Simon Willison — 2026-05-23#

Highlight#

Today’s update features a practical web standards TIL (Today I Learned) about the <dl> HTML element, proving there are still useful nuances to uncover in foundational markup regarding structure, styling, and accessibility.

Posts#

[On the dl] · Source Simon shares a few structural and historical insights regarding HTML description lists, prompted by an article by Ben Meyer. For practical formatting, he highlights that a single <dt> can be followed by multiple <dd> elements and that pairs can be grouped strictly inside a <div> for easier CSS styling. He also notes the 2008 HTML5 nomenclature shift from “definition lists” to “description lists” and includes a valuable link to Adrian Roselli concerning screen reader accessibility and ARIA labeling.