The <address> element marks contact information for a page or article's author — not a postal address in general, despite the name.
Syntax & Example
<footer>
<address>
Written by <a href="/team/aman">Aman Sharma</a>.
Contact: <a href="mailto:aman@codingnowai.in">aman@codingnowai.in</a>
</address>
</footer>Browser output: most browsers render <address> content in italics by default — but that's just default styling, not the reason to use it.
What It's For (and What It's Not)
<address> is specifically for contact information related to the author of the document or article — not for any physical mailing address that happens to appear on a page, like a restaurant's location in a menu listing:
<!-- Correct use: author contact info -->
<address>
Questions? Email <a href="mailto:support@codingnowai.in">support@codingnowai.in</a>
</address>
<!-- Incorrect use: this is just business location data, not authorship -->
<address>
123 Main Street, Delhi, India
</address>For a business's physical location that isn't about content authorship, a plain <p> (optionally with structured data for local SEO) is more appropriate.
Common Mistakes
- Using
<address>for any and every physical address on a page, rather than specifically author/site contact information - Nesting
<address>inside another<address>, or placing headings/sectioning content inside it — not valid
Interview Relevance
A good "do you actually know the spec, not just the common tags" question — many experienced developers have never used <address> correctly, so a precise answer stands out.
Practice Question
Add an <address> element to a blog post footer with the author's name and a mailto link.
