Maximum pictures in your website want not anything greater than what Divi already does. Upload an Symbol Module, taste it, and also you’re achieved. However there are occasions when you wish to have to team a picture with a caption in some way that your HTML explicitly defines as a unmarried unit.
That’s the place determine and figcaption are available in. Those HTML components create a integrated semantic courting that undeniable image-plus-text layouts regularly don’t categorical as obviously. The query isn’t whether or not they’re higher, it’s once they’re price the use of. Divi 5 makes including those HTML wrappers easy when your content material wishes that additional construction. Right here’s the right way to come to a decision.
Figuring out The Determine And Figcaption Components
Each components come from HTML5 and paintings in combination to mark up content material that advantages from a visual caption. Prior to you’ll be able to come to a decision when to make use of them, you want to grasp what every one in fact does and the way they have interaction with browsers and assistive era. Let’s ruin down every part one after the other, then take a look at why their courting issues:
What Is The Determine Part
The determine part wraps content material that may stand by itself as a self-contained reference. Pictures, diagrams, code blocks, or charts all have compatibility this function. You’ll regularly transfer this content material in other places in your web page with out breaking the waft of your major textual content.

Browsers disclose a determine as a grouped piece of content material within the accessibility tree, and a figcaption is semantically tied to it. Engines like google can use surrounding textual content, together with captions, to raised interpret what a picture is ready. The usage of determine and figcaption makes that courting specific to your markup.
Figures too can wrap movies, audio clips, code samples, and knowledge visualizations. The content material kind doesn’t subject. What issues is whether or not that content material purposes as a self-contained reference that helps your major textual content with out being a part of the studying waft.
What Is The Figcaption Part
The figcaption part provides a visual caption in your determine. Position it as both the primary or remaining kid throughout the determine, and browsers will deal with it because the caption (or legend) related to that determine.

