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Methodology

Semantic HTML elements

ia.semantic-html · 3.3

Read MUST Recommendation

Why it matters

Browser agents may combine the DOM, accessibility tree, and screenshots. Semantic elements like <main>, <nav>, and <article> provide durable structural meaning across those representations.

How to fix it

Use main, nav, header, footer and article for the page structure.

  1. Replace layout div elements with semantic elements.

    <header>...</header>
    <nav>...</nav>
    <main>
      <article>...</article>
    </main>
    <footer>...</footer>
  2. Use one main element per page.

Verify

Run a new scan for this checkpoint:

isagentready results {domain} --checkpoint ia.semantic-html
Details Mapping, lifecycle and references
AR mapping
No AR practice
Evidence source
MDN Semantics in HTML
Score role
Core
Introduced
2026-08-24
Revised
2026-09-02
Methodology version
2026-10-22

Checkpoint data (JSON)