HTML <address> Tag for Contact Info

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The <address> Tag in HTML 5

The address tag is used for contact information for the current article, if it is coded inside an article element, or else the document as a whole if not.

The address can be a simple mailto: link:

<address>
   <a href="mailto:John Doe &lt;John.Doe@ExampleOnly.com&gt;">Contact the author</a>
</address>

Or, the address can be a hypertext link to a user profile with contact information:

<address>
   <a href="/users/John.Doe/">View John Doe's profile and contact info</a>
</address>

The <address> tag is only to be used for contact information. A postal mailing address should only be put inside an address element if the method for contacting the author(s) is via postal mail.

<address> Tag Syntax

Rules for coding HTML `address` elements

<body>
   ...
   ... flow content expected ...
   <address>
      ... flow content ...
   </address>
   ...
</body>

Inside an element where flow content is allowed, code one or more optional address elements.
Begin each address element with a starting <address> tag. The element name uses lower case letters and should be in the HTML namespace, which it will pick up automatically from the xmlns attribute on the <html> tag.
Include any HTML global attributes on the <address> tag as appropriate.
End the address element with a matching </address> closing tag.
Inside the address element, include any allowable flow content as appropriate.

<address> Content Model

Content of the <address> Tag

The content of the address element can include HTML comments, text content and any tags that can be used in flow content except for <header> tags, <hgroup> tags, <hn> heading tags, <footer> tags, <article> tags, <aside> tags, <nav> tags, <section> tags or other <address> tags, which are not permitted anywhere under the address element.

<address> Tag Attributes

Attributes of the <address> tag

global attributes

The only attributes that can be coded on the <address> tag are the common HTML attributes.

<address> Tag Examples

Examples of the `address` tag in HTML 5

<address> tag with a hypertext link

<address>
   <a href="/users/John.Doe/">View John Doe's profile</a>
</address>

<address> tag with a `mailto:` link

<body>
   <p>By <address>
      <a href="mailto:John.Doe@ExampleOnly.com">John Doe (contact the author)</a>
   </address></p>
   ...
</body>

<article>
   <h2>April Fools!<h2>
   <p>Published: Friday, April 1, 2011<br/>
      By: <address>
         <a href="mailto:John Doe &lt;John.Doe@ExampleOnly.com&gt;">John Doe (contact the author)</a>
      </address>
   </p>
   <p>Today's blog entry is an April Fool's Day joke....</p>
</article>

The value of the <a href> attribute starts with the mailto scheme followed by a semicolon (:). The "To" address follows it and can be coded as:

the e-mail address
a display name, which may include special characters if enclosed in quotes ("), which must be encoded as " in an attribute value, and the e-mail address enclosed in angle brackets (<...>), which must be encoded with the HTML character entities < and >.

Changes in HTML 5 - <address> Tag

What's new in HTML 5

Differences between HTML 5 and earlier versions of HTML

The 2000-2010 Recommendations from the W3C HTML Working Group defined the HTML namespace for the address element type name along with the names of all HTML element types. In older (pre-2000) versions of HTML, element type names were not associated with a namespace.

Valid HTML 5