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HTML <button> Tag


Example

A clickable button is marked up as follows:

<button type="button">Click Me!</button>
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Definition and Usage

The <button> tag defines a clickable button.

Inside a <button> element you can put content, like text or images. This is the difference between this element and buttons created with the <input> element.

Tip: Always specify the type attribute for a <button> element. Different browsers use different default types for the <button> element.


Browser Support

Element
<button> Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Tips and Notes

Note: If you use the <button> element in an HTML form, different browsers may submit different values. Use <input> to create buttons in an HTML form.

Tip: Visit our CSS Buttons Tutorial to find out how to style buttons with CSS.


Differences Between HTML 4.01 and HTML5

HTML5 has the following new attributes: autofocus, form, formaction, formenctype, formmethod, formnovalidate, and formtarget.


Attributes

= New in HTML5.

Attribute Value Description
autofocus autofocus Specifies that a button should automatically get focus when the page loads
disabled disabled Specifies that a button should be disabled
form form_id Specifies one or more forms the button belongs to
formaction URL Specifies where to send the form-data when a form is submitted. Only for type="submit"
formenctype application/x-www-form-urlencoded
multipart/form-data
text/plain
Specifies how form-data should be encoded before sending it to a server. Only for type="submit"
formmethod get
post
Specifies how to send the form-data (which HTTP method to use). Only for type="submit"
formnovalidate formnovalidate Specifies that the form-data should not be validated on submission. Only for type="submit"
formtarget _blank
_self
_parent
_top
framename
Specifies where to display the response after submitting the form. Only for type="submit"
name name Specifies a name for the button
type button
reset
submit
Specifies the type of button
value text Specifies an initial value for the button

Global Attributes

The <button> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML.


Event Attributes

The <button> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML.


Related Pages

HTML DOM reference: Button Object

CSS Tutorial: Styling Buttons


Default CSS Settings

None.