HTML Guide for bad value
The W3C Validator issue you’re seeing is because the ping attribute on the <a> (anchor) element is supposed to contain a space-separated list of URLs to which, when the hyperlink is activated, the browser will send ping requests. The ping attribute must only contain proper “http” or “https” URLs, that is, relative URLs are not allowed.
Example of Incorrect Code
<a href="https://example.com" ping="/track">Visit Example</a>Examples of Correct Code
-
Proper Ping URL: Ensure the ping URL starts with http or https and is correctly formatted.
<a href="https://example.com" ping="https://example.com/track">Visit Example</a> -
Multiple URLs: If you have multiple URLs, they should be space-separated and each should be a valid URL.
<a href="https://example.com" ping="https://example.com/track https://example.com/another-track">Visit Example</a>
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using invalid URL schemes like mailto: or /relative-path.
- Including broken URLs or URLs with protocols other than http or https.
- Incorrectly formatting multiple URLs; they must be space-separated, not comma-separated or otherwise.
Note
The ping property is not effective in Firefox and its usage may be limited due to privacy and security concerns.
Spaces in the poster attribute value are not valid in URLs and must be percent-encoded as %20.
The poster attribute on the video element specifies an image to show until the user plays or seeks the video. Attribute values that represent URLs (such as in src, href, or poster) must use valid URI syntax, meaning spaces are not allowed. Spaces must be replaced with %20, or you can use a path that avoids spaces entirely.
Example — Incorrect:
<video controls poster="/img/video images/snapshot.png">
<source src="/videos/sample.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>Example — Fixed with percent-encoding:
<video controls poster="/img/video%20images/snapshot.png">
<source src="/videos/sample.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>Example — Fixed by removing spaces from the folder name:
<video controls poster="/img/video-images/snapshot.png">
<source src="/videos/sample.mp4" type="video/mp4">
</video>Always encode any space in URLs as %20 or avoid spaces in file and folder names.
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>The sizes attribute for an img element requires valid CSS syntax, and auto is not an acceptable value within that attribute.
The sizes attribute allows you to specify a list of media conditions and corresponding sizes for the images. Each condition determines which size of the image should be displayed at different viewport widths, ensuring responsive image delivery. The syntax for sizes should be a comma-separated list of media queries followed by a value denoting the corresponding width of the image. This width value may be in pixels (px) or as a percentage (vw, vh), but auto is not valid in this context.
Here is a breakdown of a correct sizes attribute usage:
- 50vw: This denotes that the image should take up 50% of the viewport’s width.
- (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 50vw: When the viewport is at most 600 pixels wide, the image should occupy the full width (100vw). Otherwise, it should take 50 percent of the viewport width.
Remove “auto” from your sizes value and provide a valid, contextually correct CSS value.
Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>Responsive Images Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<img
src="image.jpg"
sizes="(max-width: 472px) 100vw, 472px"
srcset="image-small.jpg 300w, image-medium.jpg 600w, image-large.jpg 1000w"
alt="A description of the image"
>
</body>
</html>In this example, if the viewport width is less than or equal to 472 pixels, the image will take up the entire width (100vw). For larger widths, the srcset specifies different image files for varying resolutions.
The sizes attribute on the img element must use CSS length units (such as px, vw, em) and not image width descriptors like w.
The sizes attribute defines the intended display size of the image in CSS length units, which helps the browser select the appropriate image from the srcset. Use units like px (pixels) or vw (viewport width percentage), not w, which is used in the srcset descriptors. The srcset attribute specifies different image resources and their width descriptors (e.g., 860w), while sizes reflects the image’s display size in the layout.
Correct usage:
- sizes="(min-width: 568px) 140px" tells the browser the image will be displayed as 140 pixels wide when the viewport is at least 568 pixels wide.
- srcset="photo.png?w=860&q=90 860w" uses w as the descriptor for the image resource’s width.
HTML example:
<img
alt=""
sizes="(min-width: 568px) 140px"
srcset="photo.png?w=860&q=90 860w"
src="photo.png?w=860&q=90">Summary:
- Use CSS units like px, vw, etc. in the sizes attribute.
- Use the w descriptor only in srcset, not in sizes.
This error message indicates that there is a backslash (\) used in a URL, which is not a valid character for URL paths.
You’ll need to replace the backslashes with forward slashes (/) in the URL path segments.
Here’s an example of a correct img tag using a valid URL path:
<img src="https://example.com/img/small/photo.png" alt="example image">Also, make sure that the URL is correct and that the image file actually exists in the specified location.
