HTML Guide
In the days before HTML5, named anchors were used as a way to provide a link to a specific section of a document, for example:
<h2>
<a name="section-5">Section 5</a>
</h2>
Now in HTML5, the name attribute is obsolete for <a> tags, and instead, you can use the id attribute of any element (not just <a>) as a way to navigate directly to it, for example:
<h2 id="section-5">Section 5</h2>Learn more:
Last reviewed: October 27, 2022
Related W3C validator issues
The warning regarding the use of the name attribute on the img element arises because the name attribute is considered obsolete in modern HTML. Historically, name was used to identify form controls and some other elements, but now it’s replaced by more standardized attributes like id.
To resolve this issue, replace the name attribute with the id attribute. The id attribute provides a unique identifier for the element within the document, which can be utilized for styling, scripting, or linking using fragment identifiers.
Here is an example of how to make this change:
HTML with obsolete name attribute:
<img src="example.jpg" name="myImage" alt="Descriptive text">Updated HTML using the id attribute:
<img src="example.jpg" id="myImage" alt="Descriptive text">In this modification:
- The name="myImage" is replaced with id="myImage".
- The remaining attributes like src and alt are retained for specifying the image source and providing alternative text, respectively.
The id attribute should be unique within the document, which ensures that JavaScript or CSS can target the element efficiently.
The <option> element no longer accepts a name attribute, which is now obsolete.
Example:
<select id="pet-select">
<option value="">--Please choose an option--</option>
<option value="dog">Dog</option>
<option value="cat">Cat</option>
<option value="hamster">Hamster</option>
</select>The id attribute of an HTML element, used to identify the element when linking, scripting or styling, must be unique in the whole document and must not contain whitespace.
Technically, in HTML5, the value for an id attribute may contain any character, except whitespace characters. However, to avoid inadvertent errors, only ASCII letters, digits, _, and - should be used and the value for an id attribute should start with a letter.
A <meta> tag has been found that is either malformed, or in a bad place within the document. Check its attributes and context.
For example, the following HTML contains a valid <meta> tag that is raising an issue because of bad context, caused by an <img> tag that shouldn’t be there:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="">
<head>
<title>Test</title>
<img src="photo.jpg" alt="A smiling cat" />
<meta name="description" content="Description of this page" />
</head>
<body>
<p>Some content</p>
</body>
</html>If we fix that document and move the <img> tag within the body, the issue raised about <meta> disappears because it’s now in a valid context:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="">
<head>
<title>Test</title>
<meta name="description" content="Description of this page" />
</head>
<body>
<p>Some content</p>
<img src="photo.jpg" alt="A smiling cat" />
</body>
</html>The for attribute on a label element can’t be an empty string. This attribute is intended to specify which form element a label is associated with, and it must reference the ID of an existing form element. An empty string is neither a valid ID nor a meaningful association.
Explanation
- Invalid HTML: <label for=""></label>
The for attribute expects the value to be the ID of a form element, such as an input, textarea, select, etc.
How to Fix
- Identify the Form Element: Find the form element (input, textarea, select, etc.) that the label is supposed to be associated with.
- Assign an ID to the Form Element: Ensure the form element has a unique ID.
- Modify the Label’s for Attribute: Set the for attribute of the label to match the ID of the form element.
Example
Before Fix
<form>
<label for="">Username:</label>
<input type="text" name="username">
</form>After Fix
<form>
<label for="username">Username:</label>
<input type="text" id="username" name="username">
</form>The id attribute is used to identify a single element within a document, it’s not required, but if used it must be unique, and must not be an empty string.
The validator reports “Bad value “” for attribute id on element X: An ID must not be the empty string” when any element includes an empty id attribute. Per the HTML standard, id is a global attribute used as a unique document-wide identifier. An empty identifier is not a valid value and is ignored by some features, leading to hard-to-debug issues.
This matters for accessibility and interoperability. Features that depend on IDs—fragment navigation (#target), <label for>, ARIA attributes like aria-labelledby/aria-controls, and DOM APIs such as document.getElementById()—require a non-empty, unique value. Empty IDs break these links, can degrade assistive technology output, and violate conformance, which may hide bugs across browsers.
How to fix:
- If the element doesn’t need an identifier, remove the id attribute entirely.
- If it needs one, provide a non-empty, unique value, e.g., id="main-content".
- Ensure uniqueness across the page; each id must occur only once.
- Use simple, predictable tokens: avoid spaces, prefer lowercase letters, digits, hyphens, and underscores (e.g., feature-1). While the spec allows a broad range of characters, sticking to URL- and selector-friendly characters avoids pitfalls.
Examples
Example that triggers the validator error (empty id)
<div id=""></div>Correct: remove an unnecessary empty id
<div></div>Correct: provide a meaningful, unique id
<section id="features"></section>Problematic label association with empty id (invalid)
<label for="">Email</label>
<input type="email" id="">Correct label–control association
<label for="email">Email</label>
<input type="email" id="email">Correct ARIA relationship
<h2 id="pricing-heading">Pricing</h2>
<section aria-labelledby="pricing-heading">
<p>Choose a plan.</p>
</section>Correct fragment navigation target
<nav>
<a href="#contact">Contact</a>
</nav>
<section id="contact">
<h2>Contact us</h2>
</section>Minimal full document (validated) demonstrating proper ids
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>Valid IDs Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<main id="main-content">
<h1 id="page-title">Welcome</h1>
<p>Jump to the <a href="#details">details</a>.</p>
<section id="details">
<h2>Details</h2>
</section>
<form>
<label for="email">Email</label>
<input id="email" type="email">
</form>
</main>
</body>
</html>Empty name attributes on <a> are invalid; an anchor’s name/id must be a non-empty unique identifier.
Historically, the name attribute on <a> was used to create fragment targets (e.g., <a name="top"></a>). In HTML5/living standard, fragment navigation should use the id attribute instead. The name attribute on <a> is obsolete for this purpose, and an empty string is never allowed for identifiers.
Use id with a non-empty value to create link targets, and point to them with href="#idValue". If you keep name for legacy reasons, it must still be non-empty and match the HTML syntax for valid IDs. Avoid adding empty attributes like name="" or id="". Also ensure uniqueness of each id in the document.
HTML Examples
Example causing the validator error
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Anchor name error</title>
</head>
<body>
<a name=""></a>
<a href="#"></a>
</body>
</html>Corrected example using id (recommended)
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Anchor id fix</title>
</head>
<body>
<a id="top"></a>
<a href="#top">Back to top</a>
</body>
</html>An empty value for the name attribute on the form element is invalid and should be removed or replaced with a valid non-empty string.
The name attribute on a form element provides a way to reference forms via scripts and images, and it must not be empty. According to the HTML standard, if the name attribute is present, it must have a non-empty value. An empty string is considered invalid and will trigger HTML validator errors.
Invalid example:
<form name="">
<!-- form elements here -->
</form>How to fix:
- Remove the empty name attribute if you don’t need it.
- Replace the empty value with a meaningful, unique name if you require it for scripting or identification.
Valid examples:
<form>
<!-- form elements here -->
</form><form name="registrationForm">
<!-- form elements here -->
</form>Avoid using empty attribute values, as they do not provide any benefit and result in validation errors.
The name attribute is required for all input elements.