thoughts

[HTML] the map element

2005-04-10 modified: 2005-04-15

For navigation, people often use an ol or ul element, wrapped in something like <div id="navigation"> nowadays. But let us not forget about the map element. Besides client side image maps, this element could (and in my opinion should) be used for imageless navigation as well.

When we take a look at the HTML 4.01 specification for map, we see that there's a little passage on the use of map other than an image map.

The MAP element specifies a client-side image map (or other navigation mechanism) that may be associated with another elements (IMG, OBJECT, or INPUT). An image map is associated with an element via the element's usemap attribute. The MAP element may be used without an associated image for general navigation mechanisms.

W3C: 13.6.1 Client-side image maps: the MAP and AREA elements

So, instead of wrapping a div around your navigation elements (lists probably), put it in a map element, which is much more meaningful.

<map name="navigation" id="navigation">
  <ol>
    <li>item 1</li>
    <li>item 2</li>
    <!-- etc -->
  </ol>
</map>

Note that the name attribute on this element is mandatory in HTML, in XHTML, the id attribute is mandatory.