Web/HTML/Element/body

The HTML <body> Element represents the content of an HTML document. There can be only one <body> element in a document.

Content categories	Sectioning root.
Permitted content	Flow content.
Tag omission	The start tag may be omitted if the first thing inside it is not a space character, comment, `<script>` element or `<style>` element. The end tag may be omitted if the `<body>` element has contents or has a start tag, and is not immediately followed by a comment.
Permitted parents	It must be the second element of an `<html>` element.
Implicit ARIA role	document
Permitted ARIA roles	No `role` permitted
DOM interface	`HTMLBodyElement` The `<body>` element exposes the `HTMLBodyElement` interface. You can access the `<body>` element through the `document.body` property.

Attributes

This element includes the global attributes.

alink ': Color of text for hyperlinks when selected. This method is non-conforming, use CSS color property in conjunction with the :active pseudo-class instead.
background ': URI of a image to use as a background. This method is non-conforming, use CSS background property on the element instead.
bgcolor ': Background color for the document. This method is non-conforming, use CSS background-color property on the element instead.
bottommargin ': The margin of the bottom of the body. This method is non-conforming, use CSS margin-bottom property on the element instead.
leftmargin ': The margin of the left of the body. This method is non-conforming, use CSS margin-left property on the element instead.
link ': Color of text for unvisited hypertext links. This method is non-conforming, use CSS color property in conjunction with the :link pseudo-class instead.
onafterprint: Function to call after the user has printed the document.
onbeforeprint: Function to call when the user requests printing of the document.
onbeforeunload: Function to call when the document is about to be unloaded.
onblur: Function to call when the document loses focus.
onerror: Function to call when the document fails to load properly.
onfocus: Function to call when the document receives focus.
onhashchange: Function to call when the fragment identifier part (starting with the hash ('#') character) of the document's current address has changed.
onlanguagechange ': Function to call when the preferred languages changed.
onload: Function to call when the document has finished loading.
onmessage: Function to call when the document has received a message.
onoffline: Function to call when network communication has failed.
ononline: Function to call when network communication has been restored.
onpopstate: Function to call when the user has navigated session history.
onredo: Function to call when the user has moved forward in undo transaction history.
onresize: Function to call when the document has been resized.
onstorage: Function to call when the storage area has changed.
onundo: Function to call when the user has moved backward in undo transaction history.
onunload: Function to call when the document is going away.
rightmargin ': The margin of the right of the body. This method is non-conforming, use CSS margin-right property on the element instead.
text ': Foreground color of text. This method is non-conforming, use CSS color property on the element instead.
topmargin ': The margin of the top of the body. This method is non-conforming, use CSS margin-top property on the element instead.
vlink ': Color of text for visited hypertext links. This method is non-conforming, use CSS color property in conjunction with the :visited pseudo-class instead.

Example

<html>
  <head>
    <title>Document title</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <p>This is a paragraph</p>
  </body>
</html>

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of '<body>' in that specification.	Living Standard	Changed the list of non-conforming features.
HTML5The definition of '<body>' in that specification.	Recommendation	Obsoleted the formerly deprecated attributes. Defined the behavior of the non-conforming and never standardized `topmargin`, `leftmargin`, `rightmargin` and `bottommargin`. Added the `on*` attributes.
HTML 4.01 SpecificationThe definition of '<body>' in that specification.	Recommendation	Deprecated the `alink`, `background`, `bgcolor`, `link`, `text` and `vlink` attributes.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`body`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`alink` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`background` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`bgcolor` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`bottommargin` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 35 Notes' Full support 35 Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 35, it was supported in Quirks Mode only.	IE No support No	Opera Full support Yes	Safari ?	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 35 Notes' Full support 35 Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 35, it was supported in Quirks Mode only.	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`leftmargin` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 35 Notes' Full support 35 Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 35, it was supported in Quirks Mode only.	IE No support No	Opera Full support Yes	Safari ?	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 35 Notes' Full support 35 Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 35, it was supported in Quirks Mode only.	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`link` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onafterprint`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support 13	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support 13	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onbeforeprint`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support 13	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support 13	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onbeforeunload`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onblur`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onerror`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onfocus`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onhashchange`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onlanguagechange` Experimental'	Chrome ?	Edge ?	Firefox Full support 32	IE No support No	Opera ?	Safari ?	WebView Android ?	Chrome Android ?	Firefox Android Full support 32	Opera Android ?	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android ?
`onload`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onmessage`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onoffline`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`ononline`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onpopstate`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onredo`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onresize`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onstorage`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onundo`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`onunload`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`rightmargin` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 35 Notes' Full support 35 Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 35, it was supported in Quirks Mode only.	IE No support No	Opera Full support Yes	Safari ?	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 35 Notes' Full support 35 Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 35, it was supported in Quirks Mode only.	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`text` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0
`topmargin` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 79	Firefox Full support 35 Notes' Full support 35 Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 35, it was supported in Quirks Mode only.	IE No support No	Opera Full support Yes	Safari ?	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 35 Notes' Full support 35 Notes' Notes' Before Firefox 35, it was supported in Quirks Mode only.	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS ?	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes
`vlink` Deprecated'	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support
Compatibility unknown: Compatibility unknown
Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.': Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.
Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.': Deprecated. Not for use in new websites.
See implementation notes.': See implementation notes.

Web/HTML/Element/body

Contents

Attributes

Example

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Legend

See also