What are Deprecated HTML Tags?
The deprecated or obsolete HTML tags are those which are not backed by the developer community or have been replaced by some other HTML5 elements. There are certain facts to know about them as listed below.
- HTML tags are vital components of any web page and in order to display valid content, we must utilize the up-to-date HTML5 elements.
- Since the start of HTML creation, the developer community created many HTML elements but most of them failed to keep up with the pace of new technology or they were unable to fulfill the desired outcomes.
- Therefore, many of the HTML elements become obsolete or deprecated in the latest version i.e. the HTML5 version and this practice goes on with every new release.
- Moreover, these created elements are not abandoned immediately, instead, the developer community discourages initially employing these deprecated tags in new projects.
- Later, the support and usage are not provided and further the element becomes obsolete within some next releases.
List of Deprecated HTML Elements
The below table contains a list of all the deprecated and obsolete HTML tags till today. These deprecated HTML tags serve as a reference and guide to writing the HTML5 markup correctly.
HTML Deprecated Tags Alphabetical Reference
The following table contains all the deprecated HTML elements in an alphabetical manner.
| TAG | DESCRIPTION | ALTERNATIVE | TYPE |
| <acronym> | This deprecated HTML tag was used to define an acronym. | <abbr> | inline |
| <applet> | The obsolete <applet> HTML tag was used to create an embedded applet or plugin. | <embed>, <object> | block |
| <basefont> | This deprecated HTML element was utilized to set the color, size, and font-family of the text. | CSS Styles | empty |
| <bgsound> | The obsolete <bgsound> HTML element helped to incorporate a background soundtrack. | <audio> | empty |
| <big> | This deprecated HTML tag was used to create some big text. | CSS Styles | inline |
| <blink> | The obsolete <blink> HTML tag was employed to create a blinking effect on any enclosed text. | CSS Styles | inline |
| <center> | This deprecated HTML element was utilized to make the text in the center. | CSS Styles | inline |
| <content> | The obsolete <content> HTML element was used in shadow DOM as an insertion point. | <slot> | inline |
| <dir> | This deprecated HTML tag was used to create a directory list in a document. | <ul>, <ol> | block |
| <font> | The obsolete <font> HTML tag was employed to set the font family, font size, and color of the text. | CSS Styles | inline |
| <frame> | This deprecated HTML element was utilized to declare a frame or window in <frameset>. | <iframe> and CSS Styles | block |
| <frameset> | The obsolete <frameset> HTML element was employed to declare the set of frames. | <iframe> and CSS Styles | block |
| <hgroup> | This deprecated HTML tag was used to define the heading of a section and contains other headings as sub-elements. | <header> and CSS Styles | block |
| <image> | The obsolete <image> HTML tag was utilized to insert images and is a poorly supported precursor of the HTML <img> element. | <img> | inline |
| <isindex> | This deprecated HTML element was used to put a text field on the page to query the document. | <form> and Text-Control | empty |
| <keygen> | The obsolete <keygen> HTML element was employed in HTML forms to create a key-pair generator field. | Webcrypto | empty |
| <listing> | This deprecated HTML tag was used to display HTML code or markup on a web page. | <code>, <pre> | block |
| <marquee> | The obsolete <marquee> HTML tag was employed to make any content including images or text scroll/slide on the screen with specified input directions. | CSS Styles | inline |
| <menuitem> | This deprecated HTML element helped to define items or commands for the context menu created by the <menu> tag. | JavaScript | dependent |
| <multicol> | The obsolete <multicol> HTML element was previously used to create multiple columns of text and enabled us to control the size and number of columns. | CSS Styles | block |
| <nextid> | This deprecated HTML tag previously enabled us to utilize the NeXT web design tools to generate the NAME labels for its anchors automatically. | GUIDs | inline |
| <nobr> | The obsolete <nobr> HTML tag was used to create a text without breaking into different lines hence, we have to scroll horizontally to reach the end of the text. | CSS Styles | inline |
| <noembed> | This deprecated HTML element was utilized to display some alternative text or media if the browser does not support the <embed> tag. | <embed>, <object> | dependent |
| <noframes> | The obsolete <noframes> HTML element was employed to display some alternative text if the browser does not support <iframe>. | <iframe> and CSS Styles | block |
| <param> | This deprecated HTML tag was employed to declare the parameter of an object. | data attribute of <object> tag | empty |
| <plaintext> | The obsolete <plaintext> HTML tag was utilized to display every other element and text after this tag as raw text. | "text/plain" MIME type | empty |
| <portal> | This deprecated HTML element enabled us to embed another HTML page into the current document. | <iframe> or Enable Browser Support to Use <portal> | block |
| <rb> | The obsolete <rb> HTML element was utilized to delimit the base text component of a ruby notation. | Nested <ruby> elements | dependent |
| <rtc> | This deprecated HTML tag was exerted to define a text container within ruby annotations. | Nested <ruby> elements | dependent |
| <s> | The obsolete <s> HTML element was employed to create a strikethrough text i.e. a text with a line or deleted text | <del> or CSS Styles | inline |
| <shadow> | The obsolete <shadow> HTML tag was used as the shadow DOM insertion point. | inline | |
| <spacer> | This deprecated HTML element was used to create empty spaces between elements | CSS Styles | inline |
| <strike> | The obsolete <strike> HTML element was employed to create a strikethrough text i.e. a text with a line or deleted text | <del> or CSS Styles | inline |
| <tt> | This deprecated HTML tag helped us to define some teletype text. | <code>, <pre> | inline |
| <u> | The obsolete <u> HTML element was employed to underline the text i.e. a text with a line or border below it. | CSS Styles | inline |
| <xmp> | The obsolete <xmp> HTML tag was exerted to render the text without interpreting the internal HTML markup. | <code>, <pre> | block |
Further Reference Tutorials:
To gain in-depth knowledge of HTML Tags, their usage, and working, visit the below up-to-date and ultimate reference tutorials to explore deeply.
Reference Links For Obsolete HTML Tags
For this tutorial, the below resources were helpful to dig up the knowledge and present you in a clean manner.
- We used W3schools.com as a reference to build up this deprecated HTML elements list.
- We utilized MDN to guide ourselves about the deprecated HTML tags.
- Also, we consulted WHATWG to finalize our list of obsolete HTML elements.