <section> tags are used within the <body> tag and other allowed elements.
Maintain a logical hierarchy in your HTML document.
Avoid placing <section> tags inside inline elements like <p>.

Following these steps should resolve the “Stray start tag “section”” error in your HTML document. Validate your HTML again after making these corrections to ensure the issue is resolved.

Stray start tag “style”.

A <style> start tag has been found in an unexpected place in the document structure. Check that the <style> section appears within the <head> section.

Although in general it’s better to put your styles in external stylesheets and apply them using <link> elements, CSS styles can also be included inside a document using the <style> tag. In this case, it should be placed within the <head> section, like in this example:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
  <head>
    <title>Test</title>
    <style>
      p {
        color: #26b72b;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <p>This text will be green.</p>
  </body>
</html>

Bad value “0” for attribute “aria-rowspan” on element “div”: Zero is not a positive integer.

According to the ARIA specification, the attribute aria-rowspan is expected to have a positive integer value. A positive integer is a whole number greater than zero.

Explanation

aria-rowspan: This attribute is used in ARIA-enabled tables to indicate how many rows a cell should span within its row group. It is often used in elements like gridcell or rowheader within roles that imply grid-like structures, such as grid or treegrid.

Example of Incorrect Usage

<div role="gridcell" aria-rowspan="0">Content</div>

In this example, aria-rowspan is set to "0", which is not a valid positive integer.

Correct Usage

To resolve the issue, you should specify a positive integer. For example, if the cell should span one row, you can write:

<div role="gridcell" aria-rowspan="1">Content</div>

If the cell should span multiple rows, adjust the number accordingly:

<div role="gridcell" aria-rowspan="2">Content</div>

Considerations

Make sure the role attribute is correctly associated with an element that can logically have a row and grid structure, such as gridcell.
Ensure that the aria-rowspan value aligns with the structure of your grid or table, representing the actual number of rows that the element is spanning.

Bad value “X” for attribute “rel” on element “Y”: The string “X” is not an absolute URL.

The rel attribute defines the relationship between a linked resource and the current document. Valid on <link>, <a>, <area>, and <form>, the supported values depend on the element on which the attribute is found.

Here’s an example of using the rel attribute to link a document to a CSS stylesheet:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="default.css" />

Here’s an example os using the rel attribute to tell search engine spiders to ignore the link relationship with another document:

<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">more info</a>

Element “div” is missing a required instance of child element “dd | dt”.

Element “div” is missing one or more of the following attributes: “aria-expanded”, “aria-valuemax”, “aria-valuemin”, “aria-valuenow”, “role”.

Using aria-required on a div element requires more context about that element, by providing one of the attributes aria-expanded, aria-valuemax, aria-valuemin, aria-valuenow, role.

When possible, you should prefer semantic tags like input, select and textarea, and use the required attribute, but when form controls are created using non-semantic elements, such as a div element, the aria-required attribute should be included with a value of true to indicate to assistive technologies that user input is required on the element for the form to be submittable. In that case, other attributes might be needed to make the element valid.

For example, we could build a radiogroup using a div like this:

<div aria-required="true">
  <div data-value="One"></div> 1
  <div data-value="Two"></div> 2
  <div data-value="Three"></div> 3
</div>

This HTML snippet would then be decorated using CSS and added functionality using JavaScript. However, the W3C validator will complain that the element div is missing one of the attributes aria-expanded, aria-valuemax, aria-valuemin, aria-valuenow, role.

We can fix that by adding the appropiate role to that div element, like this:

<div aria-required="true" role="radiogroup">
  <div data-value="One"></div> 1
  <div data-value="Two"></div> 2
  <div data-value="Three"></div> 3
</div>

Here is an example showing how to add the “role” attribute to the “div” element:

<div role="region">
    <!-- Your content goes here -->
</div>

In this example, the role attribute is added with the value radiogroup. You can choose the appropriate ARIA role based on the purpose or role of your div element.

Remember to also provide the necessary values for the specified attributes if you are adding aria-valuemax, aria-valuemin, or aria-valuenow to ensure proper accessibility and usability of your content.