**`<address>`** is a narrowly-scoped semantic element: it means 'contact information for whoever authored this content', which could be an email, a link to a contact page, a social media handle, or a physical mailing address — but only when it's meant as contact info for the author/owner. It's commonly placed inside a `<footer>` of an `<article>` or the whole page. It should NOT be used for arbitrary postal addresses unrelated to authorship, like a shipping address in a checkout form.
1Understanding <address>
`<address>` is a narrowly-scoped semantic element: it means 'contact information for whoever authored this content', which could be an email, a link to a contact page, a social media handle, or a physical mailing address — but only when it's meant as contact info for the author/owner. It's commonly placed inside a <footer> of an <article> or the whole page. It should NOT be used for arbitrary postal addresses unrelated to authorship, like a shipping address in a checkout form.
A common mistake is using <address> to wrap any physical mailing address on a page (e.g. a store locator) — that's not what it's for. Reserve it strictly for the author/owner's contact info.
<article>
<h1>My First Post</h1>
<p>Article content...</p>
<footer>
<address>By <a href="mailto:jane@example.com">Jane Doe</a></address>
</footer>
</article>2Practical Example
Here is a real-world application of <address> showing how it is used in production HTML.
<!-- Site-wide contact info in the page footer -->
<footer>
<address>
Code Syllabus, contact us at <a href="mailto:hello@codesyllabus.com">hello@codesyllabus.com</a>
</address>
</footer>3Best Practices
Follow these guidelines when working with <address>:
1. Use <address> only for contact info about the author/owner of the surrounding content
2. Place it inside <footer> of an <article> or the page for blog-post-style authorship info
3. Don't use <address> for unrelated postal addresses like shipping or store locations
Tip: A common mistake is using <address> to wrap any physical mailing address on a page (e.g. a store locator) — that's not what it's for. Reserve it strictly for the author/owner's contact info.
<article>
<h1>My First Post</h1>
<p>Article content...</p>
<footer>
<address>By <a href="mailto:jane@example.com">Jane Doe</a></address>
</footer>
</article>