This isn’t simply textual content floating close to a picture. Figcaption creates a programmatic hyperlink between the caption and the determine. Many assistive applied sciences will disclose the caption in some way that makes the affiliation transparent, however the precise announcement relies on the browser and display reader. When anyone the use of assistive era encounters your determine, they will listen the picture’s alt textual content and the caption content material in series, with the markup indicating that the caption belongs to the determine.
You’ll simplest use one figcaption in keeping with determine. For those who upload more than one, browsers will simplest acknowledge the primary one as the true caption. The remaining simply turns into common textual content. Place issues not up to you’d assume. Whether or not you set the caption above or underneath your content material, the semantic connection remains intact.
The part can comprise different HTML inside of it as smartly. Hyperlinks, emphasis tags, or inline code all paintings fantastic inside a figcaption. Simply stay it related to describing or crediting the determine content material. That targeted function makes the caption helpful for each other people and machines seeking to perceive your content material.
How They Paintings In combination And Why They Subject
While you mix determine and figcaption, you create a semantic bundle that serves other wishes without delay. Alt textual content describes the picture itself for display readers and serps. The figcaption provides context or attribution that each sighted customers and assistive era can get admission to. They paintings in tandem, now not as replacements for every different.
Engines like google parse this courting in a different way than they might unfastened textual content close to a picture. They know the caption describes the determine content material, which is helping them perceive the subject and relevance of your web page. That construction can lend a hand with interpretation and indexing, particularly when captions upload transparent context.
Opting for When To Use Determine Components
You’ve discovered what those components do. Now comes the more difficult section: deciding once they’re in fact well worth the effort. No longer each picture wishes this remedy, and overusing semantic markup can also be simply as problematic as ignoring it. This phase walks thru the important thing choice issues:
Determine vs Div With An Symbol
Each approaches can show a picture along textual content. The adaptation lies in what that markup communicates to browsers and assistive tech. Right here’s a handy guide a rough desk that will help you perceive the diversities:
| Side | Div With Symbol | Determine With Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Semantic that means | None | Self contained content material |
| Caption improve | Guide textual content placement | Inbuilt figcaption part |
| Accessibility | No courting introduced | Introduced as attached unit |
| search engine marketing worth | Symbol and textual content listed one after the other | Caption listed with picture context |
Right here’s a handy guide a rough rundown of when to make use of what:
| Use Determine When | Use Div When |
|---|---|
| Content material wishes a visual caption | Symbol is only ornamental |
| Content material references one thing to your textual content | Symbol is a part of web page format |
| It’s essential transfer it with out breaking studying waft | Casting off it could ruin web page construction |
| Display screen readers will have to announce it as a unit | No semantic courting issues |
When No longer To Use Determine
No longer each picture merits semantic markup. Many pictures in your website function ornament, branding, or format components. Those don’t reference your content material, so wrapping them in determine tags simply provides noise.
Ornamental pictures fall into this class. Icons, background patterns, and decorative graphics exist purely for visible design. Use CSS backgrounds for purely ornamental visuals, or use a picture with an empty alt characteristic when it’s purely presentational. Trademarks to your header or navigation paintings the similar manner. They’re branding components that shape a part of your website construction, now not content material references. Hero pictures and banner graphics improve your format reasonably than explaining your textual content.
Button icons, thumbnail grids, and UI controls serve useful functions. They lend a hand customers navigate or have interaction along with your website. Including determine markup to those components confuses their exact function.
Right here’s A Fast Take a look at…
One of the simplest ways to come to a decision is to accomplish two easy tests. First, take away the picture mentally. Your content material will have to nonetheless make whole sense while not having to give an explanation for what was once lacking. A product photograph in an ecommerce grid passes this check. A chart appearing your gross sales knowledge fails it.
2nd, take a look at relocating the picture. Determine content material will have to be transportable. Shifting it to another spot at the web page shouldn’t ruin your format or interrupt the studying waft. Pictures that should keep in a single precise spot to make sense aren’t in point of fact self-contained.
As an example, profile pictures in writer bio sections hardly ever want determine markup. Screenshots in tutorials regularly have the benefit of it, particularly when a caption provides context.

When To Use Figcaption
You don’t want a figcaption each time you upload a determine wrapper. The part turns into helpful in 3 explicit eventualities the place visual textual content is helping customers perceive your content material higher.
Use figcaption when:
- Attribution issues. Charts sourced from analysis papers, pictures from different websites, or graphics with licensing necessities all want correct credit score. The caption will give you a blank position to quote your supply the place everybody can see it.
- Pictures want context past alt textual content. Information visualizations, technical diagrams, or ancient pictures regularly comprise main points that each sighted customers and display reader customers want defined. A map appearing election effects works higher with a caption noting the 12 months and explicit race.
- The determine wishes a label that clarifies what the reader is taking a look at, such because the 12 months of a map, the dataset in the back of a chart, or the segment proven in an architectural diagram.
Skip figcaption when:
- Your picture already explains itself. Product pictures in a grid, icons subsequent to function descriptions, or screenshots that fit the encompassing textual content don’t achieve anything else from visual captions. Alt textual content nonetheless issues for accessibility in those circumstances, and the encompassing textual content regularly supplies sufficient context with no visual caption.
The caption exists to serve readers. If including one looks like busywork or simply repeats what other people can already see, depart it out.
What Content material Is going Inside of Figcaption
Write in undeniable language. “The Brooklyn Bridge at sundown” works fantastic. Keep away from overly flowery captions like “A wide ranging view of the long-lasting Brooklyn Bridge bathed in golden night time mild.”
One or two sentences normally do it. The rest longer belongs to your major textual content. You’ll nest hyperlinks, emphasis tags, or different HTML when wanted, like wrapping photographer credit in an anchor tag or highlighting key phrases.
Position the figcaption as both the primary or remaining kid inside of your determine part. Each positions paintings the similar manner for browsers and display readers.
The usage of Determine And Figcaption In Divi 5 The usage of Semantic HTML
You utilize the Visible Builder to construct your web sites, however including semantic HTML in your components method opting for between a visible workflow and correct markup. It’s essential construct within the Visible Builder or write semantic markup by way of hand, however doing each used to take additional steps.
Divi 5 adjustments that with its fresh function liberate: Customized HTML Wrappers. This option places semantic regulate immediately within the Visible Builder, the place you already paintings. With out enhancing theme information, writing customized code, disrupting your format, or leaping between interfaces.
Each and every Divi part now contains an HTML choice team within the Complicated tab. The Part Sort dropdown comprises the tags you want for correct semantic construction:
- div (default wrapper)
- determine (for self-contained content material)
- phase (for thematic grouping)
- article (for unbiased content material)
- apart (for tangential content material)
And extra.
Plus, underneath the Part Sort, there are two fields referred to as HTML Prior to and HTML After. Those help you inject customized markup round any module with out touching your theme information.