The issue arises from the space character in the src attribute value of the script element. In URLs, spaces are not allowed and should be properly encoded to avoid validation errors.
Fix
Replace spaces with %20, which is the URL-encoded representation of a space.
Example
Before:
<script src="https://example.com/media assets/app.js"></script>After:
<script src="https://example.com/media%20assets/app.js"></script>Explanation
In this example, the space between “media” and “assets” in the URL is replaced with %20. This change ensures that the URL conforms to standards and is correctly processed by browsers and servers. Spaces and other special characters in URLs must be encoded to ensure proper formatting and accessibility.
The src attribute value is malformed, check that it doesn’t contain extraneous characters.
For example, this is invalid because the URL in the src attribute contains a space in between the https: and // parts:
<a href="https: //example.com">Some link</a>To fix this issue, you can try removing the space after “https:” in the URL in the src attribute:
<a href="https://example.com">Some link</a>The srcset attribute requires a width descriptor (w) or pixel density descriptor (x) for each image candidate when the sizes attribute is present.
When using the sizes attribute on an img element, each entry in srcset must include either a width descriptor (e.g., 860w) or a pixel density descriptor (e.g., 2x). This tells browsers how to select the most appropriate image source for the current viewport or display density. Omitting the descriptor leads to HTML validation errors and unexpected image selection.
Correct usage with width descriptors:
<img
alt=""
sizes="(min-width:568px) 140px"
srcset="photo.png?w=860&q=90 860w"
src="photo.png?w=860&q=90">Correct usage with pixel density descriptors (if sizes is removed):
<img
alt=""
srcset="photo.png?w=860&q=90 2x"
src="photo.png?w=860&q=90">Key points:
- With sizes, use width descriptors (e.g., 860w).
- Without sizes, you may use pixel density descriptors (e.g., 2x).
- Always use either px or w units in the sizes attribute values; do not use w.
Ensure all descriptors in the srcset have positive widths greater than zero. In the srcset attribute, each source candidate consists of a URL followed by a width descriptor, which should be a positive integer followed by w.
The issue arises from using 0w, which is not valid as width descriptors must be positive numbers. The srcset attribute allows browsers to choose the appropriate image from different candidates based on device resolution and screen size, so specifying a meaningful width is important.
Here’s how you can fix it:
- Verify that each candidate in the srcset includes a valid URL and a width descriptor greater than zero.
- Decide the relevant width for your images and update the descriptors accordingly.
Here’s a corrected example of how to use the srcset attribute:
<picture>
<source
srcset="/images/icon_small_1x.png 300w,
/images/icon_small_2x.png 600w"
media="(max-width: 600px)">
<img src="/images/icon_fallback.png"
alt="App Logo">
</picture>In this example, each image in srcset has a positive width descriptor: 300w and 600w. This ensures that the browser can make an appropriate choice based on the current viewport and resolution, adhering to the W3C HTML standards.
The value provided on the type attribute of an a element is not a valid MIME type.
The type attribute expects a MIME type that hints at the linked URL’s format.
The type attribute on <a> elements, when present, gives a hint on the MIME type of the linked resource, for example:
<a href="application/pdf" src="book.pdf">Read our book</a>
<a href="image/jpeg" src="photo.jpeg">See a photo</a>That is, we’re talking about the type of the linked resource, not the type of the <a> element, as it’s sometimes misunderstood. The following example is invalid because button is not a valid MIME type.
<a href="/order.php" type="button">Submit</a>The value used to define the type of a link is not valid. You’re probably using a URL instead of a valid type.
Example of a valid type:
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="favicon.png">XML 1.0 names, typically used for the id attribute of elements, must comply with specific constraints, such as:
- Must start with a letter or underscore _
- Subsequent characters can be letters, digits, hyphens -, underscores _, and periods .
- Cannot contain any spaces or special characters
Here’s an example of an invalid name for an ID:
<svg>
<g id="Group 270">
<!-- Content inside the group element -->
</g>
</svg>This can be fixed by avoiding whitespace inside the name, like this:
<svg>
<g id="group-270">
<!-- Content inside the group element -->
</g>
</svg>In this example, the id attribute value Group 270 has been changed to group-270 to follow the rules for XML 1.0 names.
The text-transform CSS property specifies how to capitalize an element’s text. It can be used to make text appear in all-uppercase or all-lowercase, or with each word capitalized.
Examples of valid values for this property are:
text-transform: none;
text-transform: capitalize;
text-transform: uppercase;
text-transform: lowercase;
text-transform: full-width;
text-transform: full-size-kana;