Stop Using Divs for Everything! Master Semantic HTML, Custom Attributes, and Accessibility

In this episode of the HTML All The Things Podcast, Matt and Mike dive into why good HTML practices are essential for building better, more accessible, and maintainable websites. They kick things off by explaining the importance of semantic HTML for readability, SEO, and accessibility—covering useful tags like <header>, <footer>, and <article>.

Matt and Mike also discuss how developers can properly create and use custom attributes—like data-* attributes—to store extra information cleanly without relying on fragile class naming conventions. Finally, they emphasize HTML's critical role in accessibility, highlighting best practices such as using ARIA attributes appropriately and providing meaningful alt text for images.

To cap off the episode, the hosts share some lighthearted updates about their holiday plans and give a shout-out to this episode’s sponsor, Magic Mind.

Show Notes: https://www.htmlallthethings.com/podcasts/stop-using-divs-for-everything-master-semantic-html-custom-attributes-and-accessibility

Thanks to Magic Mind for sponsoring this episode, enjoy 20% off one-time purchases and subscription using our link and code (Link: https://magicmind.com/HTMLPOD20 Code: HTMLPOD20)

Thanks to Wix Studio for sponsoring this episode! Check out Wix Studio, the web platform tailored to designers, developers, and marketers via this link: https://www.wix.com/studio