<article> vs <section>: when each is right

The single test that resolves the article-vs-section debate

Ask: "Could this content stand alone on its own page (RSS, syndication, separate URL) and still make sense?"

• Yes → <article>. Blog posts, product cards, tweets, comments, news items.
• No → <section> (when you also need a heading). It's a thematic group within a bigger thing.

<main>
  <article>
    <h1>Why I left Vim for VS Code</h1>
    <p>Date: 2026-05-20…</p>
    <p>For 15 years I used Vim…</p>
  </article>
</main>

That <article> could be syndicated to RSS, copied to a planet aggregator, or rendered standalone. It's self-contained.

<article>
  <h1>Annual Report 2025</h1>

  <section>
    <h2>Financial highlights</h2>
    <p>…</p>
  </section>

  <section>
    <h2>Team growth</h2>
    <p>…</p>
  </section>
</article>

The <section>s only make sense inside the report. Each has its own <h2> (every <section> SHOULD have a heading — that's the rule).

When NOT to use <section>

If you just need a styling wrapper and there's no heading → use <div>. <section> without a heading is technically a misuse (axe will warn). <div> is fine for layout-only grouping.