You should use the <button> element when you need a clickable control to perform operations. 1. When triggering an operation, such as submitting a form, opening a modal box, switching menus, playing media, etc.; 2. For better accessibility, because <button> natively supports screen readers and keyboard navigation; 3. For submission or reset operations in a form, behavior can be controlled through type attributes; 4. When flexible style design is required, the appearance can be customized through CSS without affecting functionality and accessibility. Therefore, as long as the click is to perform an operation rather than navigation, the <button> element should be used, which is a simple, accessible and reliable approach.
You should use the <button></button> element whenever you need a clickable control that performs an action in the user interface. It's one of the most common and semantically correct choices for interactive elements. Here are the key situations when you should use it:
element?" />1. When triggering an action
Use <button></button> when the user click leads to a clear action, such as:
- Submitting a form (
<button type="submit"></button>) - Opening a modal or dialog
- Toggling a menu or dropdown
- Adding/removing items
- Playing or pausing media
Example:
element?" /><button type="button" onclick="playVideo()">Play</button>
2. For better accessibility
The <button> element is natively accessible. Screen readers recognize it as an interactive control, and it's keyboard-focusable by default (users can press Tab and activate it with Enter or Space). Using a <div> or <span> with click handlers doesn't provide this out of the box.
? Good:
element?" /><button>Close</button>
? Avoid:
<div onclick="close()">Close</div> <!-- Not accessible by default -->
3. Inside forms
Use <button> within forms for submit or reset actions. It gives you better control over behavior via the type attribute:
-
type="submit"(default): submits the form -
type="reset": resets form fields -
type="button": performs a custom JavaScript action
Example:
<form> <input type="text" name="email" /> <button type="submit">Send</button> <button type="reset">Clear</button> </form>
4. When styling flexibility is needed
Modern CSS makes <button> highly customized. You can remove default styles and design it to look like a link, icon, or any UI element while keeping its functionality and accessibility.
Example of a button styled like a link:
.button-as-link {
background: none;
border: none;
color: blue;
text-decoration: underline;
cursor: pointer;
} Just remember: if it looks like a link but performs an action (rather than navigating), it should still be a <button></button> , not an <a></a> .
Basically, if the user is doing something by clicking, use <button></button> . It's simple, accessible, and reliable.
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