Is it possible to apply styling to a label and use it as a regular element?

Question

Is it possible to apply styling to a label and use it as a regular element?

I've come up with a unique way to create an accordion viewer using input and label elements.

In order to vertically center my elements, I treat the label as if it were a div by giving it display: table and inserting a div inside of it. Here's what it looks like:

<div>
    <input id='myid'>
    <label for ='myid' style='display table'>
        <div style='display: table-cell'>
            <img ....... > 
            thetextforthelabel 
        </div>
    </label>
</div>

This method works perfectly for me.

My question is: am I breaking any rules or guidelines by using the label tag in this way? I understand that it may not be conventional, but it serves its purpose for me...

html css

Answer 1

Answer №1

Your code is not valid.

The issue lies in the fact that div elements should only be utilized

In situations where flow content is expected.

However, the content model of label elements is

Phrasing content, but with no descendant labelable elements unless it is the element's labeled control, and no descendant label elements.

In general, it may still function properly because (unlike for instance p elements) the closing tag of label elements cannot be skipped:

Neither tag can be omitted

Nevertheless, I am unsure about the benefit of using a table element with just one cell. You might want to consider using the following alternative approach:

<div>
    <input id='myid'>
    <label for='myid' style='display:block'>
        <img ....... > 
        thetextforthelabel 
    </label>
</div>

Answer 2

Your code is not valid.

The issue lies in the fact that div elements should only be utilized

In situations where flow content is expected.

However, the content model of label elements is

Phrasing content, but with no descendant labelable elements unless it is the element's labeled control, and no descendant label elements.

In general, it may still function properly because (unlike for instance p elements) the closing tag of label elements cannot be skipped:

Neither tag can be omitted

Nevertheless, I am unsure about the benefit of using a table element with just one cell. You might want to consider using the following alternative approach:

<div>
    <input id='myid'>
    <label for='myid' style='display:block'>
        <img ....... > 
        thetextforthelabel 
    </label>
</div>

Answer 3

Answer №2

Indeed, it goes against the established rules of HTML. Despite this, it still functions as intended, thanks to how HTML parsing works. This differs from other rules within HTML, such as the one stating that a p element cannot contain a div element; in that case, the parsing process enforces compliance (the p element is automatically closed when a <div> tag is encountered).

However, if your content consists solely of an image and text, using a span element instead of a div element suffices. In terms of display, the choice between them doesn't matter much (aside from typical CSS considerations) since their rendering differences are related to the default display value – a value you'd likely be assigning anyway.

<div>
    <input id='myid'>
    <label for ='myid' style='display table'>
        <span style='display:table-cell'>
            <img src="http://lorempixel.com/100/50" alt="(an image)">
            thetextforthelabel 
        </span>
    </label>
</div>

Answer 4

Indeed, it goes against the established rules of HTML. Despite this, it still functions as intended, thanks to how HTML parsing works. This differs from other rules within HTML, such as the one stating that a p element cannot contain a div element; in that case, the parsing process enforces compliance (the p element is automatically closed when a <div> tag is encountered).

However, if your content consists solely of an image and text, using a span element instead of a div element suffices. In terms of display, the choice between them doesn't matter much (aside from typical CSS considerations) since their rendering differences are related to the default display value – a value you'd likely be assigning anyway.

<div>
    <input id='myid'>
    <label for ='myid' style='display table'>
        <span style='display:table-cell'>
            <img src="http://lorempixel.com/100/50" alt="(an image)">
            thetextforthelabel 
        </span>
    </label>
</div>

Is it possible to apply styling to a label and use it as a regular element?

Answer №1

Answer №2

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