The Visible Builder updates in actual time as you’re employed, so you spot precisely what your semantic construction produces. This setup works for determine and figcaption components similar to some other semantic markup. Your pictures get correct semantic wrappers whilst staying a part of your visible workflow.
Including A Determine And Figcaption Wrapper
Choose the Symbol Module you wish to have to wrap and open its settings panel. Navigate to the Complicated tab, scroll to the HTML choice team, and click on the Part Sort dropdown.
Choose determine from the listing. Your picture now sits inside of correct semantic markup as a substitute of a generic div.

Upload a Textual content or Heading Module proper underneath your picture. Divi AI can generate succinct descriptions for every picture immediately throughout the Textual content Modules.

As soon as finalized, open its settings, head to the Complicated tab, and to find the HTML choice team once more. Set its Part Sort to figcaption.

The 2 modules now serve as as a attached semantic unit that browsers and assistive era acknowledge robotically. On the other hand, the figcaption module behaves like some other Textual content or Heading Module in Divi.
Taste it with complete design regulate over fonts, colours, and spacing. Design Variables help you hyperlink captions in your typography scales and emblem colours. Alternate the ones core values as soon as, and each caption in your website updates robotically.

Possibility Workforce Presets and Part Presets stay your captions constant with out handbook copying. Observe one preset, and all of your pictures and captions inherit the similar HTML wrapper and styling.
Your markup remains blank and out there whilst your waft remains visible, fast, and most significantly, precisely the place you’re employed.
A Few Use Circumstances
Determine and figcaption paintings perfect when construction explicit web page sorts in Divi. Listed here are some concepts:
- About pages with crew member pictures: Headshots paired with captions that come with names, titles, or temporary credentials create correct semantic connections between the picture and the individual’s knowledge. That’s the method used on this submit’s instance.
- Touchdown pages with statistics or metrics: Charts appearing buyer pride rankings, enlargement percentages, or comparability knowledge get determine wrappers. The figcaption cites the supply and provides credibility in your claims.
- Gross sales pages with product function comparisons: Facet-by-side pictures appearing other plan tiers, function units, or bundle choices get clearer when captions specify which model seems in every shot.
Those situations percentage one trait: you’re construction a particular web page the place person pictures want visual context that serves each sighted customers and display readers.
Take a look at Construction In Divi 5 As of late!
Determine and figcaption clear up actual issues when pictures want attribution or require clarification past alt textual content. They invent a semantic connection that is helping each readers and machines interpret the content material.
Divi 5 places the HTML controls the place you already make design selections. Including semantic wrappers turns into a part of web page construction reasonably than a separate process that calls for customized code. Get started including semantic construction the place it issues. Obtain Divi 5 and construct out there websites with clearer, extra descriptive content material.
The submit When To Use Determine and Figcaption HTML Components In Divi 5 seemed first on Sublime Topics Weblog.
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